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.
Shailyn Ramsey
Growing up, I have always wanted to have my own business. I worked in the beauty industry for a few years and I loved it! I loved how people would feel once their service was complete. It helped people boost their confidence and how they felt overall. I wanted a place that would really tailor to the needs of people. Read more>>
Dustin Douglas
I have always had passion for the outdoors, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, camping and much more. I grew up on the New River. I initially got started working in the outdoor recreation and tourism business during summers between my semesters at Appalachian State University. I worked for an outfitter on the New River for 4 or 5 summers. Read more>>
Anaja Clayton
Pretty Blinkk Aesthetics began as a vision I had to create a space where beauty and self-care could come together in a luxurious, intentional way. What started as an idea and a desire to build something of my own has grown into a full-service beauty and self-care brand, with my salon becoming the home of that vision. Read more>>
Jeff Cosco
I grew up in Western New York, where the music bug grabbed me early and never really let go. I started writing songs as a kid and eventually found myself in bands that toured throughout the Northeast, bars, clubs, festivals, VFW halls, basements, anywhere that would have us! Read more>>
A’Lisha McKinney
My journey with movement and Pilates really began with my experience with epilepsy. I’ve had epilepsy since I was 10 months old, so it has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I was told for years that I shouldn’t exercise or push my body too much because of my epilepsy. Read more>>
DJLeydis
Well DJLeydis started when she left her hometown of Camaguey to Havana, at the young age of 17. Making a bold move in a culture where many people remain with their parents for the majority of their lives, Leydis took this major step of independence to follow her dream of studying music. She never expected where making such a move would eventually lead her. Read more>>
Jerry Michael Grimes
While I like to think of myself as an artist, my formal training ranges from the studying of ancient religions to the history of Western industrialization. I’m from rural, Eastern North Carolina, and I lived in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Virginia before settling in Chapel Hill, where I was honored to have graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Read more>>
Narkie Nartey
The Wakaboomee Program was founded in 2016 with a simple vision: every child, regardless of their background or zip code, deserves access to opportunities that help them discover their potential. What began as a children’s storybook has grown into a 501(c)3 Non-Profit serving under-resourced and Title I school communities across North Carolina through STEAM, Wellness, and Entrepreneurship education for Pre-K through 12th grade students. Read more>>
LaManda Pryor
I was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, as the youngest of seven children in a home where education was not just encouraged it, was expected. My father was a librarian and a grassroots community activist, and my mother was a dietitian at a local hospital. They both believed deeply in education and made sure that all seven of us understood its value. Read more>>
Tracy Doaks
I grew up in Front Royal, Virginia, a Shenandoah Valley town where a single manufacturing plant could make or break the whole community. Watching what happens when that one industry falters — and whole families feel it — planted a lesson that would later steer my career toward infrastructure: the unglamorous systems that keep communities standing. Read more>>
Paula Leon
I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, where creativity and entrepreneurship were part of my life from an early age. I was always drawing, building, and imagining ways to improve the objects around me, which eventually led me to study Industrial Design. I also grew up watching my parents build and run their transportation company. Read more>>
Luciana Wilson
I moved to the United States from Brazil 12 years ago with the goal of building a better future for myself and my family. Two years later, I founded Top To Bottom House Cleaning, and what started as a small business has continued to grow year after year. Read more>>
Monica McDowell
I am a mostly self-taught seamstress, artist, and cosplayer. Art has always been a part of my life, but it wasn’t until 2013 that I discovered my love for cosplay. I mostly did sketching, and some painting. I did try to learn to sew when I was a kid, but it didn’t exactly go the way I wanted, haha. Read more>>
Dusty Dangero
My story starts as a hooligan in art college. My roommate and I had nothing better to do on a Friday night, so we decided to break into campus with a box of chalk. There was this big 4×6-foot abandoned chalkboard floating around, so we snuck it into a classroom to graffiti it with a quote. Read more>>
Jason Pridgen
# My Story I’ve always been a creative person, but I didn’t always see myself that way. As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, I was extremely shy. I struggled with confidence and self-esteem, and honestly, some of those struggles are things I still wrestle with today. I was never particularly good at the things that seemed to make other kids stand out. Read more>>
Marta Santamaria
Absolutely. Based on what you’ve shared with me about your journey, I would make it **personal, entrepreneurial, and authentic**, rather than making it sound like a corporate biography. How I Started in the Wedding Industry I never set out to become a wedding industry entrepreneur. Read more>>
David McClean
I started producing music in 2008. Didn’t start playing live until 2022. Founded my art gallery in 2024. Started curating music and art events every two weeks for 1.5 years straight. Founded my record label in 2025. Also started filming in 2025. Have worked with countless creatives and associations across greater Greensboro through music, art & film. Read more>>
Sidnee Elder
I’ve always loved fashion, but more than that, I’ve loved the way a great outfit can completely change how someone feels about themselves. Confidence is powerful, and sometimes it starts with the right jacket, the perfect bag, or a graphic tee that says exactly what you’re thinking. Read more>>
Caleb Vasquez
