About Campfire
Campfire teaches public speaking, storytelling, and group facilitation.
We create spaces where people gather, share real stories, and have thoughtful conversations. That work starts long before anyone steps into a room. We help people shape their stories, build their skills, and feel ready to show up.
If you’ve ever sat around a good campfire, you know the feeling: people leaning in, listening closely, and leaving with something to carry with them. That’s the kind of experience we design, whether it’s a live event, a class, or work with a team.
How Campfire began
An origin story
Campfire started as an experiment.
Before it had a name, it was a one-off event called The Sunday Story, built around a question we couldn’t shake: What would happen if public speaking, storytelling, group facilitation, and event design weren’t treated as separate skills, but brought together intentionally?
That early team wanted to see what would happen if the entire experience was shaped differently: how the storyteller prepared, how the story was structured, how the audience was invited in, and how conversation was guided in the room. The goal was to create something more conversational, more participatory, and more connected than what people were used to seeing on a stage.
What we took away from that first event wasn’t a single insight, but a set of realizations. We found better ways to invite an audience into the experience, not as a gimmick, but as a form of facilitation that shaped the room. We noticed how much wisdom people gathered simply by listening, and how much more surfaced when they were given small, thoughtful ways to participate. We learned new possibilities for personal narrative storytelling, especially when stories were allowed to stretch into fuller arcs. And we began to see how public speaking, storytelling, facilitation, and event design weren’t separate skills at all, but overlapping ones, each strengthening the others.
Over time, the purpose became clearer. The work wasn’t just about new techniques. It was about creating spaces where people gather with warmth and leave with wisdom.
That’s true of our public work and our work with clients. The format may change, but the intention doesn’t. We’re always looking to make it feel like we’re just gathering around the campfire.
Our original promo video for our first ever event
Years of refinement. Same intention.
OUR VALUES
What drives the campfire® org.
Support
Strength-Based Approach
We work to nurture the natural storyteller, public speaker, and facilitator in each of us. With that, we are committed to supporting our storytellers, clients, and audience members through all phases of their experience.
Accessibility
focused on sharing with all
No one is left out or behind. We think of accessibility in terms of cost, ability, identity, and learning style. Our goal is for our events, classes, training, and workshops to be open to all, not just in words but practice.
Grace
the assumption of good
The work we do within Campfire is personal. It requires us to dig deep. When we do that it means we might stumble. We share things that may not be quite up to personal standards. We believe that each of us is doing the best we can and that we are never done growing.
Agency
ownership of stories
To us, agency means that you own your story and that you will always have control over it. We do not make decisions for you on how to tell your story and we look to you for consent when we want to amplify it. Our team considers it a privilege to share in your story.
THE PROS BEHIND THE PROSE.
Meet the campfire team
STEVEN HAROWITZ
He/Him
Executive Director
Steven Harowitz grew up on a dirt road in the small community of Palm City, Florida where he learned that everything around us is human made and that means it can be changed. He has been a life-long creator in theatre, TV production, and was even an event and roller rink DJ in high school. Today, he is the founder and Executive Director of Campfire, where he has the privilege and honor to work alongside talented and kind teammates. Steven believes deeply in Arthur Ashe’s wisdom that you must “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
EMAIL STEVEN >
Kim Mennemeier
She/Her
Assistant Director for Operations and Project Management
Kim has loved stories since she was young. In the beginning, it was their ability to transport her to far-off places. As she got older, stories empowered her to be brave, step outside her comfort zone, and embrace new challenges. Motivated by this courage and curiosity, Kim pursued her Master’s degree at UMSL, an experience that not only expanded her knowledge but also reinforced her dedication to helping small businesses thrive—a mission she has embraced for over 15 years. Today, Kim is inspired by the power of owning and sharing one’s story. She is thrilled and honored to be a part of the Campfire team and can’t wait to see where her love of stories takes her next.
EMAIL KIM >
MARIAH BYRNE
She/Her
Special Projects Lead
As a lover of stories told through books, podcasts, and long life chats, Mariah makes sure that the Campfire values translate into meaningful experiences for our audiences. Originally from Orlando, Mariah made her way through Washington D.C. and San Diego before landing in St. Louis for graduate school in social work and business administration. When not staffing a Campfire live event, Mariah hopes to be found hiking, exploring one of St. Louis’ many free arts and cultural events/institutions, or wrapped in a blanket.
Nokie Rae
They/Any
Facilitator
Nokie is a bridge-builder and storyteller who believes real change comes from creating workplaces that are not just functional, but deeply human. With 14 years in early-stage tech startups, they know that lasting solutions come from aligning vision, culture, and operations, not just quick fixes. As CTO at Unlocked Labs and VP of the Board at MTUG, they help turn big ideas into systems that actually work. Now, they’re focused on the next chapter: carving out a path in Organizational Development to help teams evolve and thrive. When not at work, you can find Nokie tinkering in the garden, sparring over a board game, or reading under a pile of opinionated cats.
Kaliice Walker
She/Her
Multimedia Producer
Kaliice Walker is constantly captivated by humans and what motivates their behaviors. She is a storyteller and possess a knack for what is most compelling about how organizations express themselves to the audiences they serve. She was the producer of the More Human Podcast sponsored by the Be Human Project, a St. Louis nonprofit that emboldens leaders to experiment with ways to make their organizations more human. She currently produces the Leadership Pundit Podcast and projects with Campfire. She is often is tasked with taking what is fundamentally most unique about a brand, a person or an idea and converting that essence into audio and video expression. Her background includes a comprehensive track record of film production, and she holds bachelor of arts degree in film, animation, video, and new genres with a minor in journalism at the Peck School of the Arts.
Jeff Allen
He/Him
Multimedia Producer
Jeff is an audio and video engineer, editor, and production technician. He prides himself on taking a client’s vision and making it a reality through the use of a/v technology and media creation. He specializes in audio recording, a/v system design and maintenance, video production, and landscape and wildlife photography and videography. Jeff has been serving the audio and video production needs of artists in the St. Louis area for almost 2 decades.
Adam Flores
He/Him
Facilitator
Adam Flores helps other people tell stories better, and his passion for this work runs deep. Growing up in the middle of Missouri before settling in St. Louis for the second half of his life, he realized early on that theater making helped draw attention to people who maybe didn’t get a lot of attention. Today, Adam teaches, facilitates, and makes art at multiple universities while working as a freelance theater maker and community assembler. He strives to build spaces where underrepresented voices can flourish. He’s particularly proud that he’s often called for projects that center people of color, which honors his Latine heritage and culture. At the heart of everything Adam does is a simple belief: everyone has a story worth hearing, and all of those stories could use more love and attention in the telling.
Jessica Gazzola
She/her
Facilitator
Jessica (Jess) Gazzola is a storyteller, facilitator, and former pastor who finds joy in collaborating with others to uncover meaning through shared stories. She believes in the magic of language to connect us deeply—and nothing gives her the good kind of goosebumps like a heart-to-heart moment. Whether around a campfire or a kitchen table, she loves creating space for honest, playful, and soulful conversation.