If Jacqueline’s work reconnects children with the natural world and Jayda inspires writers to rediscover their voice, Karrie McDermott ensures that the voices of an older generation are not lost. A seasoned storyteller and founder of In Their Own Words, Karrie has performed on stages such as The Moth, First Person Live, Story Lab, and Teller’s Night. But whether she is speaking in a packed theater or a neighbor’s backyard, her mission is the same: to preserve lives in the voices of those who lived them.

Her path to storytelling was anything but straightforward. Born in Chicago but raised across the Midwest, she returned to the city in her twenties with the optimism of Mary Tyler Moore—hat in hand, ready to throw it in the air. With degrees in communications and marketing, she began her career selling industrial coffee equipment. The job taught her an invaluable lesson: facts and features don’t captivate an audience, but stories do. Sharing the founder’s journey—a Polish immigrant building machines alone in a basement apartment—moved people in a way no sales pitch could. That moment confirmed what would guide her career: stories create connection.

Years later, at a funeral, Karrie was struck by a realization. Listening to a son speak about his late mother, she longed to hear the woman’s own voice telling her story. “Wouldn’t it be great if we heard her talk about her life in her own words, and not just through the lens of someone else?” That question became her mission. Today, through In Their Own Words, Karrie helps women in their seventies, eighties, and nineties capture their legacies directly, unfiltered and unguarded. “It’s a privilege to grow old,” she says. “When elders share their knowledge, it’s a true gift.”

Her practice has flourished locally, too. Inspired by StoryCorps, she trained in their “Do It Yourself” program and began hosting storytelling gatherings—sometimes beneath the trees in her own garden, sometimes around a table at Adler. These sessions feel like intimate concerts, neighbors stepping to the mic to respond to prompts like “wanderlust” or “age is only a number.” For many, it’s their first time telling a story aloud. The audience often applauds before the story even begins, a collective leaning in. Participants leave feeling seen, often saying, “That connected with me in a way I didn’t expect,” or “You reminded me of something I hadn’t thought about in years.”

Now, Karrie is joining forces with the Adler Arts Center to expand this vision through Women of Libertyville: In Their Own Words. This developing project invites senior women in our community to sit down with a friend, neighbor, or family member for a recorded conversation about their lives and legacies. Each participant will receive a digital copy, and—with permission—the stories will be archived as part of Libertyville’s living history. It’s both a celebration and a preservation, ensuring that voices which shaped our community will continue to inspire generations to come.

At the Adler Arts Center, the work of Jacqueline, Jayda, and Karrie converges. Jacqueline helps children see themselves as part of a living world; Jayda nurtures the voices of emerging writers; Karrie preserves the wisdom of generations past. Though distinct, their efforts weave together into one living network. Like the mycelium beneath a forest floor, invisible threads connect each branch of their work, carrying nutrients and messages across the Adler community. A child’s discovery in the woods becomes a detail in a story; a story inspires someone else to walk the earth more closely; and together, these threads form a tapestry of creativity, care, and connection.