Happy Women's History Month from MORE! We are celebrating by talking to women in various sectors about who inspires them, why they love what they do, and how they can save space for other women to join them at the table. We Dig Deeper with Sophie Haydar, UX/UI Designer at Counterpart based in Indianapolis on women sharing their passions in shaping design. Meet our guest: Sophie Haydar is a UI/UX Designer at Counterpart and an active member of the Indy Design community. Her passion for design comes from a love of finding ways to bring creativity and fun into all aspects of life. This drives her mission to make otherwise lackluster experiences brighter through design. Outside of her design work, she enjoys expressing her creativity through other mediums, such as knitting sweaters and baking for friends.

Happy Women's History Month from MORE! We are celebrating by talking to women in various sectors about who inspires them, why they love what they do, and how they can save space for other women to join them at the table. Today we are joined by Sophie Haydar, UX/UI Designer at Counterpart based in Indianapolis. We discuss the importance of female representation in the technology field, who has inspired her to become who she is today, and why she loves designing user experiences. Join us during the month of March to celebrate women and uplift their voices. Meet our guest: Sophie Haydar is a UI/UX Designer at Counterpart and an active member of the Indy Design community. Her passion for design comes from a love of finding ways to bring creativity and fun into all aspects of life. This drives her mission to make otherwise lackluster experiences brighter through design. Outside of her design work, she enjoys expressing her creativity through other mediums, such as knitting sweaters and baking for friends. If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to follow us wherever you listen, and share this with a friend. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with those who haven't had MORE yet. You can also head to our Patreon and support us by Saving a Seat. Learn what it means to Set the Table with us here: ⁠https://www.moremagazine.org/setthetable"

Allison Ballard was hired as Director of the Jesters in 2008. She has a Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy (Columbia College Chicago 2003) and is certified as a Music Together® teacher, a Drum Circle Facilitator (Arthur Hull Village Music Circles and HealthRhythmsÔ) and in Orff Schulwerk, Levels I and II (Anderson University School of Music). Allison has over 30 years of experience teaching creative movement and rhythm to children, youth, adults and people with special needs. She is the founding member of Fort Wayne Taiko, a local drumming and movement ensemble based on Japanese tradition. She was a featured artist in Arts United’s 2014 and 2015 fundraising campaigns and received individual artist grants from the Indiana Arts Commission in 2013 and 2020. In 2021, she began working as a Behavior Consultant with Booth and Company and partnered with Jay Bastian to launch Indigo Group, LLC. Indigo celebrates neurodiversity through the expressive arts and presents Allison’s one-woman show I Am the One Who as a trauma education performance piece. Angeline Larimer, MFA, MA, GCMH, is the Executive Director of Propel New Works, a nonprofit that provides a variety of support for story development, particularly new work intended to be a vehicle for public health. In 2022, she developed Theatre for Veterans in collaboration with John Sullivan, LCSW and the Indiana Dept. of Veterans Affairs to offer free online playwriting classes to Veterans of the Armed Forces. Propel New Works was created in 2024 because of the strong creative community built by these core Veteran playwrights. Most recently Propel New Works, Theatre for Veterans, and American Lives Theatre successfully hosted a public staged reading of original new works by these Veterans. Larimer is also the Lead Dramaturg for PlayPenn in Philadelphia, an MFA & Dramatists Guild playwright, a bioethicist, and applied theatre professional at the intersection of health humanities and theatre. She teaches for the Medical Humanities & Health Studies program and the Applied Theatre, Film, & Television program at Indiana University Indianapolis. She also facilitates playwriting workshops for people in active substance use recovery. Larimer incorporates applied theatre and ethics into health and medical education and community outreach, and helps individuals share their stories while ensuring that they retain ownership of their narratives. As an arts community educator, Larimer teaches “Ethics and the Fundamentals of Playwriting” for PlayPenn, among other classes, fostering conversations about unintended consequences of creative work, and the responsibilities of the storyteller. She is a lifelong Hoosier.

Welcome back to Let's Talk MORE on Monday! Today's episode is a special feature with your host Chloe on a topic that she's very passionate about: arts programming for marginalized communities. She is joined by Allison Ballard and Angeline Larimer, two professionals who have dedicated their time and talent to providing theatre and arts opportunities to communities who don't otherwise have good outlets. Allison inspires people with disabilities to share their talents and Angeline works with veterans to write and share their stories through theatre. They discuss how important it is to inspire confidence in these communities and how they got where they are today. Meet our guests: Allison Ballard was hired as Director of the Jesters in 2008. She has a Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy (Columbia College Chicago 2003) and is certified as a Music Together® teacher, a Drum Circle Facilitator (Arthur Hull Village Music Circles and HealthRhythmsÔ) and in Orff Schulwerk, Levels I and II (Anderson University School of Music). Allison has over 30 years of experience teaching creative movement and rhythm to children, youth, adults and people with special needs. She is the founding member of Fort Wayne Taiko, a local drumming and movement ensemble based on Japanese tradition. She was a featured artist in Arts United’s 2014 and 2015 fundraising campaigns and received individual artist grants from the Indiana Arts Commission in 2013 and 2020. In 2021, she began working as a Behavior Consultant with Booth and Company and partnered with Jay Bastian to launch Indigo Group, LLC. Indigo celebrates neurodiversity through the expressive arts and presents Allison’s one-woman show I Am the One Who as a trauma education performance piece. Angeline Larimer, MFA, MA, GCMH, is the Executive Director of Propel New Works, a nonprofit that provides a variety of support for story development, particularly new work intended to be a vehicle for public health. In 2022, she developed Theatre for Veterans in collaboration with John Sullivan, LCSW and the Indiana Dept. of Veterans Affairs to offer free online playwriting classes to Veterans of the Armed Forces. Propel New Works was created in 2024 because of the strong creative community built by these core Veteran playwrights. Most recently Propel New Works, Theatre for Veterans, and American Lives Theatre successfully hosted a public staged reading of original new works by these Veterans. Larimer is also the Lead Dramaturg for PlayPenn in Philadelphia, an MFA & Dramatists Guild playwright, a bioethicist, and applied theatre professional at the intersection of health humanities and theatre. She teaches for the Medical Humanities & Health Studies program and the Applied Theatre, Film, & Television program at Indiana University Indianapolis. She also facilitates playwriting workshops for people in active substance use recovery. Larimer incorporates applied theatre and ethics into health and medical education and community outreach, and helps individuals share their stories while ensuring that they retain ownership of their narratives. As an arts community educator, Larimer teaches “Ethics and the Fundamentals of Playwriting” for PlayPenn, among other classes, fostering conversations about unintended consequences of creative work, and the responsibilities of the storyteller. She is a lifelong Hoosier. If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to follow us wherever you listen, and share this with a friend. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with those who haven't had MORE yet. You can also head to our Patreon and support us by Saving a Seat. Learn what it means to Set the Table with us here: ⁠https://www.moremagazine.org/setthetable

