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.
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 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
Furqan Hameed
Storyteller and community builder with a playful spirit, a curious mind, and a passion for creating moments of connection through stories and shared experiences. Furqan finds beauty in both how things work and how they bring us together. Born and raised in Pakistan and shaped by years of travel across the world, he brings a globally informed perspective to every conversation and story he shares.
Say hello: Instagram @furqanhameed1
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.
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.
Veronica Louis
Veronica grew up in Montreal, landed in Berlin in 2015, and has spent most of the time in between figuring out how play can make us better at being human. As the creator of UnMaking Boxes, her mission is to unmake limiting beliefs and deepen connection through play, kindness, and creativity. A workshop leader, speaker, storyteller, and actor with over 20 years of experience designing interactive learning experiences that are as energizing as they are fun, she helps individuals and teams loosen up, connect more deeply, and discover that growth doesn't have to feel like hard work.
Find her at www.veronicalouis.com & www.unmakingboxes.com
Vishal Jodhani
Vishal was born in Mumbai and spent half his life in its glorious chaos. The other half, looking for a place that felt like home. He eventually found it in Berlin.
He started in advertising, where he learnt to appreciate the power of a good story. Today he works with individuals and organizations in the messy middle of change, designing experiences (retreats, leadership offsites, gatherings), where story does the heavy lifting.
He loves both sides of the stage: telling true stories, and hosting the room so others can tell theirs.
Story, he believes, is the shortest distance between two people.
Say hello: LinkedIn