Changemaker Narratives

Reported profiles and place stories—modern and historical.

Dahna M. Chandler | Award-Winning Journalist & Chief Storyteller

I've long believed in the transformative power of storytelling. I write profiles and place-based accounts that reveal how people and settings shape what endures, spotlighting voices and histories too often missed. 

I focus on people who are changemakers and narrative shifters whose journeys are reshaping their professions and communities. My profiles deeply examine the defining decisions that redirected their careers or businesses, and how those choices drive social change, uplift others, strengthen communities, or preserve vital legacies.  

Often, their work is inseparable from place—narrative-changing historic sites that overturn long-held ideas about the people and communities they represent. 

Because I share lived experiences with many of my subjects, I prioritize modern and historical voices and places mainstream media often overlooks. Because I share lived experiences with many of my subjects, I prioritize modern and historical voices and places mainstream media often overlooks. I specialize in profiles of Black historical figures and places from Reconstruction (1865-1877) to the present whose stories face erasure.

Using my significant journalism experience and sharp storytelling insight, I write rigorously sourced profiles that resonate with readers. I conduct in-depth interviews and archival research to capture both the professional achievements of my subjects and the historical significance of the places I cover, and I show how personal trials and triumphs shaped those trajectories and sites. These are narratives that move people—stories of ingenuity, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of change. 

For historical work, I verify details through primary sources and interviews with scholars, historical society researchers, and contemporaries of the figures I profile.

If you are an editor of a reputable publication who has a changemaker narrative that you want to collaborate with me to tell your audience, please contact me* to share your idea.

*Assigning editors of mainstream media outlets or recognized specialty publications only, please

See other notes about Changemaker Narratives services here.