Adventure Hour

… Step into the heart of urban transformation with the Story City Podcast: Vibrant Spaces, where we uncover the stories and strategies behind revitalizing city spaces to create thriving, connected communities. Join co-hosts Emily Craven and Tim Souza as they take you on a journey through Baltimore, a city harnessing collaboration and innovation to reshape its downtown into a vibrant, inclusive hub.

In this episode, we meet three exceptional women driving Baltimore’s transformation: Faith Leach, Shalonda Stokes, and Cassie Clemente. These dynamic leaders are spearheading the Downtown RISE initiative—a powerful, strategic action plan aimed at revitalizing Baltimore’s core through art, safety improvements, community collaboration, and long-term planning.

Discover how this trio is rethinking urban spaces, not only focusing on immediate, tangible improvements like public art and infrastructure upgrades, but also building a ten-year vision for a walkable, accessible, and thriving downtown. Their collaboration brings together local government, nonprofit organizations, and private sectors, creating a model of collective impact that is transforming the city’s future.

As they share their insights on radical community engagement and inclusive development, you’ll see how Baltimore’s approach, blending short-term wins with long-term vision, is reshaping both the physical and cultural landscape of the city. Whether you’re a city planner, a community advocate, or simply passionate about urban spaces, this episode offers a deep dive into how cities can evolve through intentional collaboration and innovative thinking.

Plug in and learn how Baltimore is setting a powerful example of urban renewal, proving that when a city comes together, the possibilities are endless. Vibrant Spaces is more than just a podcast—it’s a roadmap for building the cities of tomorrow.

Learn more about Story City and how we work with partners here.

Transcript of this Episode is here.

You can subscribe to the Podcast via our YouTube channel here, or via our main Podcast page here where you can also find our other episodes and seasons.

Want to be considered for an episode? Email Emily and Tim with information on your city and initiatives and tell us, what do you do innovatively in your city?

Faith Leach was appointed by Mayor Brandon Scott to serve as the City’s second, and first woman, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). In her role, Leach manages the day-to-day government operations across the entire city enterprise. Prior to this appointment, CAO Leach served as the Deputy Mayor of Equity, Health, and Human Services where she provided strategic direction to a portfolio of agencies at the forefront of quality-of-life issues. Before her tenure with the City of Baltimore, Leach served as Chief of Staff at the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation. In this capacity, she oversaw the Foundation’s commitment to invest $2B over five years to strengthen workforce systems, revitalize neighborhoods, grow small businesses, and improve the financial health of vulnerable communities across the globe. She has spent nearly two decades addressing the key drivers of economic inequality fuelling the racial wealth divide. Before joining JPMorgan Chase & Co., Leach served as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity under DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, standing up a first-of-its-kind government agency focused on revitalizing overlooked and underserved neighborhoods. Faith is an Ambassador with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Shelonda Stokes is the President of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and the Executive Director of the Downtown Management Authority. She leads these two multi-million-dollar organizations and since taking up this mantle Downtown Partnership has more than doubled the organization’s revenues and served as a catalyst for $50M commitment to the Central business District. Of particular pride is a new minority business program that fosters small business growth while increasing equitable occupancy in vacant storefronts. Titled, BOOST (Black-Owned and Occupied Storefront Tenancy), this initiative supports the long-term success of minority-owned, Baltimore-based businesses in Downtown storefronts. Prior to her role at Downtown Partnership, Shelonda spent twenty years as the President and CEO of greiBO, a full-service marketing and entertainment agency, that included clients like: State Farm, Hewlett Packard, Under Armour, Smithsonian, and Coca Cola. Shelonda is the recipient of more than 85 community and professional awards. As a respected thought-leader, she serves as a critical advisor to an elite list of Fortune 100 CEOs, elected officials, and other dignitaries.

Cassie Clemente serves as Vice President at Just Economy. At Just Economy, Cassie leads a variety of change management and stakeholder engagement initiatives, with a special focus on operationalization and implementation. Cassie leads many Baltimore City area projects including: Baltimore Together, the region’s strategic plan for equitable economic growth, Downtown RISE: Strategic Action Plan, and the Baltimore City Squeegee Collaborative. In all of this work she supports public and private partners, ensuring a collaborative approach to implementation with a strong focus on results and accountability. She is Maryland educated with a BA from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and an Executive MBA from the Sellinger School at Loyola University of Maryland.

Emily Craven – Founder & CEO Story City: Emily has worked with cities for well over a decade to reimagine public space via storytelling and upskilling of local creators in digital activations of cities. Regularly driving 30k+ people through targeted city areas via adventure and whimsy, Emily has won national awards, been profiled in multiple magazines, and worked with international organizations like the Institute for the Future of the Book to bring content from the screen to the streets in innovative ways.

Tim Souza – Head of Community Activation at Story City: Tim has held many roles and titles over the years with organizations ranging from Microsoft to Thomson Reuters to TEDx, specializing in the building networks of partners to create larger impact than would have been possible individually. With both a passion for and a degree in Peace, Justice, Entrepreneurship and Technology Tim excitedly now tackles the challenges faced by local creatives, cities, and businesses to build strong vibrant communities of creators who add layers of play to the physical world around them via Story City’s innovative model.

