I Tell Stories
for Two Reasons:
To Better Understand Myself and to Help Us All Feel Less Alone
Multi-
disciplinary
erma bombeck
“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.”
Bring wit, vulnerability, and heart to your stage, big or small . Whether you need a dynamic emcee, a moderator, a(relatively benevolent) voice of God or a speaker on creativity, belonging, and storytelling who connects deeply with multi-generational and multi-cultural audiences—and yes, speaks corporate fluently (if that's your jam)—you + me = alchemy.
Book Me
I’m a natural born storyteller and performer. Clients (and friends that I don’t even pay) say that they appreciate my storytelling for my vulnerability, HUMOR, and depth. I don’t want to toot my own horn too much, but some kind souls have even compared me to Brene Brown (after two drinks) and Erma Bombeck. I, on the other hand, like to say my storytelling persona is what you’d get if David Sedaris and Tina Fey had a baby and raised it in the Soviet Union.
Hi, I'm Yuliya
Yuliya, rhymes with Goo-lia
storyteller, humorist, writer, & performer
My life experiences are diverse (to put it mildly). I grew up in a small town in the former Soviet Union and learned English by watching Star Trek the Next Generation (I may have accidentally learned Klingon, too…). I taught intertidal ecology as a teen, earned an MBA (no one knows why), and even performed stand up comedy (just the once — oy to the Vey!).
While all of that may feel random at first glance, at the core of everything I’ve done and everything I still want to do is storytelling. It’s my passion, my drive, and my zone of genius. And I love nothing more than sharing stories with other good people navigating this tricky thing called life.
My stories are rooted in my experience as an immigrant and are shaped by my interest in belonging, identity, and bias.
alexandra franzen, best-selling author
“I've worked in writing, & book publishing for 15 years. Yuliya has a voice that stands out. She's hilarious. She's deep. She brings such honesty to her stories about this beautiful mess we call life. If you gave me a pile of 20 stories -- without any names -- I could pick Yuliya's out because she has a distinctive voice & point of view.”
Are we already best friends?
Get all my very wise wisdom, funny anecdotes, and personal ramblings sent to your inbox on a semi-regular basis. Oh, and there’s an audio version, too, if that’s your jam.
But, I get to tell stories for a living, so for me, a storyteller is someone who seeks connection and understanding in words — both written and spoken. And that, in a nutshell, is what I do.
I tell stories that are yours, mine, and ours. Whether you want to hear what it was like growing up in the Soviet Union, commiserate over universal parenting struggles or glean the lessons I learned from working at Google, I’m your gal.
So, what IS a storyteller?
So buckle up, Bubelah.
You’ve come to the right place.
- Floundering, figuring it out, and flourishing as a creative (and as a human)...
- Straddling multiple cultures (and at times feeling like you don’t quite belong anywhere)...
- Navigating the highs, the lows, and the downright messiness of being human…
The Latest from the Blog
talk to me, Bubelah!
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P.S. In my spare time, I'm a voice actor. Listen in.
