By Marissa Cudworth, Ex Fabula Volunteer Coordinator

I recently spoke with Elaine Maly, a long-standing community member of Ex Fabula. You may recognize her most often as the Storyteller Wrangler, encouraging audience members to sign up and tell their stories! She is also integral to our storytelling coaching team—earlier this year, she won Ex Fabula’s first Coach of the Year award! Pretty amazing, right? I wanted to get to know her outside of her role with Ex Fabula. Elaine describes herself as responsible, enthusiastic, and funny. I wholeheartedly agree; I can always count on her to get things done with a joyful willingness and lots of laughter.

The strategic interview questions I had in mind didn’t quite fit the bill for our conversation, but I learned so much more about Elaine than I thought possible. The more we chatted, it became evident that she centers and supports two very important groups of people in her life: her family and her community.

MC: Have you ever told a story on stage?

EM: Yes, many, and I’m proud that I’ve won 2 competitive slams. I’ve told a few stories with my grandsons as well. In fact, many of the stories I tell involve them.

Elaine as Storyteller Wrangler

Elaine and her grandsons

We talked a lot about Elaine’s family and how lucky she feels to live close to her two sons, three grandsons, and her aging parents. Elaine loves to bond with her grandsons over vinyl listening sessions and exploring music together. She says “I really love being a grandma, it’s a gift.” Elaine stressed the importance of showing up for her family, even when times get tough.

MC: Can you tell me a quick story of something you’re proud of?

EM: I’m very proud of the career I’ve had. I was able to learn and grow in every single job I had. I am fortunate to have a meaningful career that deeply connected me to the community. I also got to see the kids I mentored go on to do amazing things.

Elaine was the Executive Director of the Women’s Fund for many years before retirement. Much of her work has been in leadership roles in the nonprofit world, including long tenures at the Boys and Girls Club and YWCA of Greater Milwaukee. It’s clear to me that Elaine’s dedication to the Milwaukee community lives on even in her retirement.

Elaine at an Ex Fabula event in 2015

MC: You’ve been so dedicated to Ex Fabula over the years. Are there other ways you are currently involved in your community?

EM: I’m involved with TimeSlips at St. Ann’s Intergenerational Center. I also have been involved with CORE El Centro for many years.

During my research, I discovered Elaine has dedicated over six years to TimeSlips, a Milwaukee-based organization encouraging memory-loss patients to use imagination and storytelling. To say she’s involved is an understatement. Similarly, Elaine has been a part of the Ex Fabula community for nearly ten years. She is the definition of dedicated!

MC: What have you learned from being an Ex Fabula volunteer?

EM: My job has always been to tell the stories of others. When I learned how to tell my own stories, I learned that you don’t know how your story is going to impact someone else.

We discussed how good it feels to share stories with a room full of strangers and how you can never know how your story will resonate with others. Elaine said the value of Ex Fabula lies in the opportunity for human connection. Even if you don’t share the exact experience as another person, the nodding heads and affirmations prove that bonds are forming.

MC: What do you enjoy about volunteering with Ex Fabula?

EM: The feeling of being connected. Even when I went to my first few Slams by myself, everyone was so welcoming. [Being a part of the community] is cathartic.

Like Magic StorySlam 2022

I wasn’t surprised when I asked other Ex Fabula volunteers about Elaine, who connected that welcoming feeling within Ex Fabula right back to her. Let’s see what else they had to share:

Liz: “She made me immediately feel welcome. She’s just a very welcoming, beautiful person.”

Tom: “Elaine seems just plain solid — someone with a good heart who you can trust.

Mark: “Elaine connects with everyone! There are few people I know who make storytellers feel more graciously invited and more honestly valued than Elaine as both a workshop coach and a StorySlam volunteer.”

In the short year I have known Elaine, I have heard nothing but kind and generous things about her. Elaine brings a special energy to the Ex Fabula community that helps us create magic at our events. We would be lost without her. Cheers to Elaine!