Who We Are

Elaine Lindy
Founder & President

Elaine Lindy is an experienced storyteller who founded the award-winning website, “Stories to Grow By” in 1998. Elaine also founded “Fiesta Schoolyards” in 2018, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming 100 barren elementary school yards in Philadelphia within 10 years.  She serves as a Board Member on these nonprofit organizations: The Lindy Foundation, Philadelphia Jewish Film + Media, The Lindy Scholars Advisory Board, First Person Arts, and The Last Call Foundation. Elaine holds an MBA from Simmons College and owns three U.S. patents. She cherishes her two grown daughters Ariel and Hannah, three granddaughters, and beloved family and friends.

Joshua Tull
Executive Director

Joshua is an educator and advocate for children’s literacy and theater. He has worked in traditional classroom settings, higher education, and theater throughout his professional career. He holds a Master’s degree in Education as well as in Stage Direction. Joshua joined the Lindy Foundation through Stories to Grow By, and now World Stories Bank, after leaving higher education administration during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Joshua is passionate about supporting missions that align with his values.

Jamie Brunson
Steering Committee Member

Jamie J. Brunson is a 2022 NEA Fellow in Literature: Playwriting and executive director of First Person Arts – Philadelphia’s premier storytelling organization.  She has executive produced ten storytelling festivals, two documentary films and numerous podcast series. Under her leadership, First Person Arts has compiled an archive of over 10,000 true, personal story files.   

Ernest Davis
Steering Committee Member

Ernest Davis is Professor of Computer Science at New York University. He has a B.Sc. in mathematics from M.I.T. and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Yale. He is a leading scientist in the area of automating commonsense reasoning for artificial intelligence programs. He has written numerous scientific papers, book reviews, and popular articles, including pieces published in the New Yorker and the New York Times. His books include “Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust” (with Gary Marcus); “Verses for the Information Age”; and ” `Will You Marry Me?’ Some First-hand Accounts of Marriage Proposals, 1600-1900.”

Sari Follansbee
Steering Committee Member

Sari is an internationally recognized expert in language and literacy development, a digital education innovator, and an entrepreneur. Through the English Learning Network, she helps young professionals globally build English fluency to advance their careers and quality of life. She also leads Brave Speaking, a platform supporting people affected by trauma, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, by pairing them with empathetic listeners for real-time emotional support. Her career includes senior leadership roles at AGS Publishing/Pearson, The Jason Foundation, Pearson Family Education Network, and CAST, where she helped pioneer Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and co-developed WiggleWorks with Scholastic. She holds a Master’s and Doctorate from Harvard University in Reading, Language Development, and Learning Disabilities.

Hannah Lettieri
Steering Committee Member

Hannah is the Emerging Technologies Librarian of Fordham University Libraries. A dynamic and motivated academic librarian, Hannah is experienced in using emerging library technology and marketing trends to increase visibility and engagement with a diverse user community. Naturally, Hannah is passionate about storytelling, and eager to explore the many outlets of which stories can be shared en masse on a global scale.

Sam Katz
Steering Committee Member

Sam is a lifelong Philadelphian with a diverse career spanning public and project finance, venture capital, civic leadership, development, politics, and documentary filmmaking. He worked for nearly three decades in public and project finance, including major projects such as the Wells Fargo Center and Baltimore’s Camden Yards, served as CEO of a major civic organization, managed a regional venture capital fund, and ran for Mayor of Philadelphia. Since founding History Making Productions in 2008, he has produced award-winning documentaries, including the Emmy-winning Philadelphia: The Great Experiment and Gradually, Then Suddenly: The Bankruptcy of Detroit, which received the Ken Burns Prize for Film in 2021. He is a graduate of Central High School, Johns Hopkins University, and the New School for Social Research and has lived in West Mt. Airy with his wife, Connie, for over 40 years.

Frank Lindy
Steering Committee Member

Frank is a third-generation real estate leader and philanthropist, serving as one of the owners of Lindy Communities and a trustee of the Lindy Foundation. He has helped guide the family’s Philadelphia-based real estate enterprise, founded in 1933, through decades of growth while advancing its community-focused mission. Through his work with the Lindy Foundation, he supports education, urban revitalization, and nonprofit initiatives that strengthen neighborhoods and create lasting civic impact.

Jeremy Lindy
Steering Committee Member

Jeremy serves as Marketing Manager at Lindy Communities and a supportive member of the World Stories Bank steering community. He helps guide the fourth-generation family real estate firm and The Lindy Foundation’s branding and growth. He holds a degree from Northeastern University and contributes to expansion into new markets.

Lon Fredric Palitz
Steering Committee Member

Lon is a corporate and nonprofit advisor based in Philadelphia with experience in government, accounting, and commercial banking. He holds a CPA license in Pennsylvania, graduated from Temple University, and serves on several nonprofit boards including the Last Call Foundation, where he leads fire-service research projects, and the Won Institute of Graduate Studies. Lon has been a staunch supporter of Stories to Grow By and now World Stories Bank.

David Weisman
Steering Committee Member

David is a native Philadelphian and former U.S. diplomat with a career spanning Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. After earning a B.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, he lived and worked in Israel before entering the U.S. Foreign Service in 1999. He served in diplomatic roles in Portugal, Brazil, Colombia, Togo, and China, and worked at the U.S. Department of State under Secretary Colin Powell, including on counter-piracy and maritime security policy. He retired in 2019, continues to take short-term diplomatic assignments, and has recently worked in Burundi, Gabon, and Cabo Verde. He is fluent in French, Hebrew, Portuguese, and Spanish.