This summer, Creativity+ is hosting the second Speakers Series of 2019. The theme is Play: an activity essential to creativity and social well-being, but often overlooked as frivolous or unproductive. Each Creativity+ Play event will feature conversations with two speakers from diverse backgrounds offering their unique perspective on the topic. First up are Grace Loescher and Nick Brunner!

Grace is the co-founder and host of Speak Out Sacramento, local open mic and breeding ground for creatives. For the past four years, Grace has served as a trusted member of the Waking the Village team, a local nonprofit working to better the lives of Sacramento’s homeless youth. During her time at Waking the Village, Grace dreamt up and currently runs the Creation District, a safe haven for creation, discovery, activism, daring, and dream-making for Sacramento’s youth and young adults experiencing homelessness and economic instability.

Nick Brunner grew up in rural Illinois with his sister and parents within a vast expanse of corn fields. He discovered NPR in college when he was hired to work at WGLT-FM in Normal, Illinois (the real name of a real town). That’s where he came to appreciate the colors public broadcasting painted amid a drab and predictable radio landscape. His delusions of sophistication often don’t match his modest lifestyle and as a result, he spends time trying to find just the right wine to accompany Tuna Helper ... a Shiraz works well.