Jeff Polish, Executive Director

Jeff had a friend in college who took him to see a one-man show on campus. It was called Gray's Anatomy written and performed by Spalding Gray. Little did Jeff know when the lights dimmed in the auditorium, that nothing would ever be the same for him. Gray was eccentric and wild; he was precious and hilarious; he was flawed and human. Above all, he was willing to truly be seen by a room full of strangers. When the lights in the theatre came up, Jeff turned to his friend and said, "I'm leaving college. I want to do this." But fear and doubt kicked in, and Jeff did not leave college and Jeff did not do this. Sixteen years later, after earning a Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology and teaching for a handful of years, Jeff started The Monti. His goal was to bring people to a space where they can tell stories about life as it is: the wild, the funny, the precious, and the flawed. And if people were willing to do that, he was certain that people would be willing to listen. And they do. Jeff sometimes wonders what his life would be like if he had left college all those years ago to follow in Spalding Gray's footsteps. But that is not his story; it's somebody else's. This is his.

Rylee Ennis, Producer

Rylee was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. After graduating from the University of Florida in 2015 she moved to North Carolina (or as she likes to call it, Best Carolina) and found her home and chosen family in the Triangle. Since joining the Monti team in mid-2022 she has fallen in love with the community of irreverent, sincere, poignant, and hilarious storytellers and supporters. When not producing for the Monti, Rylee can be found watching old seasons of The Amazing Race or petting whichever cat is nearest to her.

Alexis Dumain, Producer

Alexis was the kind of child whose idea of play was typing out stories on the family computer and enacting star-crossed love affairs between her Barbies and Mr. Potato Heads. (Yes, plural.) After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in Psychology and Creative Nonfiction Writing, this long-seated love of storytelling now looks like working with The Monti, crafting essays about whatever she can’t stop thinking about, and stand-up comedy. Alexis believes that the social component of telling and receiving stories is what makes us distinctly human and is passionate about supporting others in better understanding themselves and their worlds through the narratives they craft. When she’s not producing for The Monti, you can find her wherever the music is irresistibly danceable.

Michel Holbrook, Sound Recordist and Mixer

Michel is an audio mixer at Trailblazer Studios in Raleigh. She is originally from Buffalo, New York and moved to North Carolina in 2002 to attend graduate school at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Michel has been with The Monti since 2011, and she is often found in the sound booth trying to hide the fact that the stories make her cry. Michel lives in Raleigh with her husband and their two pups.

David Hill, Sound Recordist and Mixer

David mixes audio for television at Trailblazer Studios. He grew up in England, moving to North Carolina in 2000 at the age of 10. David can regularly be spotted at Oak City Pizza Box or local music stores.