Our Speakers
Discover their incredible stories
With special thanks to our official portrait photographer, Sarah Jane Photography.
Each year at That's What She Said Columbia, we feature a diverse lineup of women from our community with stories that are as unique as they are. Stories that will inspire you, empower you, move you, & maybe even make you laugh!
If you are interested in sharing your story from the stage at a future show, we invite you to submit an interest form letting us know a little bit more about yourself and your story.
Meet our 2026 That's What She Said Columbia Speakers
Euphénie Andre
Euphénie Andre was born and raised in Dover Plains, New York. She moved to Columbia in 2019 to begin her undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri, where she became a multiple-time All-American, SEC Champion, and represented Team USA several times. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 2023 and went on to pursue a master’s in sports psychology, completing it in 2025. Euphénie currently works as a reporter for ABC 17 and continues to compete professionally in track and field.
H. Elaine Cheong DDS
Born in South Korea, Dr. Elaine Cheong graduated from Seoul National University with her dental degree before life took an unexpected and transformative turn. In July 1990, she arrived in Columbia, Missouri from Seoul with her newly married husband, embracing a new country and a completely new path. While settling into her new home, Elaine devoted herself to raising her daughter and supporting her family during their early years in the United States. Determined to continue her professional journey, Elaine completed a dental degree at Loma Linda University in California in 1999. She returned to Columbia soon after, where her husband and daughter were living, and began practicing general dentistry in Jefferson City. In 2005, Elaine opened her own practice, H. Elaine Cheong DDS, LLC. The office expanded in 2010 when the practice moved to its current location, and she recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary. Over the course of her career, Dr. Cheong has cared for patients across mid-Missouri, building a new legacy for compassion, and dedication to her community.
Alejandra Gudiño
In my 30 years in Columbia, I have worn many hats, always working at the intersection of research and community, where stories of immigration and migration become sources of inspiration, action, and collective possibility. By learning from and elevating voices too often unheard, and by building equitable partnerships rooted in shared histories, we deepen our understanding and co-create solutions and spaces that honor the past while shaping a future where every story is valued, and where the memories of our ancestors, our countries, our languages, our food, our dances, our music, and our cultures continue to guide and uplift us.
Barbra A.B. Horrell
I'm a home girl originally from Columbia, Missouri. I'm a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School and The University of Missouri. I was the first black student from Columbia with a full Curator Scholarship to attend MU in 1959. I spent 45 years as an employee of MU as a Director of Recruitment and Retention, in the School of Medicine, Agriculture, and Veterinary Medicine. I am an advocate for African-American history and preservation, serving on the boards of the Blind Boone Foundation, the Sharp End Heritage Committee, and COMO 200. I spend much of my free time in retirement speaking to and educating community members of all ages on our history, and the importance of diversity and inclusion.
Holley Pering
Holley Pering is a music therapist, mental health counselor, musician, and creative based in Columbia, Missouri. She grew up in the Springfield, Missouri area where she sang in a girls’ choir from a young age and discovered her passion for music. Her background includes art education, music therapy, AmeriCorps service, and graduate studies in mental health counseling. Holley integrates music therapy and expressive arts into her counseling at Chris Lawrence and Associates and her teaching at Encircle Technologies. She values community in the arts - with collaborative projects like The Upsides, volunteering, and music circles in Columbia and beyond - and she loves getting outdoors to recharge and find inspiration.
Robin Schweitzer
Robin Schweitzer is a Columbia-based musician, educator, and digital media strategist whose work bridges performance, arts administration, and community storytelling. She teaches voice at Central Methodist University and co-founded Vidwest Studios, a community media center dedicated to creative empowerment and media accessibility. Robin also runs a boutique social media agency serving nonprofits, artists, and businesses worldwide. A solo performer along with The Upsides, The Quorus, and Cabaret for a Cause, she is deeply committed to inclusivity, creativity, and community connection.
Audra Sergel
Audra Sergel is a musician, educator, and creative whose work reflects a lifelong love of music and community building. A versatile singer, pianist, and composer, she has appeared at regional and national festivals and released several recordings with various ensembles—including the EP "Sanctuary," praised by the Columbia Daily Tribune as “a salve, working to renew its singer and its audience in meaningful ways.” Her compositions span choral works, musical theater scores, and multimedia projects. For more than 25 years, Audra has nurtured students of all ages through her private teaching practice, Sergel Music Studio, and serves on the faculty at the Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Stephens College. She is the founder and artistic director of The Quorus: Columbia’s LGBTQA+ Community Choir, co-founder of Cabaret for a Cause, and music director at Broadway Christian Church. Audra also hosts the vocal pedagogy podcast "The Singer’s Barre" and leads sound bathing and healing events through her program "Sound Alchemy." She resides in Columbia, Missouri, with her partner, Alicia, and their two dogs, Anna and Dakota. www.moremusicmorelove.com
T'Keyah Thomas
T’Keyah Thomas is a radio host, producer, jewelry designer and spoken word poet based in Columbia, MO. She is a lover of all things art, Black History and Afrofuturism. Over the past decade, TK has been a witness to and has assisted in the creation and operations of several local arts programs and cultural events in Columbia, including the OneMic Poetry Collective, Unbound Book Festival, Louder than a Bomb (Mid-MO chapter) and Soul Sessions COMO. As a host and audio producer for KBIA, you’re likely to catch TK on-air during the day with a Dilla beat behind her, or moderating a panel on art and local history.
Mary Wilkerson
Mary Wilkerson is the senior vice president of marketing at Central Bank of Boone County. A Chicago area native, she learned about pimento cheese by becoming a Columbia resident in 1988 when she joined Stephens College at its director of public relations. A relentless local volunteer for just about every non-profit there is, Mary loves investing in her community, which is good because her job at the bank pretty much requires it to support their community bank culture. A divorced mom of one fully grown, unable to get out of her house, son, she is looking forward to the next new adventure in her life.
Past Shows
2023 (Inaugural) That's What She Said Columbia
Featuring Barbara Buffaloe, Dr. Tashel Bordere, Natasha Harris, Jina Yoo, Dr. Meredith Shaw,Valerie Ninichuck, Dr. Nicole Monnier, Mary Ratliff, Mary Anne McCollum, & Taylor Freeman
2024 That's What She Said Columbia
Featuring Vicky Riback Wilson, Ranjana Hans, Elizabeth Herrera, Augusta Cooper, Jean Plumley, Rebecca Miller, Ellery Miller, Erica Dickson, & Adonica Coleman
2025 That's What She Said Columbia
Featuring Valerie Shaw, Ana Garcia, Dr. Linda Helmick, Greta Gunderson, Ava Gunderson, Erica Pefferman, Shaunda Hamilton, Rochara Knight, & Ayako Tsuruta
Get Tickets
Are you excited to hear the powerful stories of our next cast? Join us on Saturday, April 11th, 2026 at 7:00 PM at Missouri Theatre for an experience you won't want to miss!
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The contents, experiences, and opinions shared by the speakers in the show are their own and do not reflect the views of The She Said Project or She Said Columbia, LLC.
The She Said Project upholds that every woman has a right to be heard.