Thank you for joining Saved by a Story for our Storytelling Salon, “LOST & FOUND.” We’re thrilled that you’re here. Learn more about the storytellers and musicians making our work possible.
storytelling salon performers
Elle Bramhall
Elle Bramhall has spent her whole life around music. The daughter of musicians Doyle Bramhall II and Susannah Melvoin, grandchild of renowned “wrecking crew” pianist Mike Melvoin and legendary Texas-blues drummer Doyle Bramhall I, music was the logical—and inevitable way for her to express herself. After getting her first guitar when she was 14 she quickly took to exploring open tunings after finding it hard to find her own “voice” in standard tuning. Traversing a path laid by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, with an innate ability to cut straight to the heart, Elle brings into the world a sound as timeless as that of her heroes with a purity of expression at once exhilarating and heartbreaking. Her music shines a compassionate light on our shared struggles and aspirations.
Leslie Rhoades
Leslie started her adult life as an actress and has been a commercial casting director for over twenty years. She is currently getting her masters in psychology. Leslie gives a huge thank you to Kathy Katims for her Saved By a Story workshop. She has been part of Kathy’s writing workshop for over five years, putting pen to paper, being inspired, listening to friends’ stories, and finding her writing voice. Leslie believes it is never too late to start a new chapter!
Steven Kiralla
Steven Kiralla has been writing in Kathy’s wildfire survivor community writing group.
Niloofar Bina Shepherd
Niloofar Bina Shepherd is a wife, mother of two teenage boys, and longtime entertainment industry executive. Following the January 2025 wildfire in Pacific Palisades, she is navigating the ongoing process of rebuilding and recovery while balancing family, career, and community. Professionally, Niloofar is Deputy General Counsel at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and has held senior legal roles at Mattel, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group and Ascent Media Group, and previously worked as an attorney at Proskauer Rose and Paul Hastings. She is a graduate of UCLA and earned her law degree from UC Berkeley.
David M. Israel
David M. Israel is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning TV Writer/Producer/Showrunner who’s worked on one-hour dramedies (Dynasty, UnREAL) and 30-minute comedies (About a Boy, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Grounded for Life, The Tracy Morgan Show… ). He’s currently developing live-action and animated projects including one with the Jim Henson Company. Before moving to LA, he was a Writer/Producer/Editor at Major League Baseball Productions in NY and was in the locker room in 1986 when the Mets won the World Series.
Romi Barta
Romi is a writer and producer for television and film. She is currently developing a pilot for Disney and has written on Jason Katims’ series DEAR EDWARD for Apple TV+ and AS WE SEE IT for Amazon. Prior to that, she was staffed on Netflix’s ALEXA & KATIE, where her episode was nominated for a WGA Award. Romi also wrote on Netflix’s SANTA CLARITA DIET and FOURSOME for YouTube and Awesomeness. She has developed for the Disney Animation program, Mattel, Picturestart, and was a finalist for the Humanitas Originals Award. She studied theatre at Northwestern and screenwriting at USC. Romi is one of four sisters with wild hand gestures and writes about outsiders, messy female dynamics, and coming-of-age at any age. Her latest vice is Henry’s Secret Ice Cream… if you know, you know.
Mindi Rivin
Mindi is a mother of two amazing daughters, a psychotherapist in private practice, and currently a podcaster of The Phoenix lessons—The Final Straw—where she interviews people who finally were able to end something painful in their lives and find their voice, which has been the story of her life. She is hoping to one day, finish her memoir, Lost. Cause.
slimdan
slimdan (Danny Silberstein) is many things. As an artist, you’ve seen him having fun on tour with Remi Wolf or Maren Morris. As a songwriter, you’ve heard his writing on records by Sasha Sloan, Tiesto & King Princess. As an instrumentalist, you’ve heard him playing guitar, keys, or even a ganjo. As a human, you might have spotted him at the Hazeltine basketball courts, eating a breakfast burrito, or buying avocados around the San Fernando Valley, where he was born and raised and lives with family and his bulldog (Mozart).
