The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Sonia Matcha
I’ve lived and worked in Spain, Canada, and Brazil, and now the US. Each move meant starting over, new language, new culture, new way of doing things. It taught me resilience, adaptability, and how to connect with people no matter where they’re from. In 2022, I got my MBA to pair creative instinct with real business strategy. In 2023, The Apricots Media was born. What I’m most proud of? Building this from the ground up. Every client, every campaign, every lesson, it’s ours. Read more>>
Jeff Lowe
I’ve had a lot of experience in public speaking and drama in many places. In 2018, my brother-in-law suggested I should look into being a Wedding Officiant / Minister. I did, and met the requirements. In mid-2019 his son (my nephew) called me to ask if I would officiate his wedding for him, and I gladly accepted. Read more>>
Travis Nikas Rhea
Before TriLumos I reached a point where I realized I was more invested in the reputation of my employer’s business than they were. That was the wake-up call I needed. I figured if I could put that same level of heart and effort into something of my own, I knew I could make it work. Read more>>
Maureen Hammond
I fell in love with nature as a child, but it wasn’t until adulthood that this passion came full circle. A few years after earning a degree in culinary arts, I began growing herbs and vegetables in our home’s backyard. Read more>>
Erin Exline
My love and passion for wedding and event planning blossomed after planning events and weddings for family and friends! Read more>>
Sherry Mason
Art has been part of my creative life since I was a little girl. I began by sketching Charlie Brown and the Peanuts characters and painting copies of works my mother, aunt, and grandmother found in Top Value Green Stamp books decades ago. In high school, I studied painting more seriously, earning the Talent Award among my peers while continuing to paint as a hobby. Read more>>
Ashley Bromirski
Art was my first love. As early as I can remember, I was drawn to both sketchbooks and my mother’s makeup drawer. Playing with her lipsticks and eyeshadows felt like its own form of art. I began with traditional canvases, but it didn’t take long to realize my deeper interest was working with what I like to call talking canvases. Faces carry stories and emotion. Read more>>
Katie Turner
I started out as an assistant in a hair salon in my hometown of Goldsboro, NC. I quickly learned that the beauty industry was my home. I come from a family of entrepreneurs. Both of my grandfathers started their own businesses. I also had a passion for makeup artistry. Read more>>
Patricia Martin
I began as a scenic artist in theater, where storytelling through space, texture, and atmosphere first shaped my work. Raised in an art-centered family—my father was a cartoonist—I was encouraged early on to trust my creative instincts. Read more>>
Sara Falih
I’ve always had a passion for art, cosmetics, and helping people feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. Originally from Pennsylvania, I attended art school in New York City, where I honed my creative skills. After several years of working up north, my husband and I decided to move to North Carolina to build our life together. Read more>>
Samantha Moye
I always loved numbers, helping people, and just figuring things out. I saw a need in a community and thought to myself, why not start my own affordable business. After all, I’m such a social butterfly (sometimes too much, but in a good way). If there is a way I can get people to turn a frown into a smile, my job is done. Read more>>
Noe Sariban
I’m Dr. Noe Sariban, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the founder of Move It Physical Therapy in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I’m also known in the Pickleball community as The Pickleball Doctor, where I combine my background in sports medicine with my passion for helping players stay healthy, improve their game, and perform at their highest level. Read more>>
Ye Beverly Du
My first job out of residency was as Medical Director of an Intensive Outpatient Program in Houston. I loved the impact I was making on patients who were acutely in need of care, and the autonomy I had in shaping the program. I quickly realized that I thrived in roles where I could be innovative, creative, and impactful. Read more>>
Marrianna White
I’m originally from Cleveland, Ohio, where I studied psychology before earning my Masters of Social Work. I started my career in an inpatient psychiatric hospital, which gave me a strong foundation in diagnosing and treating acute mental illness and working closely with interdisciplinary care teams. While the work was intense, it taught me invaluable lessons about compassionate, coordinated care. Read more>>
Debora Maylen Garcia
