Abbie VanMeter is the Executive Director of Collaborative Innovations at the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution. She graduated with a degree in Interpersonal Communication from Ball State University in 2022 and has worked closely with CMMi ever since. She first learned of Coordinated Management of Meaning in Em Griffin’s “A First Look at Communication Theory” (this chapter) in sophomore year Communication Theory class; it resonated with Abbie enough for her to select CMM to use years later for her Senior Honors Thesis- a self-led creative project in the form of a short podcast mini-series.

What started as a short-term school project is now a fully formed, multi-season podcast. “Stories Lived. Stories Told.” now boasts over 130 episodes and counting (new episodes are released every other week and can be found here), and has fostered a truly global audience, with listeners in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. In each episode, Abbie is joined by a different conversation partner to explore their particular stories, experiences, and expertise using a communication perspective. It is Abbie’s intention to model a practical application of CMM through these conversations and to engage in collective learning with her conversation partners as they co-create something new together.

In addition to the SLST podcast, Abbie’s other greatest auditory contribution to the CMM Institute is the CosmoParenting podcast, which is the latest addition to CosmoActivities. Putting her existing podcasting skills to work, Abbie is facilitating the CosmoParenting Podcast, consisting of 52 short episodes that are being released weekly throughout 2025. You can find them here.

In her role as ED, Abbie is working to create connections, relationships, and partnerships that give way to meaningful collaborations.

Abbie VanMeter is the Executive Director of Collaborative Innovations at the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution. She graduated with a degree in Interpersonal Communication from Ball State University in 2022 and has worked closely with CMMi ever since. She first learned of Coordinated Management of Meaning in Em Griffin’s “A First Look at Communication Theory” (this chapter) in sophomore year Communication Theory class; it resonated with Abbie enough for her to select CMM to use years later for her Senior Honors Thesis- a self-led creative project in the form of a short podcast mini-series.

What started as a short-term school project is now in its fourth season of being a fully formed podcast. “Stories Lived. Stories Told.” now boasts over 130 episodes and counting (new episodes are released every other week and can be found here), and has fostered a truly global audience, with listeners in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. In each episode, Abbie is joined by a different conversation partner to explore their particular stories, experiences, and expertise using a communication perspective. It is Abbie’s intention to model a practical application of CMM through these conversations and to engage in collective learning with her conversation partners as they co-create something new together.

In addition to the SLST podcast, Abbie’s other greatest auditory contribution to the CMM Institute is the CosmoParenting podcast, which is the latest addition to CosmoActivities. Putting her existing podcasting skills to work, Abbie is facilitating the CosmoParenting Podcast, consisting of 52 short episodes that are being released weekly throughout 2025. You can find them here.

In her role as ED, Abbie is working to create connections, relationships, and partnerships that give way to meaningful collaborations.