Meet Our Storytellers and Contributors

Stephanie Stuckey is Chair of Stuckey’s, the iconic highway oasis. In 2019, Stephanie and her partners bought the brand and are reviving it as a pecan snack and candy company. Stephanie has been a trial lawyer, state representative, and Atlanta’s Director of Sustainability, and a law professor. Her book, UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon, was released in April 2024. Stephanie is currently focused on this year’s pecan harvest , working with Georgia farmers to bring fresh pecans to shelves nationwide.

Ruby Velle has been making a name for herself in the Atlanta scene as a cultural alchemist expressing matters of the soul. As the front woman to a band, Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics, she has shaped the souls and minds of the public in a positive way as her words of empowerment ring out loud and clear. The new chapter for Velle is an exciting one with the release of three solo singlesL “Fighter,” “Nah Nah Please,” and “Go Get It”. The Fighter appeared on HBO and the trailer for “On the Basis of Sex”. Currently Velle is collaborating with the Soulphonics to release their new single “Step Right Up.”

Janine Monroe was born in Kingston, Jamaica, from parents who are classical musicians, they emigrated to the US when she was 10. Her unique perspective colors her work which captures modern day ideas for future generations and explores socio-political and environmental issues. Her current body of work features a new and innovative use of recycled wood combined with acrylic polymer and pigments to create dimensional/high relief pieces. These pieces are called Sculpted Paintings. Her desire to sculpt while she painted was the impetus for this creation. The medium and subject matter form and inform dialogue about the impact of women, nature, and preserving them.

Dr. La’Neice Littleton has been living in Atlanta for over 15 years. She received her PhD from the illustrious Clark Atlanta University. As a public historian, she works to provide community members access to gathering and preserving history in multiple ways, such as museum tours, developing exhibitions, and supporting oral history and community-based preservation projects, and conducting community presentations and workshops.

Kiplyn Primus is known for launching the Local Take with Kiplyn Primus on Jazz 91.9 WCLK, which will celebrate its 15th year in January 2026. This public affairs show features discussions about critical issues facing Atlanta and profiles of organizations doing important work in the communities served by WCLK. 

Primus is also a veteran facilitator for StoryCorps' Atlanta studio and their Brightness in Black, where conversations between friends, family, and colleagues become part of the largest oral history project in the USA. Primus has written extensively on global and local initiatives for several publications and media outlets.

ARRRTADDICT is a Puerto Rican artist based in Atlanta whose vibrant, whimsical style blends Caribbean culture and spirituality. Her work spans diverse mediums, including fashion design, large-scale murals, immersive installations, and dynamic canvas pieces. Using radiant colors, expressive line work, and her signature leopard print, she celebrates the energy of Puerto Rican and African American cultures. ARRRTADDICT explores new ways to express identity, heritage and community. Through her art, she seeks to inspire reflection, unity, and a deeper appreciation of cultural connection. 

Betsy Riley is a freelance writer and editor, who currently serves as Senior Contributing Editor for The Bitter Southerner. She retired as the Editor and Chief of Atlanta Magazine in 2023. Her own longform narrative originally published in Atlanta, has been featured on Longreads.com. Betsy has served on the board of the Atlanta Press Club and was a regular contributor to WABE. She loves creating stories about places that connect people to each other.

Hala Moddelmog is CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center, home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art. Prior to taking on this role, she was also the first female President and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Her service in Atlanta’s nonprofit community includes the Executive Committee of Midtown Alliance and the Board of Trustees of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where she chairs the Quality Committee.

Chastain “Chaz” Clark is a multidisciplinary designer and artist based in Atlanta, GA and has developed a career in fine art, public art, design consulting, and academia. Chaz is the creative lead for Studio Chastain which he founded in 2022. Studio Chastain is an art and design studio specializing in the design, fabrication, and delivery of public art, architecture and more including large scale murals, installations and sculpture. Chaz currently has a teaching appointment in the School of Architecture at Georgia Tech where he leads instruction for architectural design studios.

Adán Bean is an accomplished multi-hyphenate — an Emmy-nominated spoken word poet, musician, writer, host, storyteller, and creative director. Originally from NE Ohio, Adán has called Atlanta home for over twenty years, where he has firmly established himself in the arts, culture, and music scene. Currently working on his first work of collected poems and essays, and recording his sophomore EP, Adán curates Good*Night, a free monthly live show in Grant Park featuring music, comedy, and spoken word.

