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.
Yimzy Lopez
I was born and raised in Nigeria, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. After moving to the United States, life took me in a different direction, and I began working in a group home for teenage girls with behavioral challenges. It wasn’t an easy job, but I truly enjoyed supporting them and helping them feel confident and beautiful. Read more>>
Alexandra LaBelle
My passion for acting started in high school and I felt that I had finally found “ my people” and some direction in life. I even went on to pursue acting in college and received a scholarship to continue studying theatre. At this time I started having panic attacks and a lot of anxiety- which was new to me. Read more>>
Carl Wesley
I started my journey in the world of day trading, community building, and education, helping people develop digital skill sets that could create additional income. Along that journey, I realized that lasting success requires much more than a financial change it requires a mindset shift. Read more>>
Kimberly Blevins
People ask me all the time how Aisle Be There came to be. I wish I had some dramatic ‘I’ve dreamed of this since I was five years old’ story, but the truth is a lot less glamorous—and a lot more realistic. My career has always centered around people. Read more>>
Travis (Skitz) Simmons
My name is Travis ‘Skitz’ Simmons, and I’m a multidisciplinary artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I’m a dancer, performer, filmmaker, media creator, educator, and community organizer whose work centers around storytelling and preserving street dance culture. Read more>>
Gabby Heron
In 2013 I had just turned 18 when I had my daughter, Skylar, Who’s the greatest joy of my life! But I was still young and not ready to let go of my selfishness and still wanted to do what I wanted to do. In my early 20’s I spent some time away from my girl and my family. Read more>>
Aaron Noe
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, but my professional journey has really been shaped by education. I earned my undergraduate degree in music education from Greensboro College, and after graduating, I spent more than 20 years as a high school band director in South Carolina, Virginia, and North Carolina. Read more>>
Crystal B
At 19 years old, I picked up a makeup brush with no idea it would completely change the direction of my life. At the time, I didn’t have a clear vision for my career. I just knew deep down that I was created for more—I just didn’t know what that ‘more’ was. I tried college. I explored nursing. I even considered psychology. Read more>>
Shannon Kolvitz
I created ABC Axes in 2020. I started working for Urban Axes Durham since they opened in 2018. It’s an amazing community of people who just love to throw sharp stuff at a target. February of 2019 they sent me to Toronto to represent the company and community at the National Axe Throwing Championship. Read more>>
Mike Cadwallader
We started as an extremely small business in 2016. Neither of us had any experience running a business and we made a shotgun decision to sign a lease and open a sneaker store. Since then we’ve grown tremendously and become one of the top sneaker stores in North Carolina. Read more>>
RICHA PATHAK
Of course. Here is the same draft without em dashes: I grew up in India surrounded by textiles, craft, and artisan fairs, so clothing was never just clothing to me. It always carried a story of the hands that made it, the place it came from, and the life it would eventually become part of. My professional path started in a very different direction. Read more>>
Lacy Smith
Mouth Split, started in 97′ in Durham, NC in my home in Walltown (Historic Community) I was a recording artist (DJ/ Rapper) who had success being a finalist at the Apollo Theater in NYC (August 20, 1992, December 16 1992). I was just leaving NC A&T State University as an IT Major (2 Years, 91′ -93′). Read more>>
M.C. Armstrong
Viva la Muerte was born as a fiddle and two guitars back in 2005. Over the past twenty years, we’ve expanded into a five-piece outfit, gone electric, released four albums, and performed in New York, Nashville, and all over the Southeast. In 2019 the readers of YES! Weekly voted Viva the best original band in the Triad. Read more>>
Marvin Ferrell
I was a military brat, so I moved around a lot growing up. I’ve lived in a lot of different places, but Durham is the place that became home for me. I went to middle school here, high school here, and later continued my education here too. So even though I didn’t start out with one fixed hometown, Durham really became mine. Read more>>
Sandra Myers
My career in matchmaking began in 1996, long before dating apps transformed how people meet. I earned my degree in Speech Communications and Organizational Management because I have always been fascinated by what makes relationships succeed and what causes them to fail. Early in my career, I realized that introducing two people was only a small part of the equation. Read more>>
Paula MacLeod
I started as an instructor at Wine & Design in 2022. The job offered me flexibility with my schedule, which I needed due to helping with an ailing family member. Over the next couple of years, I learned all of our DIYs and specialty events like team buildings. After my family situation changed, I decided to stay on. Read more>>
Willie Blue II
The Dabba Company started in 2018 with a hope and a prayer. I was originally a music major attending Appalachian State University. But I always felt like I was destined to do more. I recently adopted a pit bull named Migo and fell in love with him. I became obsessed with his health, training, and everything else about him. Read more>>
Finsta of Finsta Bundy