The post Vibrant Spaces Podcast Ep 5 – The City of Baltimore: Downtown RISE & Radical Grassroots Collaboration appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 12pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator and YOU get to discover a new city via our very high tech webcasting of Google street view.

Will we survive our best day as the apprentice of Death in Brisbane? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “Deathworks: Training Day”. And the cool thing about this adventure is it’s part of the Canon of an honest to God fantasy series, Deathworks – so you’d need to visit Brisbane to truly say you’ve read the whole series!

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from our guest creator Trent Jamieson here.

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: Deathworks: Training Day

Author: Trent Jamieson

Artist: Nancy Brown

Musician: Christopher Healey

Original Voice Actor: Kevin Powe

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven and Brett Ludwig

Brisbane’s a lot weirder than you think it is, and you thought you knew it all.

You’re a Pomp, short for Psychopomp, which means you help souls into the afterlife. Well, you’re supposed to, see it’s your first day on the job. And the big lady herself is giving you your training! You’re in for an adventure when you realise that it’s not just about sending souls to the afterlife. You’ll face Stirrers, Undead Dinosaurs, and see the Underworld itself. And, whether you stick with the job or not, your idea of the city will never be the same again. Training Day is a spin off from Trent Jaimeson’s Death Works stories, of which there have been three novels so far, all of them set in Brisbane and published through Orbit Books.

The post Ep14 Story City Adventure Hour: Trent Jamieson & Deathworks: Training Day appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 12pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator and YOU get to discover a new city via our very high tech webcasting of Google street view.

Will we be able to help an inept superhero save the day in Southbank, Brisbane? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “The Hero’s Apprentice”.

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from our guest creator Lauren Sherritt here.

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: The Hero’s Apprentice

Author: Lauren Sherritt

Artist: Nancy Brown

Musician: Christopher Healey

Original Voice Actor: Kevin Powe

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven and Brett Ludwig

Every Hero needs an Apprentice, and this time you’ve been picked. Your Quest, should you choose to accept it, is to take back South Bank from the evil claws of the Dark Legion, all the while avoiding a ferocious band of avian spies and decoding the riddles provided by Oracles stationed around the cultural precint, who may or may not point you in the right direction. Will you choose to team up with the brawny and brave yet not-so-brainy Hero and head into Dark Legion territory, or will you run the other direction trying to avoid all this unwanted attention? Either way, you’ll find South Bank a changed place as you encounter adventure at every turn.

The post Ep12 Story City Adventure Hour: Lauren Sherritt & The Hero’s Apprentice appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 12pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator.

Will we catch the thief & solve the case in Woolloongabba, Brisbane? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “The Great ‘Gabba Mystery”.

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from our guest creators Meg Vann & Clare Neal here.

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: The Great Gabba Mystery

Author: Meg Vann

Artist: Clare Neal

Musician: Diveakssh Schae

Original Voice Actor: Kevin Powe

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven

There’s a heist in progress under your very eyes. Catch the thief and solve the case!

You have responded to a job ad as a local Private Investigator, but your interview goes awry when you witness a crime in progress in Woolloongabba’s vintage heart. Equipped only with your wits and a police radio, it’s up to you to help P.I Street catch the thief, in this glamourous noir adventure. Get ready for getaway cars, gangsters, goddesses and aliens – this mystery in the heart of the ‘Gabba Precinct, where pretty meets ugly and sport meets art, will test all your deductive skills. Will you save the day and land the job?

The post Ep11 Story City Adventure Hour: Meg Vann, Clare Neal & The Great ‘Gabba Mystery appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 12pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator.

Will we manage to survive a zombie apocalypse in Brisbane? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “Strange Daze: A Zombie Apocalypse”.

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from our guest creator Christopher Healey here.

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: Strange Daze – A Zombie Apocalypse

Author: Tamara Pratt

Artist: Nancy Brown

Musician: Christopher Healey

Original Voice Actor: Kevin Powe

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven, and Brett Ludwig

Brisbane is renowned for its art pieces. You’re keen to achieve High Distinctions in your next Uni assignment, but the shoppers in the mall have taken a strange turn, as if they’ve stumbled off the set of The Walking Dead. Brisbane has been infected. As zombies hustle through the streets, you’ll need to decide: Who will you help, who will you abandon, and how will you escape alive? Brisbane has never been so panic-stricken, and you’ll need to learn the art of survival if you don’t want to become one of the living dead.

The post Ep10 Story City Adventure Hour: Christopher Healey & Strange Daze – A Zombie Apocalypse appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 1pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator.

Will we uncover the mystery of The Firm, or become just another pawn in the grand conspiracy? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “Who Are The Firm?”

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from the author Michael Hand here.

Discover more from the artist Amanda Ng here.

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: Who Are The Firm

Author: Michael Scott Hand

Artist: Amanda Ng

Musician: Paul Attanasio

Original Voice Actor: Kevin Powe

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven, and Brett Ludwig

Wait on the jetty. Near the second bench.

Those are the only instructions that The Firm sent you; an exclusive invitation to become an agent for the mysterious organisation. Your first mission: rendezvous with your Handler on Grange jetty. But who are The Firm? And what are they really after?