My entry into the culinary world wasn’t a grand plan; it was an accident born out of necessity and survival. Fresh out of high school, I walked into Geppetto’s—a chaotic local institution in Ashland, Oregon, that’s now just a ghost lost to time. I interviewed to be a server. Naturally, they shoved me into the dish pit instead. Read more>>
Deuce Tyrell
For more than twenty years, Deuce Tyrell has built a reputation as one of North Carolina’s most versatile creatives, working as a producer, songwriter, recording artist, and engineer while helping shape the sound of independent music across the state. Read more>>
Cesar Molina
Photography has always been a part of my life. I can remember my grandparents always having a camera around on trips or just cause, going to Rite-Aid or Walgreens for their 1-hour photo developments, flipping through prints, and watching them build an album. Naturally, I picked up a camera as a teen, 1 of those little point-and-shoots. Read more>>
Joshua Coogler
I first started doing photography when I was in middle school. I loved going outside and discovering all the tiny bugs, plants, and other little things living right in my own backyard. Almost every night, I would photograph as much as I could, always trying to find something I hadn’t seen before. Read more>>
Nana Abreu
I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where I developed a deep appreciation for my rich cultural heritage, shaped by the intertwined legacies of Taíno, European, and African peoples. From an early age, I was fascinated by history and archaeology, particularly the discoveries that reveal the stories of Puerto Rico’s Indigenous ancestors. My journey, however, was not without challenges. Read more>>
Cecilia Conaghan
You began your journey in the beauty industry at just 15 years old on Long Island, starting through an apprenticeship and building your career from the ground up. Today, you are the owner of Love is in the Hair II LLC in Fuquay-Varina, where you’ve built not only a successful salon, but a place centered around education, creativity, community, and genuinely loving what you do. Read more>>
Kenley Joseph
Brook Legends really started in 2019, although at the time, music wasn’t where I thought my life was headed at all. Track and field had been a huge part of my identity. I competed in college and continued training afterward with the goal of earning a spot on Panama’s international team. Read more>>
Jason Frye
I’ve always wanted to be a writer and I’ve always written – notebook-sized ‘novels’ about my elementary-school class, short stories and poetry through middle and high school – but in college I majored in English and Education with the intention of becoming a teacher. And I did. Read more>>
Cheryl Brown
I have experienced back pain since a high school gymnastics injury, further complicated by scoliosis and a highly active youth. By the early 2000s, I was a traveling software trainer leading an unhealthy, hectic life. Read more>>
Mary Smalling
Banks Bed and Breakfast was created to help save a very important family home in Garner, NC. The Banks house was established in 1897 and Dr. Banks was the first town doctor of Garner. Dr. Banks purchased the property with a one story starter home and added the second level for his family and additional buildings on the lot. Read more>>
Nathan Moran
Nathan Moran, a native of Lake Wales, FL, discovered his passion for ice sculpting while studying at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando, Florida, in 2003. During his internship at The Naples Yacht Club, he trained under the guidance of a Certified Master Ice Carver, gaining the experience needed to pursue a career in ice sculpting. Read more>>
Ashley Goode
Becoming a Conjure Woman and Death Doula was truly a personal journey. My journey began with my own spiritual exploration and a deep curiosity about healing, ancestral wisdom, and the unseen parts of ourselves. Read more>>
Annie Hoyt
I started sewing at five years old. The first time I made a dress for my American Girl doll, I thought to myself, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’ I started my company, Deni, in 2020, when COVID hit and I took a gap year after high school. Read more>>
Conner Borkowski
North Carolina is my home as much as any place I have lived. I grew up in a military family and moved every two years for my entire childhood. It was great. I got to live places across the world and it made community essential to me. Still my time in NC has made it my home. Read more>>
Cady Driver
Since childhood, I’ve always had a strong propensity for art. I remember in 2nd grade drawing a perfectly symmetrical rainbow that made my friends oooh and ahhh, and being immensely proud of it, Throughout high school, drawing and art were intensely fascinating for me and I so desired to go to an art school and get a degree….But life happens. Read more>>
Micah & Kayla Gardner
Our Peak Journey started with a New Year’s resolution! On January 1, 2019, we put an offer in on a fixer-upper in Apex, and shortly after, it was accepted. A short while later, we moved into our sweet little fixer-upper and decided to start documenting our journey to make it our own. Read more>>
Vincent Dormani
Growing up, I always loved halloween. My parents would take me, my brother and sister to the halloween store every year to get a new costume, and I always gravitated towards the scary ones. Because of this, over the years we accumulated a ton of costumes, props, and decorations. Read more>>
Dominique Reaves
Wow where do I begin. Beauty has always been my passion since I was a kid massaging my grandmothers feet lol. Then makeup became another love of mine in high school. I didn’t go straight to college after I graduated in 2017 just wasn’t the route I wanted to go at the time. Read more>>
DJ Fruitti Pebbles
In college, I had a few friends who were DJs, and I was always fascinated by it. I loved watching how they could control the energy of a room through music, but at the time, DJing was something I admired more than something I actually saw myself doing. I didn’t really start DJing until I became a teacher. Read more>>
Anna Hussey
My Story: The Journey Behind Little Oaks Child & Family Collective Some people know what they want to do from a young age. I was one of them. As a child and teenager, I was always drawn to caring for others—especially babies and young children. There was something so special about their innocence, joy, curiosity, and unconditional love. Read more>>
Miguel Adrover
Chapter I: Educator I was born into a working class, tight-knit family; raised between Trujillo Alto and Carolina, Puerto Rico. I attended Elementary, Middle and High at a Catholic School near the SJ area — a town of money, aspirations, politics and power. Read more>>