First off, I am Finsta of the group Finsta Bundy which include myself, Bundy and our dj, DJ Primetime. I started out in Bushwick, Brooklyn. My first single was released in 1992 under a label called CRACD Records. It was ran by Gucci Man and his partner Chuck. At that point I was a solo artist and Bundy was my DJ. Read more>>
Mirandia Belvin
My journey started with a vision, faith, and the desire to build something that would create opportunity, provide reliable service, and leave a lasting legacy. In 2021, I founded On-Time Strategies LLC with the goal of offering dependable transportation and logistics solutions. What started as a vision to serve through delivery and logistics has grown into a business rooted in professionalism, consistency, and purpose. Read more>>
Raven Hooker
My name is The SongBird Raven, and I’m a singer-songwriter from Greensboro, North Carolina, with a passion for R&B, Soul, Blues, and Neo-Soul. Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. What started as singing in church and at local community events grew into a calling that I couldn’t ignore. Read more>>
Ted Rubin
My personal philosophy and a quote I do my best to live by… “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” From the beginnings of social media I experimented and was considered a leading Social Marketing Strategist. I am an International Keynote Speaker, Business Advisor and… Author, Connector, and Relationship Builder. Read more>>
Polina Vee
I am a visual artist working across textiles, embroidery, sculpture, and installation. I have been working with textiles for over 20 years and hold a BFA in Textile Design. Before moving into my current practice, I spent six years as a leading artist in one of Russia’s top textile design studios. That foundation shaped my sensitivity to material, detail, and narrative. Read more>>
Laura Rodgers
My career path has not been a straight line, but when I look back, I can see a clear thread running through it: a commitment to national security, problem-solving, and helping organizations strengthen the way they operate. My first job was at Martin Marietta, before it became Lockheed Martin, working on a program designed to help protect the United States during the Cold War. Read more>>
Jessica DeMarchis
I’m a trauma survivor turned trauma therapist turned trauma-informed coach. I grew up in Philadelphia and had a difficult childhood. Early on, I realized that education was my ticket to changing the trajectory of my life, so I poured myself into leadership, community service, and eventually social work. Read more>>
Laura Byrne
As a young child, I had always been drawn to music. By the age of 10, I was taking piano lessons, playing flute in the school band and singing in the church choir. But that all changed when my mother took me to a symphony concert where I heard a featured harpist, Marjorie Tyre. Read more>>
Hector Miray
In the broadest of strokes, I think my life has boiled down to me being a storyteller. That’s taken lots of forms. Whether it be from a stage, over a microphone, in the pages of a book, or in an endless array of memes. Telling stories and helping people feel seen, encouraged, and connected I think universally translates to everything I do. Read more>>
Jennie Knowlton
Jennie Knowlton grew up knowing what food insecurity felt like, the quiet pride that makes a family turn away from help they desperately need. During a family vacation, Jennie, David, and their daughter, Elizabeth, visited their first Pay-What-You-Can café in Red Bank, NJ, and absolutely loved the concept. Not long after, Elizabeth went to college at Appalachian State and they happened upon F.A.R.M. Read more>>
Ashley Thacker
I started my business 10 years ago hand making choker necklaces. The brand has now grown to a full line women’s boutique with 10 shoppable locations across NC & east TN. I took risk after risk to grow the business from chokers to a full line women’s brand. Read more>>
Samantha Amara
Photography started as a creative outlet, but it quickly became so much more than that. I fell in love with the idea that a single photograph could preserve a feeling, a relationship, or a moment that can never be recreated. What began as a passion eventually grew into a business centered around serving people during some of the most meaningful seasons of their lives. Read more>>
Scott Jones
I’m the son of two college professors — one came up through engineering, the other through marketing. So before I could vote I was basically a live experiment in what happens when you braid those two things together. The braid never came apart. Read more>>
Sheree Davidson
Like many artists, my story started simply: with a pencil, a piece of paper, and a habit of drawing and doodling on just about anything I could find. What began as a childhood passion naturally evolved into a hustle of creating custom paintings and taking on small commissions wherever I could find them. Read more>>
Rose Cushing
After a great career in the equine industry and during Covid, I wrote a book, Chasing the Wind. I secured a deal with a traditional publishing house, but that route was not the right path for me. I had an extensive background in publishing having owned a 10 state regional equestrian magazine for many years. I decided to have my own personal publishing company. Cushing Publishing. In 2023 I published my book, and two others. Read more>>
Lar’e Lee
I started my official business in 2018 with just a logo and a vision. Entertainment has been my passion since a kid from being in drama classes, step teams, basketball and more. My passion first set sail writing poetry. Poetry was very therapeutic for me providing an outlet without speaking. In my surroundings, expression was frowned upon so I spoke to the pen and paper. Read more>>
