The Team
“With THE bEAR, we’ve created an intimate, friendly atmosphere for aha moments, loud laughter, deep emotions, and heart-to-heart communication. We arrive as strangers, and leave somehow changed. - Dyane Neiman
Dyane Neiman
Founder & Host
Dyane is from Philadelphia-born, NYC-bred, and now a Berliner in Germany for over 30 years, has become the most German-like American you’ll ever meet. The former theater director and choreographer once told stories with moving bodies, now she creates with moving words.
By day, Dyane is story & pulbic speaking coach with her business Moving Speaker and co-founder of Female Speaking Berlin. And every third Friday evening, – she hosts, charms, persuades and twists arms so that Berliners will take the stage and share their stories.
“Stories make us feel connected and understood in unexpected ways. They make us take time to really listen and be open for empathy – values that we’re often missing as a society right now.” - Hanna Martus
Hanna Martus
Design & Strategy
Hanna is a visual storyteller. As a designer, she consults with healthcare organizations, in improving the patient experience. A kind of perspective storytelling, where the main character changes in a whole system: the patient becomes the center in the healthcare system.
She also brings the ability for interdisciplinary problem solving to THE bEAR.
Hanna has created THE bEAR’s branding, and guided our event formats, optimizing processes and resources, imagining our vision in a big way and making it tangible. After leaving us on good footing, she has a new role as a mother. We miss her presence and are so grateful for all of her contributions.
Michael Rost
Story Coach & Videographer aka “Chief Wizard”
Michael moved from Bremen to Berlin in 1980 and fell in love with the city and its stories. He has turned his passion into a profession, and when he is not on stage, backstage or filmming at THE bEAR, he brings Berlin history and stories to people as a professional city guide and owner of "Berlin-Erkundungen" .
As THE bEAR’s story wizard, he helps storytellers get to the heart & message of their stories. His recordings are the source for THE bEAR’s YouTube Channel and our podcast True Stories Berlin.
You can see Michael’s many Berlin stories on his YouTube Channel Berlin Erleben.
THE bEAR is made possible by a DREAM TEAM of story believers, who generously contribute their talents & time on stage and backstage. Here is one glimpse of this ever-revolving group of beautiful people: (from the left) Ben McGuire, Izzy Ahrbeck, Renko Pauwels, Michael Rost, Dyane Neiman, Nadine Kaufmann, Janosch, Wendy Husser, Milan Platel, Luc Prestin (behind), Deepanker Dua, Josie Germer, and so many more not pictured here!
Pictured here: Wendy Husser, Deepanker Dua, Dyane Neiman: producers of True Stories Berlin podcast; Emmi Mascher.
True Stories Berlin Podcast
Wendy Husser, Deepanker Dua, and Dyane Neiman are producers & hosts of the bi-monthly podcast featuring stories from THE bEAR live shows.
Deepanker Dua aka Deep
An award-winning storyteller and founding member of THE bEAR’s podcast team True Stories Berlin. Deep regularly hosts the TSB podcast as well as THE bEAR’s live events. Backstage he lends his entrepreneur spirit to helping THE bEAR’s mission to share and spread stories thrive. His company Sales Chakras is a proud supporter of THE bEAR.
Say ‘hello’: deepr@hey.com
Wendy Husser
is a native of Denver, Colorado who came to Germany in 1987 and landed in Berlin in 2008. She is a trainer for Business English, a coach for Public Speaking/Presentations and has been a moderator at events like TEDx Potsdam and the 1st International Urban Mobility Dialogue (Berlin 2017). Creating and holding space for the words and stories of others is at the heart of Wendy's work - a job and a CALLING done with devotion.
She is co-founded and regularly moderates True Stories Berlin podcast as well hosts the “live” storytelling shows at THE bEAR.
Say ‘hello’: weewall@gmail.com
Reading the audience slips on stage at THE bEAR Ash Kurre.
Ash Kurre
is a long time supporter of THE bEAR. Her radiant smile greets audience at the door every month and on stage, she reads the anonymous stories from our audience.
Nadine Kaufmann
arrived at THE bEAR in 2022 as an inquisitive listener, drawn in by the art of storytelling. What began as curiosity quickly blossomed into a passion.
After honing her own storytelling skills at a THE bEAR 's workshop, she debuted on stage in 2024, sharing her own personal tale. She became a volunteer, dedicating some of her time to lending a hand in making this beloved event happen.
Say ‘hello’ at: nkaufmann@posteo.de
James Harper
is the creator of award-nominated podcast Filter Stories, a show that uses our morning coffee as a lens to understand the world.
When he is not traveling around the world, James generously accompanies storytellers at THE bEAR adding another delicious layer to our evening.
Listen to his Filter Stories here.
Photo: Dom Edgley Audio sound engineering and music compositions for True Story Berlin podcast.
Dom Edgley
Creative partner and sound engineer as well as sometimes music composer for THE bEAR’s podcast True Stories Berlin. He is also founder & director of the Sound Foundry Berlin.
Say hello at: dom@soundfoundryberlin.com
Renko Pauwels
Meet Renko, the Berlin-based Belgian who transforms his everyday hiccups into captivating tales. Mastering the art of public speaking, he’s snagged victories in countless competitions, coached and given TEDx talks, and hosts shows filled with jugglers and drag queens.
Most importantly, he’s a longtime friend of The Bear! Get to know him better at www.social-speakers.com or join us to see him in action!
Izzy Ahrbeck
Tokyo-born to German and Canadian parents, Izzy's life has been fueled by curiosity and wanderlust. Having called 8 countries home, she currently resides in Berlin...for now. A lifelong storyteller, Izzy began creating "newscast" videos as a child, later becoming a freelance journalist and then immersing on film sets herself in Toronto's arts scene.
After working in film and music, she felt a lost sense of purpose, prompting a career switch and move to Barcelona for a master's in Sustainable Business & Innovation. Now, she is the Head of Community at Impact Hub Berlin and in her spare time, Izzy also hosts storytelling workshops for social impact. She joined the Berlin storytelling community in late 2020 and has won 5 "favourite story of the night" titles. But her favourite part about coming to THE bEAR is reconnecting with the very vibrant and diverse community of storytellers.