Julie Herrera - San Luis Valley Spellbinders

As a lifelong storyteller, I founded the San Luis Valley (SLV) Spellbinders Chapter for the second time in 2005. My favorite stories to tell are folktales from around the world because I believe folktales have much to tell us about life and the culture from which they come.
I am the Chapter Leader and Trainer for the SLV Chapter, and have served as the Trainer for new Spellbinders Chapters. These past few months, I have been serving on the Training Committee to revise the Spellbinders Workshop Training Manual and Study Notes. Representing Spellbinders, I host monthly Story Time Radio shows on my local community radio station, KRZA.
In this age of poor funding for schools and libraries, and as a former teacher and librarian, I understand the need for storytelling to continue to enhance children’s learning. I bring an understanding of diverse rural populations which I have served for over 40 years. During this time I used storytelling to engage students in meaningful learning. To present this important aspect of storytelling, I developed a Power Point presentation on Fitting Storytelling into Standards. The Spellbinders Resource Center uses this presentation.
I have presented to groups such as Rocky Mountain Storytelling Conference, Colorado Educational Media Association, Colorado Southwest Regional Library Service System, Spellbinders, Tejas Tumbleweed Festival, Florida Story Camp, and Colorado Council of the International Reading Association CCIRA). Every other summer, I teach a graduate level class on storytelling for the Library and Information Services Department at Denver University. I am a member of the National Storytelling Network, Rocky Mountain Storytellers (RMS), Florida Storytelling Association, Tampa Bay Area Storytelling Guild (TBSG), CCIRA and IRA; actively involved with RMS, TBSG and my local Council of CCIRA. Once a month I travel to Taos, NM, to participate in a Story Swap Gathering. As a traveler, I promotes Spellbinders whenever feasible. I am a lay speaker for my church, using story to drive my messages. I have been telling stories professionally in Colorado for over 25 years.