IT STARTED WITH A FILM PROGRAM IN THE BRONX.
Story Ave Studios began at Soundview Academy, a middle school in the Bronx, where filmmaker Ryan Moore ran a hands-on filmmaking program while Will Frackelton served as the school’s principal.
The students learned how to write, shoot, direct and edit. But something else happened along the way.
Some became interested in photography. Others gravitated toward writing, design, editing, technology, performance or the business behind the work. Filmmaking had given them more than a new skill—it had given them a way to discover what they were interested in.
Ryan and Will began asking a larger question:
What if that kind of discovery wasn’t the end of a program, but the beginning of a pathway?
EVERYONE HAS A STORY TO TELL.
Storytelling sits at the center of everything we do.
A film tells a story. So does a photograph. A brand. A piece of software. A business. A design. Even the way someone chooses to solve a problem.
We believe young people should have the opportunity to discover the tools that allow them to tell their stories—and, in the process, discover something about themselves.
That’s why Story Ave doesn’t begin by asking students what career they want.
We give them opportunities to make things, try things and find out.
FROM DISCOVERY TO OPPORTUNITY.
That first film program revealed a problem that became the foundation of Story Ave:
Exposure can spark an interest. But interest needs somewhere to go.
A student who discovers photography needs access to a camera. A young filmmaker needs collaborators. A designer needs real projects. An aspiring entrepreneur needs mentors. And eventually, all of them need connections to the industries where those skills can become careers.
Story Ave was created to help build that bridge.
Through our school programs, young people encounter creative and technical fields early.
Through our Studios, emerging talent can continue developing those interests through collaboration, mentorship, professional tools and real-world projects.
And through our partners, we connect that talent to the larger ecosystem of schools, universities, technology companies, creative industries and employers.
Discovery is the beginning. Opportunity is the goal.
WHY “STORY AVE”?
Story Avenue is a real street in the Bronx—and part of the community where this work began.
But the name came to represent something larger.
Every student enters the room with experiences, ideas and perspectives that belong to them. Technology gives them new ways to express those ideas, but the technology isn't the point.
The human story is.
Story Ave exists to put powerful creative tools into young people's hands—and help them discover where their own story might take them.
Who We Are
BUILT FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE DOOR.
WILL FRACKELTON
Co-Founder | Education
For sixteen years, Will served as the founding principal of Soundview Academy in the South Bronx, giving him firsthand experience building programs around the realities, ambitions and needs of young people and the schools that serve them.
RYAN MOORE
Co-Founder | Creative Industry
Ryan is a filmmaker, writer and creative professional with more than a decade of experience across film, television, advertising and education. His work with young people helped inspire Story Ave's approach: using professional creative practice as a vehicle for exploration, collaboration and career discovery.