We Listen began as a listening project on the Harrisburg campus of Penn State in 2011. After several years of implementing the program in various formats and distilling the essential process, We Listen evolved into a multi-campus program that strives to make long-lasting institutional impacts.
The program as a whole continues to explore the story form, the story-elicitation process, and the particular role of the listener in the story dynamics. We are supported by the Equal Opportunity Planning Committee and Teaching and Learning with Technology, as well as several partnering units on individual Penn State campuses.
Our Mission
Grounded in the assumption that meaningful human interaction involves risk, care, and openness, We Listen creates intentional spaces in which members of the Penn State community tell their own stories of lived experience, and listen to those told by others. We Listen gives voice to what is often unheard and unnoticed with the aim of shifting awareness of difference, and provoking new approaches to addressing it.
Project Directors
Heather Hughes, Ph.D.
Co-Director & Coordinator of Campus Partnerships
Instructional Designer, Teaching & Learning with Technology (ITS)
Shivaani Selvaraj, M.S.
Co-Director & Counselor of Program Integrity and Implementation
Director of Urban Engagement, Penn State Center for Engaged Scholarship- Philadelphia
Jo Tyler, Ed.D.
Co-Director & Counselor of Custom Process Design and Story Ethics
Associate Professor of Training and Development, Behavioral Sciences and Education, Penn State Harrisburg