Michael Pagano

Narrative + Communications Partner | Invest STL

Pronouns: he/him

As an artist, designer, and facilitator, Michael Pagano sees community development and cultural production as essential transformative tools for reimagining and remaking our communities and our world. Playing the role of Narrative + Communications Partner with Invest STL, Michael enjoys crafting and shaping storytelling by working closely with team members, partners, and residents to listen for, weave together, and raise up our voices and celebrate our collective work. Before joining Invest STL, Michael played a pivotal role in leading the Nine PBS program Nine Lab. His work has taken place in non-profit, arts, education, wellness, and community engagement spaces.

Presentations from Facing Race 2024

Narrative Reframing + Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place

Frame-breaking narratives shape-shift our collective landscape, offering clues about the value of our past in service of tomorrow. "Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place" is more than a wealth-building strategy and potential policy innovation. Rooted is an invitation to think and act differently, to step boldly into a new story designed to signal a new way forward, toward a St. Louis where every neighborhood is a chosen place to live, raise children, and grow old.

Join us for a film screening and panel discussion; hear from participants, activation partners, and journalists actively shaping stories of possibility and transformation. Get familiar with "Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place" by stepping into Invest STL’s innovative approach to narrative reframing and storytelling.

Meet neighborhood residents participating in Rooted through the content and meet the content creators through the panel and Q&A. Invest STL is not only embarking on a three-year journey with participants in the initiative but also developing and producing a storytelling partnership with Missouri School of Journalism professors Ron Stodghill and Alicia Haywood to span the breadth of the initiative.

They will be joined by Invest STL's Narrative + Communications Partner, Michael Pagano, to discuss these emerging stories, what we are hearing, how we are listening, and where we might be heading.

Speakers: Michael Pagano, Ron Stodghill, Alicia Haywood