Returning to Dig Deeper with us, Bo shares a look behind the curtain — how does FIND help cultivate connections? Learn from the best with Bo. Bo Turner is the founder of FIND and a marketing professional with a passion for connecting people. Originally adopted from China, Bo grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and now calls the Midwest her home. She brings a strong marketing background to her work, fueled by her Marketing degree and MBA from Indiana State University. When she's not building FIND, you can find Bo exploring the world (mountains over beaches!), tending to her plant collection, indulging her love for all things miniature, or satisfying her cravings for delicious Asian cuisine. She also enjoys the simple pleasures of watching her husband cook...and then, of course, enjoying the fruits of his labor! A self-proclaimed Marvel fan (definitely over DC), Bo embraces life with a sense of adventure and a love for the little things.

In our Founder to Founder series, we spend time with female founders in a variety of industries to learn their why, what they’re building, and how they’re creating spaces for others through their work. Today, we’re spending time with Bo Turner, founder of FIND. Bo Turner is the founder of FIND and a marketing professional with a passion for connecting people. Originally adopted from China, Bo grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and now calls the Midwest home. She brings a strong marketing background to her work, fueled by her Marketing degree and MBA from Indiana State University. When she's not building FIND, you can find Bo exploring the world (mountains over beaches!), tending to her plant collection, indulging her love for all things miniature, or satisfying her cravings for delicious Asian cuisine. She also enjoys the simple pleasures of watching her husband cook...and then, of course, enjoying the fruits of his labor! A self-proclaimed Marvel fan (definitely over DC), Bo embraces life with a sense of adventure and a love for the little things. Special thanks to Indiana University Kelley School of Business for partnering with us to feature female founders in our Founder to Founder series. Learn more about them below: https://kelley.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.html

Candace and Sissy Boyd Simmons join us again to Dig Deeper into Black history, food insecurity, their legacy, and what they want to leave behind for their daughter. Head to our Patreon for the full interview: https://www.patreon.com/MOREMagazine Meet our guests: Candace and Sissy Boyd Simmons are based in the Indianapolis area, are passionate about family, and work together on FoodLoveTog providing spices and recipes to their community. Sissy works in HR and Candace is a creative, doing writing, podcasting, and food security, both working to improve the lives of the people around them. Check out Candace's podcast wherever podcasts are found at Black Girls Eating.

During Black History Month, MORE is joined by professionals in the area to give their thoughts on what BHM means to them and how they celebrate Black History not only in February, but throughout the year. This week Chloe is joined by Candace and Sissy Boyd Simmons. They discuss the importance of Black History Month and how they acknowledge it within their family and community, food insecurity in their area and what they're doing to combat it, and how they are creating Black history everyday. Meet our guests: Candace and Sissy Boyd Simmons are based in the Indianapolis area, are passionate about family, and work together on FoodLoveTog providing spices and recipes to their community. Sissy works in HR and Candace is a creative, doing writing, podcasting, and food security, both working to improve the lives of the people around them. If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to follow us wherever you listen, and share this with a friend. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with those who haven't had MORE yet. You can also head to our Patreon and support us by Saving a Seat. Learn what it means to Set the Table with us here: ⁠https://www.moremagazine.org/setthetable

Chris Smith joins us to Dig Deeper into Indianapolis history, the influence of Black History on art, media, the economy, and more that we may not realize, and the benefits of engaging with your community at large and questioning how economic areas became what they are. Head to our Patreon for the full interview: https://www.patreon.com/MOREMagazine Meet our guest: Chris Smith is an award-winning artist, entrepreneur and community leader committed to empowering others through art and inspiring them to share their unique perspectives with the world. His work focuses on capturing the ethereal beauty of nature, reflecting a deep appreciation for its tranquility and abundance. Through his art, Chris aims to connect with others, encourage creativity and growth within artistic communities. As the Executive Director of 1000 Words Gallery, Chris mentors emerging artists and arts administrators, equipping them with the resources and opportunities needed to thrive in the local arts economy. With a background in sales development and education, he combines professional expertise with a passion for teaching to guide others in mastering their craft and building meaningful connections. Chris believes in art’s power to uplift, heal, and unite, and he is dedicated to creating experiences that inspire and strengthen communities.