My story begins in Argentina, where I trained as an architect, but from very early on I understood that art would be a fundamental part of the way I inhabit and transform spaces. I have always been interested in how places influence emotions, identity, and the way people feel within them. For me, design was never just a technical practice—it has always been deeply human. Read more>>
Justin Byrd
I’m a real estate agent serving clients across central North Carolina, and my path into the industry was anything but traditional. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in New Media and Design and started my career working in marketing for a resort company in Chapel Hill. Read more>>
Jane Hoover
My journey into photography began long before I ever imagined it becoming a business. About 14 years ago, I bought my first DSLR simply to capture photos of my babies. I was completely in my element—dressing them up, setting up little scenes around the house, and turning everyday moments into mini photoshoots with whatever props I could find. Read more>>
Parker White
BackPack Beginnings started very simply. Sixteen years ago, I wanted to help a few children in my community who were going home on weekends without enough food. I began packing bags of food in my dining room, funded by about $8,000 from friends, family, and neighbors. Read more>>
Jessica Beckman
For the past 17 years, I have worked in the mental health and substance use field across the Triad, a community that has shaped both who I am and how I show up in this work. Read more>>
Domonique Boone
In 2017, my mom wash machine stopped working. She called and said can you do my laundry. Of course me being the amazing daughter I am, I picked up my moms laundry, wash dry and folded the laundry, returned the laundry in 24 hours. Immediately Leslie’s Laundry Care was born. Leslie’s Laundry Care is named after my 10 year old daughter Leslie. Read more>>
Michelle Dawn
I grew up in a musical family – with my mom being a music teacher she would often use our playroom as a place to hold music lessons! I started taking private lessons at the age of 9 for harp (I had to take a few years of piano before which at the time I despised). Read more>>
Jena Temple
My gift and career actually started in some of my darkest times. After combating intense physical pain the first two decades of life and not getting clarity from any traditional healthcare professionals, I was left with a deep need for alternative forms of health and healing to sustain life. Read more>>
Eric Johnson
The journey to CrossFit Full Armor is a testament to God’s perfect timing and provision. Back in the fall of 2023, a reconnection with my friend Thad became the spark that set everything into motion. As we caught up, Thad began training with me, and over the following months, I witnessed an incredible transformation in him—both mentally and physically. Read more>>
Brad Rappaport
For eight years, I worked as a clinical psychologist in hospital settings and in private practice in Brooklyn, New York, before relocating to Raleigh in 2012. I continue my work at the VA, where supporting veterans remains one of the most meaningful parts of my professional life. Read more>>
Ally Shaw
Gemma’s Hope was born out of personal loss. Our daughter, Gemma, died shortly after birth, and in the days and weeks that followed, we were confronted with a reality we never expected: while the medical care was excellent, the emotional and practical support for families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss was inconsistent and often under-resourced. Read more>>
Jaclyn Dovico
I’d always loved children growing up, but I hadn’t really though about becoming a pediatrician until much later on in life. I had a tough childhood, losing my father at 11 years old to a USAir plane crash and my mother at 12 years old due to complications from influenza and pneumonia. Read more>>
Karen Scalf
KHFarms was my childhood playground & the family farm started by my parents. Now in it’s 76th year, the family farm is still my main focus and a central pivot point for the national, state, and local positions that give me a strong voice for agriculture. Read more>>
Isadora Girardi
My story can be a bit lengthy, so I will keep it as short as I can. I was born in a small town in the mountains in the southeastern part of Brazil. Most of the members of this community came from Italy during the war, including my mother’s maternal grandparents, and my father’s paternal grandparents. Read more>>
Audrey Simons
My husband, Nathan Simons, is a professional chef, having graduated Valedictorian from The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY in November 2010. He intended on a career in fine dining, working in several high-end restaurants in NY and NC including Daniel, Union Square Cafe, The Fearrington House Restaurant, ONE Restaurant, and Heron’s. Read more>>
Alan Mueller