Kevin McGee — better known as Chef Kev — a passionate voice for food, culture, and community working to shape the future of food in Atlanta. He’s the family founder of the Urban Oak initiative and The Food Studio, one of the nation’s first plant-based business incubators. Chef Kev believes in the power of food and that every meal is more than nourishment, it’s a story, a connection, and a catalyst for change.

Heather Infantry is the CEO of Giving Gap, an online directory of Black-founded nonprofits advancing racial equity in philanthropy. A self-described foot soldier for the revolution, fierce lover of the arts, and emerging 100-meter sprinter, she leads with purpose and passion. “God bless the creators,” she often says—honoring the artists who shaped her identity. For Heather, art is a lifeline, and her work centers Black voices and institutions, insisting they not only survive, but thrive.

Charmaine Minniefield’s work, rooted in womanist social theory and ancestral veneration, draws from African and Diasporic traditions to explore history, memory, and ritual as acts of resistance against erasure. Dividing her time across Atlanta and the Gambia, Minniefield continues to trace the origins of her cultural identity and Indigenous traditions, most recently showcased in her exhibition Indigo Prayers: A Creation story at the Michael C Carlos Museum.

Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar is Professor of History and the founding Director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music at the University of Connecticut. He is the author or editor of several books, scholarly journal articles, and book chapters. He recently released an edited book, Black Movement: African American Urban History Since 1970, with the University of North Carolina Press in April 2025. In 2023, Basic Books published his award-winning book, America’s Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederate. Publishers Weekly named it one of the “Best Books of 2023.”

Jeff Morrison has been studying Atlanta's history and culture from street-level for nearly thirty years. Over the years, his Unseen Underground Walking tour has led thousands of curious people through the hidden passages beneath our streets. In 2019 he published the book Atlanta Underground: History from Below, telling the complete history of Underground and the Railroad Gulch, paired with his own black and white photography.

David Perdue is an Atlanta based comedian who has appeared on Comedy Central,FuseTV, & Kevin Hart’s LOL Network. David is also an actor appearing in "Love Is..." on the Oprah Winfrey Network and "Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits and Monsters" on truTV.  David also co-hosts the comedy/ news podcast “What’s Good Atlanta” on WABE. In 2022 David was selected as an Arts & Social Justice Fellow at Emory University, which means he was a college professor, making his love of cardigans make way more sense.

Trey Carlisle, aka EMCEE P.O.E.T.R.E.Y, uses the power of storytelling and songs to be a voice of hope and unity for our generation. A spoken word artist, singer-songwriter, rapper, multi-instrumentalist, and dancer, Trey is a storyteller of many forms. But, his passion is using songs and stories to cultivate wellness, healing, and belonging within individuals and between communities. Trey is the Program Director for Music in Common, a nonprofit that curates experiences for people across social divides to find common ground through music and facilitated conversations. Whether it is through podcasts, performances, artistic pieces, or projects, EMCEE P.O.E.T.R.E.Y stays busy helping audiences of all ages celebrate and honor our shared humanity and planet.

Jon Goode is an Emmy nominated writer whose work has been featured on CNN, HBO, VH1, and MTV. Jon’s writing has earned him a Promax Gold, a Gold Addy and a Silver Telly Award. His latest collection of short stories, Black Curio, was #1 on Amazon for six weeks and is available at jon-goode.com and wherever you buy books. IG @jon_goode

Matt “DJ Opdiggy” Owen is a sound designer, music composer, and DJ from Atlanta, GA with over twenty years of sound and stage experience. As an electronic musician, he has produced original music for artists and brands such as: Atlanta United FC, Atlanta Influences Everything, Bevel, and WABE.

Multiband Studios is an Atlanta-based audio-visual production company dedicated to crafting dynamic, impactful, and often underrepresented content, while empowering emerging minority creatives through access, support, resources, and real-world opportunities that fuel their technical mastery and artistic excellence. With service offerings including theatrical design, video editing and post-production, location filming, live event equipment rentals, sound design & engineering, lighting design, and more, Multiband Studios guarantees to deliver top-tier production services to amplify any project.