Our Mission
Daring Onward offers an array of resources, each seeking to create a positive shift in corporate and educational spaces through professional development, entertainment, and event consulting. From schools, to startups, to multi-million dollar corporations, Daring Onward experiences are cultivated to move away from the idea of cogs and cold machinery, to a heartfelt reality of the individual and team.
Daring Onward’s mission is empowering ideas, embracing bravery, and celebrating authenticity.
Our Founder
Whittney Millsap Nowacki, an instructor and improviser based in Atlanta, has been working in the corporate training space for more than a decade. After years of witnessing positive outcomes from workshops and implemented tools, Whittney wanted to make a bigger impact in the industry and in 2023 founded Daring Onward.
In the corporate arena, Whittney has been an in-demand instructor, emcee, and host for award ceremonies and fundraising galas, as well as creating and performing comedy entertainment for corporate events. She is a certified practitioner of Everything DiSC®, a psychometric personal assessment tool helping individuals recognize and communicate their behavioral differences. In 2015, Whittney began combining DiSC® along with her improv skills to create realistic role-play scenarios for participants, offering a deeper and practical understanding of the tools. Whittney has worked with companies such as Porsche, Coca-Cola, Shaw Contract, Emory, and Goodr, as well as schools like Marist and Westminster.
A strong connection for facilitating in the corporate space was discovered through Whittney’s professional background of performance. She has been performing for live audiences for well over 20 years and became a performing Ensemble company member of Dad’s Garage Theatre Company in 2010. Whittney’s career in the arts also includes teaching and performing at improv festivals across the United States and Canada. Whittney also performs with her improv duos TackyScraps and The Other Woman, as well as developing and instructing improv based content for other improv teams, the general public, and senior citizens.
Whittney is a firm believer in the principles she teaches. Her values are rooted in strong servant-leadership, driven by curiosity, and executed with the goal of understanding. She’s excited to embark on a joyful and energetic experience with your team!
Our Team
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Karen Cassady is a freelance artist based in Atlanta, GA, with over 14 years of experience performing and teaching improv. She is an ensemble member at Dad’s Garage Theater, where she regularly performs in a variety of shows. Since 2019, Karen has been leading corporate workshops, using her improv skills to foster creativity, collaboration, and communication in the workplace.
In addition to her workshop leadership, Karen has been a professional role-play actor for the Porsche Brand Ambassador Training Program since 2018, utilizing the DISC Assessment tool to help individuals enhance their communication and interpersonal skills.
Her acting career includes performances at esteemed venues such as the Alliance Theatre, Synchronicity Theatre, Agatha’s Mystery Dinner Theater, and numerous productions at Dad’s Garage. She also starred in Cat the Cat with the Alliance Theatre’s Theater for the Very Young.As the Creative Director for Stone Mountain Park, she directed and produced shows for their entertainment department.
In recent years, Karen has become a professional content creator, amassing over 3.7 million followers across social media platforms by crafting comedic, engaging content. She has partnered and created content for brands such as Seinfeld, Lifetime Network, Hulu, and more.
Karen’s Instagram
Instructor | Event Host | Improviser
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Amanda Lee Williams is the Program Director of Improving Through Improv. She has been improvising and acting professionally since 2003.
Amanda began her career as Director of Education at Youth Theatre Northwest, was a company member at Jet City Improv, and a regular actor and director around town with companies such as Seattle Children's Theatre, Book It Repertory Theatre and Annex Theatre. Amanda moved to Atlanta and joined the company of Dad's Garage Theatre in 2016. There, she is both an ensemble member and the Director of Youth Programming.
Amanda is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia. Creating Improving Through Improv and combining improvisation and mental health is truly a dream come true.
Instructor | Improviser | Children’s Programming & Workshops
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Matt Horgan has been improvising, performing and creating comedy for 30 years now and has made his artistic home at Dad’s Garage Theatre in Atlanta, GA since 1998. While at Dad’s, he has created such various oddities as Benjamin Franklin:American Gigolo, Ask Dr. Frapples, Z.O.N.K.E.R.S., Improvised Vacation and his Agatha Christie inspired whodunnit, Murder, She Improvised! is performed all over the globe, including Oslo, Prague and Mumbai.
Additionally, for the last 15 years Matt has created and led thousands of team building and training events that transform the way teams connect and collaborate, from small workshops for 4 person nonprofits to nationwide leadership training programs for multinational corporations.
