I’ve spent 20 years in one sector (yours!) by choice.
Why? Because this is where the gold really is.
I came from a career in the arts, writing mostly — novels, comedy, screenwriting, theatre. I worked with some of the world’s best editors, directors and filmmakers, and when I moved into the nonprofit world in 2005, I brought all that I’d learned with me. And I never looked back.
What amazed me then — and still does — is how much organisations and the people around them already know and are ready to use… if only they get the chance. Founders, clients, partners, staff. Every one of them has experiences and ideas, big and small, that most organisations never get around to drawing on.
Often, in the hurly burly and ‘doing’ cultures, this amazing resource remains untapped and is soon forgotten. My job is to help organisations find it, make sense of it, and put it to work in creative, lasting ways.
I’ve never worked inside an organisation. I’ve always come in from the outside — as a writer, an independent thinker, a creative troubleshooter. I’m a classic canary in the mine — and I think that’s what clients most appreciate. The outside perspective, combined with deep sector knowledge built over two decades, comes with me.
Twenty years and over one hundred projects. Organisations across Australia and New Zealand — from Uniting and Cancer Council NSW to Victorian Women’s Trust, Australian Network on Disability, YWCA NZ, and many more.
I started Only Human Stories because I believe every person holds insights, experiences and feelings that can expand what’s possible in working for good — and bring joy and creativity along the way.
I want you to believe it and reap the rewards of it, too.
Moya Sayer-Jones
Founder
I was amazed when I realised that telling and writing my own stories could be an actual job. For almost 20 years, I was a funny novelist, speaker and columnist but then in 2005, things changed. I would probably say I had an epiphany (if I was only sure how to spell it). Hello Only Human Stories!
Dream team dinner guests:
Stanley Tucci, Brene Brown, Nancy Myers and everyone on Tennyson’s list (including Tennyson)
Ready to talk?
If you have a milestone moment approaching — or you’re simply curious about what’s possible — a discovery call with Moya is the best place to start.
The Team
The people who make it happen.
Clive Jones
Designer
Clive has been the design mind behind Only Human Stories from the very beginning. Since then, he and Moya have developed the kind of creative shortcut that only comes from decades of generous collaboration.
Clive specialises in designing for narrative — turning the intelligence uncovered in anniversary and origin story work into visual identities, publications and brand directions that carry that intelligence forward.
When an organisation discovers something true about itself through the FPA process, Clive ensures that it looks and feels like them, so it’s recognisable everywhere. Both inside the organisation and out.
He has a rare gift for translating complexity into clarity. And for creating design directions that organisations can take forward with confidence long after the project is done.
Dream team dinner guests*:
Luke Sciberras; Kitty Flanagan; Maria Popova; David Thompson (in Anthony Bourdain’s seat); David Gilmour; Polly Samson, Aisling Bea, Robert Plant.
*I would have Moya on standby in case someone wasn’t on their game.
Lisabel Link
Content Creator
Lisabel brings joy to work that is often serious and complex. Her work at Only Human Stories spans content creation, social media strategy, and supporting client organisations as they bring their First Person Advantage to life online. She has a particular gift for helping nonprofits lift how they see themselves — translating the intelligence gathered through origin story and anniversary work into an online presence that engages, surprises and connects.
Lisabel’s own commitments run deep: environment, arts and health, First Nations,f orced migration, and DEI. She understands this sector from the inside — and brings that understanding to everything she makes.
Generous, funny, and deeply committed, Lisabel goes the extra mile as a matter of course.
Dream team dinner guests:
Louis Theroux, Helen Garner, Elizabeth Day, Hasan Piker, Bill Murray, Moya, Tenny and Clive.
Tennyson Nobel
Illustrator
Tennyson understood the power of the pencil from a very early age — and now loves the power of an iPad too. His black and white line drawings bring fun and clarity to the Only Human Stories brand, and you’ll find his loveable humans across many of our projects.
In an era of AI-generated illustration, his hand-drawn work genuinely stands apart. His gift is interpretation — taking a feeling or a concept and bringing it to life in a way that is unmistakably human. Nonprofits especially respond to the optimism and freedom in his drawings, and his ability to capture movement and emotion in just a few strokes.
He can distill a brand story in a couple of magic lines. (And looks fabulous in a hat.)
Dream team dinner guests:
David Hockney; Stephen Fry; Paul McCartney; Quentin Tarantino; Stevie Nicks; Frances McDormand
Ready to talk?
If you have a milestone moment approaching — or you’re simply curious about what’s possible — a discovery call with Moya is the best place to start.