I grew up all over North Carolina: The Triangle, The Piedmont Triad, Mt. Airy, Boone and everything in between. I was not the early success story as it took me 7 years to finish college and my GPA was an abysmal 2.16. Eventually I scrapped and clawed my way into graduate school and then never looked back. Read more>>
Rio Lewis
I didn’t start The Moon Sun & River with a business plan—I started it out of necessity and curiosity. I was on a personal journey of healing, discipline, and reconnection to my body and spirit. I wanted to understand what it meant to truly take care of myself, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. Read more>>
Raquez Rouse
I got my first digital camera when I was about thirteen. It was a basic point-and-shoot—nothing fancy—but it changed everything. My uncle bought it for me, and from the moment I picked it up, I was hooked. I actually started in video, not photography. Read more>>
Ariel Brooks
My journey into esthetics began during COVID. At the time, I started doing lashes as a creative outlet and an escape, but I quickly realized that if I wanted to pursue this seriously, I needed to be licensed. That decision led me to esthetician school, where I unexpectedly fell in love with skincare. Read more>>
Makayla Cook
I’ve always had a thing for taking those ‘aesthetically pleasing’ photos of random flowers, signs, etc. In undergrad, I took a few classes where I had to shoot and put together videos, and that’s what sparked the inspiration to get a camera. My mom got me a point-and-shoot Nikon one year for Christmas, and that’s really where the journey started. Read more>>
Clara K Johnson
I’m a self-trained artist. I didn’t come up through a traditional art pipeline. I learned by doing, experimenting, paying attention, and trusting my instincts. For a long time, I lived a very different life in the corporate world. It was stable, logical, and expected… and eventually, it became clear it wasn’t where my spirit belonged. Walking away from that path was scary, but necessary. Read more>>
Jordan & Cassie Timpy
Jordan and I both studied photojournalism at UNC-Chapel Hill and met in our first class together— Photojournalism 101. We started dating and eventually got married by way of a surprise wedding, which I’m pretty sure we invented! Since graduating college more than 15 years ago, we’ve worked several jobs in the field before starting our own business. Read more>>
Kim Jordan
I moved to Cary as a teenager in 1978, when it was a quiet suburb nestled in rural farmland. The seasons were predictable and the bumblebees plentiful. Read more>>
Michell Herrera
I am a first-generation Mexican American, raised by a mother who came to the United States in search of a better life. She has always been a businesswoman, and watching her work taught me discipline, resilience, and perseverance. I grew up in jewelry shops and flea markets, with ultrasonic cleaners buzzing in the background and long days behind the counter. Read more>>
Jameila Davis
I started off as a solo spectator at events that were held in Charlotte . Ive had a. background in pole dancing prior to taking myself out on solo dates and over time had an epiphany to combine worlds . I yearned for an event that involved organic interactions while still celebrating art in real time . Read more>>
Ana Starns
My most defining role is motherhood—being a mother of three has shaped how I approach everything else I do, whether as an educator, memoir writing guide, or brain trainer. My journey began in education, where I worked as a tutor, ESL teacher, and preschool instructor. While earning my MBA, I founded an educational recruiting agency, connecting talented educators with opportunities to make a difference. Read more>>
Dr. Delice Coffey
I started my career as a psychologist in the mental health system and later branched off to build a successful private practice. I’ve supported individuals navigating depression, anxiety, adjustment disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental health challenges. Read more>>
Roxanne Bendick
I first learned of coffee roasting in the early spring of 2015 during our daughter‘s final months of life. Melanie was undiagnosed special needs, and spent nearly 300 days of her 4 1/2 short years in the hospital. While living in the hospital with her, I became an avid coffee drinker. Read more>>
Abbi Greene
My journey began in 2020 when I was just 14 years old. During COVID, my brother and sister-in-law were getting married and asked if I could record a few moments from their day. I had always enjoyed taking photos and videos, so I used a small point-and-shoot camera I had received for my birthday that year. Read more>>
Samantha Flaherty
I’ve always been active. I was a gymnast and ran cross country in high school, and while I didn’t compete in college, fitness stayed part of my life. I continued lifting weights and running the occasional race, using movement as something that grounded me rather than something I felt pressure around. After college, I took a more traditional career path. Read more>>