Amongst all of these activities, slimdan is also gearing up to release his sophomore album, "Focus Group,” which he wrote and produced alongside the musical masterminds he made his “Second Dinner” album with (Noah Conrad & Ryan Linvill). And in case you missed it, his (second) “Second Dinner" deluxe album, which featured his friends and favorite artists—like Medium Build, Adam Melchor, Lennon Stella, and Devon Again.
Jan Oxenberg
Jan Oxenberg started her career as a cheerleader. Okay, that was high school. She became an indie filmmaker, writing, producing and directing two short films and a feature film (THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT), both of which have been selected for the Criterion Collection and are available on the Criterion Channel. Cheerleading for your projects is a valuable skill for an indie filmmaker. But being broke even after your film premieres at Sundance is also common. Oxenberg was extremely lucky to segue to TV writing and producing after she met Jason Katims at the Sundance Writing Lab. She has worked as a Writer/Producer on 11 network and streaming shows, some short-lived but (almost) all high-quality shows on which she was able to write lesbian and gay characters, write about abortion, and write about complicated humans and thrilling history. Her credits include RELATIVITY, COLD CASE, ONCE AND AGAIN, CHICAGO HOPE, PARENTHOOD, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, and Apple TV’s MANHUNT. She adapted James Ellroy’s memoir about his mother’s unsolved murder, MY DARK PLACES and has written features for MGM, HBO, FOX, PBS and AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE and pilots for FX, ABC, AMC and LIFETIME. None of those have made it to series… yet. But, never give up. Jan is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for film work. She studied at Barnard College and California Institute of the Arts.
Kathleen Katims
Kathleen Katims is the founder of Saved by a Story, a nonprofit that offers free community writing workshops for under-resourced, under-represented people meant to embolden voices and create community.
In 2016, Kathy had an idea to bring former foster youth together in small prompt-driven writing workshops to unearth their history, to bear witness for each other, and to know they were not alone. The intimate, safe setting of the workshop allowed young people to delve into their stories, to share their stories and to create connection, community and friendships.
When Kathy decided to bring these workshops to other populations, Saved by a Story was born. Since 2016, Kathy has run community writing workshops for women and teens in recovery, former foster youth, at-risk teens, mothers raising neurodiverse kids, senior citizens, intergenerational groups and, most recently, wildfire survivors.
She also founded the Saved By A Story storytelling salon, which presents joyous evenings of music and stories on a theme. All funds raised from the salon support free writing workshops throughout Los Angeles.
In 2024, SBAS was honored to become a nonprofit under the fiscal sponsorship of The Unusual Suspects Theater Company.
Rufi Thorpe
Rufi Thorpe is the author of five novels, including The Girls from Corona del Mar, Dear Fang, With Love, and The Knockout Queen, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Her most recent novel, Margo's Got Money Troubles (2024), has been adapted into an eight-part series on Apple TV+ starring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman, and Nicole Kidman. Thorpe received her MFA from the University of Virginia in 2009 and lives in California with her husband and two sons.
Brett Dennen
Across his career, Brett Dennen has established himself as the kind of singer-songwriter who finds inspiration by digging into the nooks and crannies of the human condition—exploring pain, joy, sadness, and all points in between. Since debuting in 2004 with a self-titled album, Dennen has amassed a loyal fanbase thanks to a steady touring schedule, including alongside artists like John Mayer, Jason Mraz and G Love and Special Sauce, as well as multiple song placements in the TV show Parenthood. Another tune, "Comeback Kid (That's My Dog)," became the theme song for the TV adaptation About A Boy. Along the way, Dennen has also had multiple top 10 hits on the AAA radio charts, with the keening title track of See the World, an encouraging song about growing up and forging your own path in life, landing at No. 4 in 2021.