You now find yourself at the centre of a high-stakes game that will decide the fate of the planet. Search for hidden treasure, face down dangerous enemies and–if you can–avoid becoming the victim of “fowl” play. Only YOU can unravel The Firm’s true motivations. But will you expose the mystery, or become just another pawn in the grand conspiracy taking place on the streets of Grange?

The post Ep9 Story City Adventure Hour: Who Are The Firm appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 1pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator.

Will we rescue or ruin a wedding with with creator Dimity Powell? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “The Chapel of Unlove”.

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from our guest Dimity Powell here.

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: The Chapel of Unlove

Author: Dimity Powell

Artist: Ken Best

Musician: Jed Walters

Original Voice Actor: Ben Mackensie

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven, and Brett Ludwig

One missing bouquet, two missing rings. Will you save the day, or sabotage your godmother’s wedding?!

You godmother is about to marry the man of your nightmares, an Elvis impersonator named, Barry. Despite the stunning Sanctuary Cove Resort location they’ve chosen for their nuptials, things turn decidedly ugly when the wedding bouquet suddenly disappears along with your godmother’s antique wedding rings. As the official ring bearer, you’re torn between fulfilling your godmother’s dream wedding or eradicating all things Elvis from your life. Will you help them make it to the chapel on time or sabotage this clearly disastrous match?

The post Ep8 Story City Adventure Hour: Dimity Powell & The Chapel of Unlove appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 1pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator and YOU get to discover a new city via our very high tech webcasting of Google street view.

There’s a monster on the loose. Will we help him or plot his capture with creator Jason Theodosis? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “Escape of Bloggo: Creature of the Maiwar”.

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from our guest Jason Theodosis here, and Sam Piaggio here.

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: Escape of Bloggo – Creature of the Maiwar

Author: Jason Theodosis

Artist: Clare Neal

Musician: Divi Schae

Original Voice Actor: Kevin Powe

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven, and Sam Piaggio

A monster is on the loose. Will you help him? Or plot his capture?

You’re a journalist, researching a story in the Dutton Park Ecosciences precinct when all hell breaks loose. Bloggo, the deadly swamp creature born in the flood of ’74, has escaped. The safety of Dutton Park, nay, Brisbane, is in your hands as you’re thrown in to a game of tug-of-war; mind versus heart; logic versus intuition. Whichever wins, you’ll be confronted by an adventure that will have you questioning: who should you trust? Who should you help?

The post Ep7 Story City Adventure Hour: Jason Theodosis, Sam Piaggio & the Escape of Bloggo – Creature of the Maiwar appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 1pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator.

Will our first mission as a secret extraterrestrial agent end in victory or flames with creator Rebecca Dawson? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “The Agency”.

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from our guest Rebecca Dawson…. just kidding, she doesn’t have an online presence so you’ll just have to love this brief and fleeting interaction with her!

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: The Agency

Author: Rebecca Dawson

Artist: Remy Catchlove

Musician: Tim Whitt

Original Voice Actor: Zara Nicolson

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven, and Brett Ludwig

As a rookie agent for Australia’s secret extra-terrestrial agency, you must investigate an alien mystery in the small country town of Barmera. Are the inhabitants being preyed upon by dangerous alien technology, or are they being replaced?

The post Ep6 Story City Adventure Hour: Rebecca Dawson & The Agency appeared first on Story City.

Join us every Thurs/Fri 7pm MST (Fri/Sat 1pm AEDT) for our weekly Adventure Hour where we live read/argue/laugh our way through a choose your adventure with its creator.

Will our magic and wits be enough to save Australia’s first (kinda?) ancient book of magic with creator Benjamin Brown? In this Adventure Hour we’re diving into choose your adventure “The Book of the Sun”.

Subscribe via your favourite podcasting app here, on YouTube here, or on Twitch here.

Download the Story City App here

Learn how to activate spoiler mode & try other pathways to the story here.

Discover more from our guests Benjamin Brown and Maureen Flynn here.

Become a Story City Creator for free here.

Watch Adventure Hour Live every week on Thurs/Fri at 7pm here.

Story: The Book of the Sun

Author: Benjamin Brown

Artist: Ken Best

Musician: Jed Walters

Original Voice Actor: Kevin Powe

Live Stream Hosts: Emily Craven, and Maureen Flynn

Australia’s first book of magic and ruthless occult gangs rise up in Southport. Will you stop the Book of the Sun falling into the wrong hands or perish along the way?

Your friend and confidant Abramelin the mage has summoned you to Southport, pleading for your aid in a matter he is unwilling to discuss over the phone. You’re a magus, a freelance magician making your way in the half-world of magic and conspiracy, but now you’ve been caught up in the machinations of greater powers. Implacable foes surround you and your friend, seeking to take what is yours and use it for their own foul ends. And worse, something ancient and powerful stirs in the Broadwater, shrugging off its eons-old sleep.

Will you battle the agents of evil, or fall sway to their spell?

The post Ep5 Story City Adventure Hour: Benjamin Brown & The Book of the Sun appeared first on Story City.