Why We Exist
Narrative Power Institute was founded on a simple belief: the people closest to the challenges are often closest to the solutions.
Too often, communities are invited to share their stories but not equipped to use those stories to influence the decisions that shape their lives. While storytelling can raise awareness, it also has the power to shape public narratives, influence policy, and create lasting systems change.
NPI exists to help people realize that power.
We believe lived experience is more than personal testimony—it is expertise. By helping individuals and organizations connect personal experiences to broader social issues and communicate them strategically, we transform stories into tools for leadership, advocacy, and systems change.
Because the voices of those most impacted deserve more than a seat at the table—they deserve the power to help shape the decisions that affect their communities.
Michelle Anderson
Founder & Principal Consultant
I do not want storytelling to become therapy, inspiration, or a temporary feel-good moment. I want stories to create long-term change.
For nearly two decades, Michelle Anderson has worked at the intersection of HIV justice, reproductive justice, health equity, and systems advocacy. As both an advocate and a woman living with HIV, she has experienced firsthand how lived experience can influence public conversations—and how often its potential goes unrealized.
Throughout her career, Michelle partnered with community leaders, nonprofits, and policymakers to advance change rooted in lived experience. She recognized that communities already possessed powerful stories. What was missing was a framework that helped people transform those stories into narrative power capable of influencing leadership, policy, and systems change.
That insight became the foundation of the Narrative Power Institute and its signature Narrative Power Framework™.
Today, Michelle helps advocates, nonprofits, public health organizations, and community leaders recognize lived experience as expertise and use it to strengthen leadership, shape public narratives, and create lasting change.