Out of the Loop

In this episode, Abygayl Alvarez recalls her journey from eighth grade dropout to master's graduate in public health. She talks ADHD, her marriage to Isaiah and her epilepsy diagnosis.Support the show

In this episode, Out of the Loop season 3 storyteller Renn Stein tells his story about creating bubble tubes using 3-D printing with Makers on a Mission, a club he helped found his junior year at All Saints Episcopal School. In the two years that have passed since Renn shared his story at Out of the Loop, he catches us up on his life and studies in college-- including his freshman year attending Stanford  University via Zoom from his home in Tyler.Support the show

In this episode, we hear John Bucher's Out of the Loop story along with a life update. John lived much of his childhood through early adulthood in Tyler and graduated from John Tyler High School. He's a mythologist and storyteller based out of Hollywood, California and serves as creative director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation. John is also an author, podcaster and speaker. He has worked with companies including HBO, DC comics and the History Channel and serves as a consultant and writer for numerous film, television and virtual reality projects. John the author of six books, including his latest, “The Storytelling Almanac: A weekly guide to telling a better story.” He holds a PhD in mythology and depth psychology.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller and writer Jennifer Toon.Jennifer Toon’s story is about how her memories of East Texas’s peaceful woods and waters brought her comfort during the nearly two decades she spent incarcerated in Texas state prison.In prison, Toon studied French philosophers, from Voltaire to Rousseau to Camus. Toon is a survivor. She is also poetic, introspective, and uncannily attentive to life’s beauty.Toon’s story is its raw and hard-won honesty. It is a product of the culmination of years of difficulty, growth, and processing.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's special episode is the Out of the Loop season 1 finale, featuring friends and family remembering the late Dreak Scott.Dreak Scott was a storyteller during Out of the Loop's first-ever event in April 2019 at Liberty Hall in downtown Tyler. He told how his relationship with his brother Kyle saw both of them through rocky years as children and young adults. Dreak's death at age 26 on August 5, 2020, shocked and grieved those who loved him. In this special tribute episode, we hear from Dreak's mom, Tawakoni Seaton; his aunt, Anita Dunn; and his friends Brittany Jones, Megan Brantley, Chad Ali, Seth Walker, and Hannah Walker. Dreak's Out of the Loop story can be found at https://thetylerloop.com/were-all-we-got-2/Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller and TylerISD School Board member Aaron Martinez.Aaron Martínez is a Certified Grounds Manager and Certified Arborist with Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Tyler Independent School District. Aaron is originally from Lubbock and his wife of 20 years is from Tyler; he’s lived in Tyler for the past 12 years. He has two boys, aged 10 and 12. Aaron loves Fightin’ Texas Aggie football, fishing, golf, and spending time with his family.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features EMT and storyteller Kaelyn Kopper Rutledge.Kaelyn Kopper Rutledge is a graduate of Winona high school. Kaelyn studied emergency medical services at TylerISD’s Career and Technology Center to become a paramedic, attended Tyler Junior College and recently married her husband, Austin.When Kaelyn signed up for paramedic training at the Career and Technology Center, she figured she'd be reading textbooks and watching the pros from a distance. Instead, her very first shift propelled her to step up during an intense event with a patient.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller LaShonda Carter.LaShonda works in health care and rehabilitation. She is originally from Liberty City and has lived in Tyler for the past six years. She loves to spend her free time fishing and hanging out with her sons Ivory, Daniel, and Slade. LaShonda is proud of her large extended family—six sisters and two brothers, with lots of nieces and nephews—and says when they all get together it gets “loud, very loud.” She is grateful for her best friend Daniel Carter, Sr.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Brenda McWilliamsBrenda McWilliams is retired after nearly 40 years in education and counseling. When not traveling she fills her days with community, charitable, and civic work; photography; writing and blogging at Pilgrim Seeker Heretic; reading, babysitting grandchildren, and visiting with friends. She enjoys walking at Rose Rudman or hiking at Tyler State Park. Brenda and her spouse, Lou Anne Smoot, the author of Out: A Courageous Woman’s Journey, have six children and seven grandchildren between them.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Yasmeen Khalifa.Yasmeen Khalifa is a Mass Communication and English student at the University of Texas at Tyler. She worked for the student-run newspaper investigating issues on- and off-campus, exploring the changing East Texas culture, and giving students a voice.Yasmeen recently co-founded a new music series in The Patriot titled “Music in the Pines: Exploring Eclectic East Texas.” The series highlights local musicians, venues, concerts and other events as the music scene in East Texas evolves and thrives. Yasmeen also works as a lab technician in the Mass Communication department.She is the founding president of the Keep Tyler Beautiful Youth Advisory Committee, a group of students working together to encourage beautification, litter reduction and recycling in Tyler.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Gavin Dass.Gavin Dass is a university of Texas at Austin graduate and is a Tyler-based independent analyst. He can give you a list of the best folk-punk bands to watch live and the secret to cooking the perfect butter chicken, but the most important gift he hopes to share with Tyler is the abundance of its natural habitat restored for generations to come. In the summer of 2020, launched a new community-driven organization called Arc Habitat Restoration to mobilize Tyler residents to plant and harvest native seeds.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Amanda Martinez Beck.Amanda Martinez Beck is co-founder of the Ruah Storytellers Podcast and lives in East Texas. She is passionate about the power of storytelling, particularly through podcasting. She and her husband Zachary cohost the Arkeo Camino and she is also the co-host of the Fat & Faithful podcast. Her first book is Lovely: How I Learned to Embrace the Body God Gave Me.Support the show

Out of The Loop podcast with Jane Neal. This week's episode features storyteller Michael McClendon.Michael is a self-described East Texas cowboy who not only enjoys drinking wine with his BBQ, but helps craft it, too. This "bearded, dreadlock-wearing, African-American millennial" entrepreneur shared the story of launching his latest venture at our popular Out of the Loop storytelling event.Support the show

Welcome to the Out of The Loop podcast - a presentation of some of the stories shared at The Tyler Loop's "Out of The Loop" events over the past few years. Executive Director Jane Neal sits down with previous storytellers to talk through the experience and learn more. Join us!http://thetylerloop.comSupport the show

At the June 17th second annual vigil for lynching victims, presented by We Remember Tyler, songwriter Paul Haygood, along with Karesa Cooper and Demetrick Tezino perform "Who Deserves to Be Here?" The song names some of the Black victims lynched by mobs in the Tyler area from 1857-1928.Support the show

In the last episode of the focus on the social work program at the University of Texas at Tyler, The Tyler Loop interviews social work student Rylie Bay.Support the show

In this episode, Cheyenne Lortz of the University of Texas at Tyler's first School of Social Work class talks to The Tyler Loop about the city's important social programs making a difference for people experiencing homelessness.Support the show

In this episode, The Tyler Loop's Jane Neal talks to the Social Work Club president-elect Alex White about what they have learned about East Texas' social needs and their dreams for its future.Support the show

The Tyler Loop director Jane Neal sits down with Jim Nipp, President at The Genesis Group, who talks about the importance of being a servant to the community. In this interview, Jim focuses on the work of the Children's Advocacy Center of Smith County.Support the show

In this special podcast edition of Tyler must-know powerhouse nonprofits, The Tyler Loop executive director Jane Neal sits down with Jackie Clay of East Texas Human Needs Network.Support the show