Gaby Cudicio
When I was eleven I had been hospitalized and there wasn’t much to do. I wasn’t allowed visitors but there was a nurse who kept me company sometimes. I had an iPad that practically became a limb of mine so naturally she (the nurse) asked me what it was that I did on it. Read more>>
Tess Luoma
I grew up in Suffolk, England with my mom who was also an artist. I was raised around artists and musicians and had developed a very creative found family. They supported me and my love for drawing and painting so I always felt encouraged to keep creating. It’s a very long and complicated story of how I ended up in NC. Read more>>
Katie Tischler
The idea for Pine Pressed Flowers Floral Preservation first began taking shape in 2019, as I navigated life as a future military spouse and a move from Illinois to North Carolina. Previously, I had worked as a dental hygienist while also running my own beauty business in Illinois. Read more>>
Shaun Gill
I got into real estate in 2020 after a close friend told me—very confidently—that I’d be great at it. I have a natural ability to connect with people and a long-standing love for all things real estate. What started as a suggestion quickly became a career goal that would help me reach a personal goal of purchasing my own home and brokering the deal. Read more>>
Matthew Jennings
I have been in the mental health field for over 15 years and have worked in various areas of the field. After moving into private group practice setting I met my current business partner Jessica Gayleard. After working together for a couple of years, we started talking about possibly starting our own practices. Read more>>
Dr Joseph Franklin, MD
With more than 14 years of experience, patient safety has remained a defining pillar of my practice. This commitment naturally extends to surgery center inspections through the AAAASF—an important clinical responsibility he approaches with both diligence and genuine enthusiasm. His career began at a high-volume Level I Trauma Center, where he managed a wide range of complex clinical responsibilities. Read more>>
Jenn Newton
I began my yoga journey in 2011, shortly after the birth of my third child, taking what I jokingly called “the least horrible” class at my local YMCA. At first, I wasn’t especially drawn to the physical practice, but I quickly noticed changes in myself mentally and spiritually. Before long, the physical benefits followed, and I was hooked. Read more>>
Brandy Hubbard
My journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t something I originally planned. I began my career in the medical field, working in occupational therapy. During that time, I became very close with the director of nursing, as we worked hand-in-hand every day. He was also an entrepreneur, and I always admired that about him. I loved asking questions, learning from him, and soaking in his passion for business. Read more>>
Cynthia Milia
I have had many careers including, an attorney a finance manager, a teacher, a mom of two girls and a boy and most recently a procurer of anything with honey and beeswax. In the Summer of 2022, while visiting family I met with my uncle, a bee farmer. Read more>>
Diana Moscoso
My story did not begin in this country. It began in Medellín, Colombia, where the dream of becoming a professional often feels distant and out of reach. When I migrated in 1999, and years later became a mother, my perspective deepened. Read more>>
Maverick Wagner
I founded Maverick Endeavors LLC in 2021 after working for a larger roofing company for several years. The goal? Read more>>
Homayoon Ershadi
I grew up in Iran, in a household where food was never just fuel, it was tradition, care, and connection. On hot summer days, my mother would make pitchers of Sekanjabin: a cooling Persian drink made from fruit, herbs, and vinegar. It was something that people had relied on for centuries to replenish and so she would make it for us as well. Read more>>
Judi Maniscalco
Beyond the ever-changing economy, we also navigate outside forces like online printing giants – but experience & partners makes all the difference. With decades spent in the industry – not just admiring it from afar – we’ve built strong partnerships and a trusted process. Every project is personally managed by me and as a particularly picky business owner, I insist that only the best will do. Read more>>
Gabby Gallo Genevieve Young
A few minute problems such as purchasing/ supply issues. The market in our area is also fairly saturated so we have to really market ourselves in order to get our name public and gaining people’s trust that our product is good quality. The other challenge is trying to work from home with young children! We both end up working very late into the night (1/2am) just to get our orders finished uninterrupted. Read more>>
