Diane Kastiel is the producer and host of First Person Live. A writer and storyteller from Chicago, she’s a three-time winner of the National Public Radio’s Moth StorySLAM; her work has been featured on the Moth Radio Hour, its podcast, and at special events for WBEZ, NPR’s Chicago affiliate. Diane has told stories on stage at The Second City, Steppenwolf, the Park West, Victory Gardens and other theaters as well as comedy clubs, art galleries, the basement of a tattoo parlor - she even did a show in the middle of the woods! Diane works with libraries, schools, community centers and homeless shelters to bring storytelling to a wider audience, and leads storytelling workshops at Northwestern University. Diane is an alumna of The Second City Conservatory and the University of Chicago’s Great Books program. She also has an MBA from Northwestern University…just in case. 

Fadi Mikhail is a physician and educator. Over the years, he has realized the power of a good narrative in effective education. He has always enjoyed telling stories that arise from life’s chaos, recently discovering the joy of performance storytelling. In his spare time, Fadi enjoys playing squash, being in nature, and consuming various forms of music, art and literature.

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Jeannie Coe is a Naperville native and a graduate of Dominican University. She is 30% wife, 30% mother, 25% HR Executive, 20% Public Radio nerd, 15% runner, 15% knitter, 15% canner and 15% gardener; and 0% math genius as evidenced here. Eight years ago, Jeannie found her way into storytelling through a friend and hasn't left. She feels the best stories are told when she stops worrying about what others may think and focuses on the joy and humor in her little world.

Alina Serban was born and raised in Romania, where she was a TV journalist for 17 years before moving to Chicago five years ago. Alina has taken storytelling classes at The Second City, performing twice onstage, and curated Together for Ukraine, a storytelling fundraising event. She loves The Moth and, after years of listening to the podcast, finally told a story at a Moth StorySLAM, making a dream come true. Alina is chief of staff for Embrace Living Communities, a non-profit organization providing affordable housing to low-income seniors and people with disabilities. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband Matt and their son Daniel.

Adam Bottner is a former litigator and, for the past 14 years, director of business development for a legal technology company. Born in New York, lived in Pittsburgh, and raised in unincorporated Des Plaines (“the Third City”), he is a frequent Moth storyteller and multiple Moth StorySLAM winner, featured on the Moth Radio Hour and its podcast. Adam is a graduate of The Second City Training center and has written multiple screenplays, including his most recent, "Searching for Frenchy Fuqua." He lives in Buffalo Grove and is the father of two amazing sons and the former owner of Freddy, an eyelash-crested gecko, whom he misses very much.  

Catherine Durkin Robinson is an end-of-life doula and educator. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, running, and traveling. You can find Catherine’s humor columns on Medium and her death-positive columns on Substack.

Nick Narcisi was a theater actor before the pandemic and since has worked in a cancer research laboratory in Chicago. (He is as surprised with that career pivot as you are.) Nick has worked with theater companies from Arkansas to Montana, spending a lot of time in small towns and dive bars throughout the country. As an actor, Nick got very good at telling other people’s stories, and now enjoys telling his own. He is a Moth StorySLAM winner and is thrilled to be back at First Person Live (we’re thrilled too). Nick spends most of his time fighting imaginary dungeons and dragons with friends or hanging out with his new wife and even newer puppy.

Nestor Gomez was born in Guatemala and moved to Chicago in the mid ‘80s. He told his first story at a Moth StorySLAM as a way to get over stuttering. He won the slam that night, and currently holds the record for most Chicago Moth StorySLAM wins. Nestor is also the producer and host of 80 Minutes Around the World: an immigration storytelling show, which showcases stories of immigrants and their allies. But if you ask him, he will say his greatest achievements are making his mother proud and winning the heart of his wife, Sweet Mel.