Missed the UNO Kickoff? Join the March Data Storytelling Series at NORAPC
- draprilgoggans
- Mar 1
- 5 min read
A few days ago, Dr. Scott A. Phillips (DBA, JM, MS, USN Ret.), Research Assistant Professor and UGHCM Interim Director, delivered a powerful introduction to data storytelling at the University of New Orleans. The session offered a hands-on look at how numbers and lived experience can be shaped into clear, community-ready stories—stories that support planning, advocacy, and real community impact. We will give you the information below to catch you up on everything we have already shared.
Now, that conversation continues.
This March, we’re bringing that energy into a three-session Community Training for Cultural Creatives at NORAPC, where participants will move beyond ideas and begin creating real drafts, story frameworks, visuals, and more from the data of our lives and our communities.
Why This Series Matters
Too often, people are handed data without tools for understanding it—or without space to connect it to what they actually know, feel, and live. This series is built to change that.
At its heart is a simple but powerful practice:
Choose one number and explain what it means where we live.
That means learning how to look at a figure, ask what it says, ask what it leaves out, and then turn it into something human—something that can be spoken, written, illustrated, or shared in ways that make people care.
This is not about becoming a statistician. It is about becoming more confident in reading the world around you and shaping that knowledge into stories that others can understand and use.
What to Expect
Across three sessions, participants will work through guided exercises, small-group discussion, writing time, and share circles designed to help them leave with actual work in progress—not just inspiration.
The series is designed to help you:
turn a number into a story seed
connect local data to lived experience and community knowledge
practice writing and shaping drafts with support
explore how voice, structure, and form change meaning
begin creating stories, visuals, illustrations, and narrative frameworks that can travel beyond the room
The sessions are practical, collaborative, and welcoming to people with different comfort levels around both data and creative work. Whether you are a writer, artist, organizer, advocate, or simply someone who wants to think more clearly about the numbers shaping our city, you are invited.
Who Should Attend?
This series is especially well-suited for:
cultural creatives
writers and storytellers
artists and illustrators
community advocates
Healthcare professionals creating messaging and content
Those interested in local data, public health, smoking, air quality, HIV, and Ryan White Priority Setting Sessions.
nonprofit staff
planners and organizers
people who work with lived experience and community knowledge
anyone who wants to make data more useful, more human, and more meaningful
You do not need to arrive as an expert. You just need curiosity, openness, and a willingness to practice.
Register Now
This is a chance to build practical skills, connect with others, and begin turning numbers into stories people can actually use.
Come ready to think, write, share, and create.
A Look at the March Series
Each session builds on the last while giving participants room to enter where they are.
Meeting 1: One Number, One Place, One Voice
We begin by grounding ourselves in a single number and asking what it means in our own neighborhood, our own life, and our own voice. Participants will start drafting and sharing early story fragments in a supportive circle.
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Address: 2601 Tulane Avenue, Suite 400, New Orleans, LA 70119
Parking: Please use free street parking nearby. Do not park in the lots, as vehicles may be towed.
Finding us: Take the elevator to the 4th floor, then make a left when you exit. The office is located there.
Click here to Register:
Please register so we can prepare accordingly. Food, refreshments, and seating are being provided, and we are doing our best to get an accurate count for everyone attending.
Meeting 2: Reading Place Through Data
In the second session, we deepen the work by thinking about place, context, and everyday evidence—how tables, maps, archives, and local knowledge help us read beyond the number itself.
Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Address: 2601 Tulane Avenue, Suite 400, New Orleans, LA 70119
Parking: Please use free street parking nearby. Do not park in the lots, as vehicles may be towed.
Finding us: Take the elevator to the 4th floor, then make a left when you exit. The office is located there.
Click here to Register:
Please register so we can prepare accordingly. Food, refreshments, and seating are being provided, and we are doing our best to get an accurate count for everyone attending.
Meeting 3: Form and Voice Clinic
The third session helps participants shape their work further—exploring voice, structure, and different creative pathways so each person leaves with stronger drafts and clearer next steps.
Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Address: 2601 Tulane Avenue, Suite 400, New Orleans, LA 70119
Parking: Please use free street parking nearby. Do not park in the lots, as vehicles may be towed.
Finding us: Take the elevator to the 4th floor, then make a left when you exit. The office is located there.
Click here to Register:
Please register so we can prepare accordingly. Food, refreshments, and seating are being provided, and we are doing our best to get an accurate count for everyone attending.
Want to preview the agenda for these sessions?
You can view it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pxI90XVxv0eN5wLAEmekluP66ewP0gJg/view?usp=sharing
Book Giveaway for Participants
Those who register and attend will have the opportunity to receive a copy of the data storytelling book we’ll be using throughout the March series.
During the training, we’ll work through the book together through guided exercises, small-group practice, and collaborative discussion as participants develop stories, visuals, illustrations, and more from the data of their own lives and communities.
This is a first-come, first-served opportunity, so early registration is strongly encouraged.
The Kindle book will be given away free through the Kindle app during the following times. This makes it available to everyone, whether they can join us in person or you’re following along from anywhere.
Free Book Promotion | Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 12:00 AM PST | Saturday, March 7, 2026, 11:59 PM PST |
Couldn’t Make the UNO Session? Catch Up Here
If you missed Dr. Phillips’ recent presentation at UNO, you can still review the materials and get excited for what’s ahead.
Slidedeck of the UNO Presentation
AI Avatar Recap by Dr. Phillips
These resources offer a strong introduction to the ideas behind the March training and a helpful recap of the themes already explored.
Made possible by
NOTCF • The PoZitive2PoSitive Initiative • The Crown Legacy Program • University of New Orleans (UNO) • NORAPC Community Coalition
Thank you for helping expand access to learning opportunities that strengthen our collective work. If you’d like short social captions or a square graphic to promote this, please type continue.
We invite you to stay connected. Visit the Crown Legacy Program website regularly to stay informed about our ongoing community work, including educational initiatives and our new Lagniappe Logic podcast. Follow our updates, join our mailing list, or reach out if you’d like to collaborate. And be sure to check out my Amazon Author Profile for details on these titles and future releases.
Together, let’s build a legacy of literacy, creativity, and transformation. Thank you for being a part of this journey. Go download your free books today – read them, enjoy them, and help us share the gift of reading with others. By turning pages, you’re helping turn the tide on illiteracy and igniting change that will resonate far beyond this month.
Joseph Santiago, Executive Director, Crown Legacy Program joe@crownlegacyprogram.org
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