Instructor | Improviser | Event Host | Script Writer
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Kevin is a Canadian improviser, comedian, writer and producer based in Atlanta. He started out as a performer with Rapid Fire Theatre in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. He honed his comedy skills as a touring performer and workshop instructor for years before eventually taking the reins as Artistic Director and learning the producing side of live comedy.
In 2010 he moved down to ATL to serve as the Artistic Director of Dad's Garage, a position he'd hold for exactly one decade. During that time he helped lead the company into its new home, a church-turned-theatre in the historic Old Fourth Ward. His tenure also saw the company grow from an annual budget of around $750k to almost $2M.
Since stepping down as AD, Kevin has written and produced his first feature film "How To Ruin The Holidays" and he has also released his first comedy special "7 Minutes in Kevin" both of which are available on various streaming platforms.
Instructor | Improviser | Event Host | Script Writer | Producer
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Joshua Quinn is an Atlanta based Actor, Improviser and Voice Over Artist. With over 8 years in the industry, he has extensive experience, both as a performer (stage, screen, booth) and an instructor (corporate workshops, teaching classes, keynote speaking). Whether it’s making your group laugh after a long week, or showing your team how to be better communicators and collaborators, he’s got you covered. To see more of his past work, you can visit his website: JoshuaQuinnVO.com.
Instructor | Improviser | Event Host
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Professionally, Megan has worn a number of hats, from field scientist to laboratory manager, copywriter to playwright, theatre company manager to actor.
Megan has spent almost twenty years working in the corporate arena with Dad's Garage, Daring Onward, Laughing Matters and others, educating clients about topics like team building, public speaking, collaboration, and change management. She is well experienced in role playing with a variety of professionals; past favorites include defense attorneys, medical students and luxury auto dealers.
Though her formal education includes a bachelor's degree in Geology from Georgia State University and a master's in public health from Yale University, Megan's passion is for the arts. She currently works as Dad's Garage Theatre's Company Manager. She writes frequently, performs regularly, and directs seldomly.
Instructor | Improviser | Event Host | Script Writer
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Atlanta-based musician composer ‘deebe’ (David Biemiller) has been crafting music ever since childhood when he taught himself guitar and piano. Later, college study of classical forms led to scoring for orchestra, directing choirs and fronting the prog rock band ‘Terra Free’ performing shows in Atlanta and touring the Southeast.
He has also written award-winning music for television (Discovery channel), composed scores for independent films and written musicals for Atlanta Children’s Museum. Deebe was the original musician for the legendary Atlanta improv comedy troupe ‘Laughing Matters’ and is currently a featured musical improviser at Dad’s Garage Theatre.
Musical Improviser | Live Band Coordinator | Event Musician
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Lara Smith spent 11 years running two different arts organizations, Actor’s Express, and Dad’s Garage. While at Actor’s Express, she helped lead the organization through a financial crisis and ultimately retired 26% of its debt in two years. At Dad’s Garage, Lara led the organization through losing their home of 18 years, finding a permanent home, running a nontraditional capital campaign, overseeing renovations, and surviving a pandemic. Lara served on the mayor’s advisory council for reopening the city, helped organize Arts Vote ATL, and sat on the creative industries roundtable for the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
Lara received a scholarship from the Harvard Business School Club of Atlanta to attend a weeklong session called Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management in 2014. She was also a member of the LEAD Class of 2014, was named one of the 40 under 40 by Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2015, was a member of the RLI Class of 2017, and was named as Atlanta Magazine’s Most Power 500 leaders in 2020 and 2021.
While serving as Managing Director of Dad’s Garage, Lara also was the President of the Board of the Old Fourth Ward Business Association. She helped the organization explore the creation of a CID and created the company’s first strategic plan.
While at Purpose Possible, Lara worked with clients on their strategy. This included strategic planning, resiliency planning, recruitment, coaching, facilitated session, board engagement, and retreats. Clients included: Decatur Business Association; Hand, Heart, and Soul Project; Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia; ServeHAITI; Central OAC; Decatur Arts Alliance; Humorology Atlanta!; Root Local; and MODA. While with Tim’s Big Heart Foundation and the Harris Family Foundation, Lara created organizational strategic plans, built and stewarded relationships, and managed logistics of events and retreats. She also helped create and file founding documents and served as a thought partner for the founders.
Lara’s passion has always been in personal development, and she’s excited to find intersections between her professional work and personal passion.
Executive Coach | Organizational Coach | Personal Coach
