Take a Peek Behind-the-Scenes at Sparkle Stories!
It takes a village — even at Sparkle Stories! With 1400+ audio stories, each member of our team plays an important role in bringing the stories to you, our fellow sparklers.
Today we are introducing some new team members — and re-introducing some familiar faces that have been with us from the beginning. Meet the Sparkle Team!
David Sewell McCann
At Sparkle: Story Spinner and Chief Doodler
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Loves: Sitting idly on public benches, directional walks, super-hot yoga (like, super).
Family: two boys and three dogs, co-parent and collaborator Lisabeth Superpower: Deep Acknowledgement and Spell Casting.
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? A speedy walk in the woods until I can smell mountain evergreens.
Where you’ll find him at 10 a.m. on a Monday? Setting the table for a week of wild and woolly spell-casting.
Dream vacation spot? An apartment in Lisbon or Old Montreal or Budapest with a balcony overlooking a wide cobblestone thoroughfare.
Lisabeth Sewell
At Sparkle: Doer-of-Many-Odd-and-Wonderful-Things (including CEO)
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Loves: bare feet in the grass, trail running, finding moments of deep stillness, loving people up.
Family: Angus (19), Finnian (16) and the good dogs Olive, Winn, and Frances — and co-parent David!
Superpower: Huge-Heartedness.
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Garden, or poke about town.
Where you’ll find her at 10 a.m. on a Monday? Prepping for the Sparkle Team meeting and getting ready for a full week.
Dream vacation spot? Off-the-grid in New Mexico, or right in the middle of Rome.
Ann Boyd
At Sparkle: Literary Editor and Continuity Director
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Loves: Roald Dahl’s stories, Brené Brown’s wisdom, Melissa Clark’s cookbooks, Jeni’s ice cream.
Family: Jon, Lucy (15), Rosie (13), and cats Franny and Pepper.
Superpower: Knitting Without Looking and Insuppressible Cookie-Baking.
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Snuggling up with a warm cat and a new cookbook.
Where you’ll find her at 10 a.m. on a Monday? Throwing laundry into the wash and making a cup of coffee before hopping on a Sparkle Team video call.
Dream vacation spot? Eating baguettes in Paris.
Mark DeJarnatt
At Sparkle: Technology and Operations
Hometown: Kirkland, Washington
Loves: Sailing, Diving, Beaches, Hiking, Travel, Meditation, Live Music, Science Fiction, Positivity, Family, Friends, and Chocolate
Family: Wife: Rachel. Kids: Will (13), Christian (11), Grace (5), Izabelle (3)
Superpower: Diplomacy, Perspective, Calmness brought to situations
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Time with Family, Working out, visiting Incredible beaches, or sailing — depending on mood and weather!
Where you’ll find him at 10 a.m. on a Monday? Working! :) Coffee and a relaxing spot to focus.
Dream vacation spot? Almost anywhere and everywhere South Pacific on a yacht. On or in the water. Disneyworld is fun, too!
Jessica Pounds
At Sparkle: Digital Marketing Director
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Loves: being near water, plants, vintage pyrex, exploring new places, and questioning things
Family: Parents, Sister, Brother-in-law, niece, and my cat Kitty Bird! Superpower: Supernova-level Sensitivity
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Explore a hidden thrift store or go swimming in a Florida spring
Where you’ll find her at 10 a.m. on a Monday? Working! Sometimes from the office, sometimes from a sunny spot in a window, and occasionally from bed still in jammies.
Dream vacation spot? Getting lost and exploring an unfamiliar city, preferably in a part of the world that’s new to me. Or anywhere there are mountains.
Marjorie Shik
At Sparkle: The Storying Project Podcast Producer
Hometown: Antibes, France
Loves: Ice cream, pizza, knitting, walking, reading
Family: Too many to name here but you know who you are...representing ten American states, eight additional countries all on three different continents.
Superpower: Ability to say weird, silly and embarrassing things — oftentimes without even trying!
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Walk. Think. Thinking while walking.
Where you’ll find her at 10 a.m. on a Monday? What? It’s 10 a.m. already? Where?
Dream vacation spot? Anywhere I can go for a walk — a city, a forest, a mountain, a country road (with kind drivers that yield to pedestrians).
Alina Zybtseva
At Sparkle: Production Team Manager
Hometown: Kharkiv, Ukraine
Loves: Music, cats, magic, and fairy tales
Superpower: Ability to inspire people to do the impossible — and ability to sleep two days in a row.
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Sing, sleep, listen to audio books or watch movies, do yoga, hike and sing some more along the way.
Where you’ll find her at 10 a.m. on a Monday? In the office making coffee disappear.
Dream vacation spot? Narnia or Hogwarts! In the real world, I'd love to visit Bhutan and New Zealand. Also, travel coast to coast through all the amazing natural parks in the US.
Angus Sewell McCann
At Sparkle: Music Producer, Ex-Audio Editor
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Loves: Tame Impala, 90s Mazda Miatas, pretending to know a lot about theoretical physics
Family: David, Lisabeth, Finn, Winston, Olive, and Francis (guess which three of those are dogs)
Superpower: Doing a bad Christopher Walken impression
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Playing pool or ping pong (and probably not winning), working out, sleeping
Where you’ll find him at 10 a.m. on a Monday? Watching my Gov 312L lectures on 2x speed
Dream vacation spot? Cape Town, South Africa (if they weren’t in a forever drought)
Jessica U.
Sparkle: Customer Service Manager
Hometown: Kharkiv, Ukraine
Loves: Swimming, Writing, Reading, Dancing, Travel, Family, Friends, and Gourmet Food
Family: Father, Mother, eight siblings (one boy, seven girls), a loving fiancé.
Superpower: Presenting, Managing relationships, Building structure.
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Eating at nice restaurants
Nate Gwatney
At Sparkle: Audio Editor
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
Loves: Music, Film, Collecting records, Zip-zooming on road trips in my Subaru
Family: I am Brother, Son, Corgi Dad, Committed boyfriend, Loyal friend
Superpower: Playing the bass like an electric guitar with lots of effects pedals
Favorite thing to do with a free afternoon? Eating tacos and re-watching Interstellar
Where you’ll find him at 10 a.m. on a Monday? Sleeping, Editing, making a second pot of coffee or procrastinating exercise time Dream vacation spot? Riding the Tron coaster at Tokyo Disney Resort over & over
