It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Raleigh.
Nikki Van Warner
Appalachian DiviniTEA started as an idea years back when Ricky & I looked at each other and realized that we didn’t want to work the 9-5 grind for the rest of our lives. Read more>>
Melissa Rooney
My grandparents emigrated to the United States from Poland and Lithuania in the mid 1900’s, and my parents grew up in different enclaves in New Jersey. I was born in Richmond, VA, after w hichmy parents opened a dermatology practice in Martinsville, VA — home of the Martinsville Speedway, which has been on the NASCAR circuit since 1948. Read more>>
Athina Mancia
My journey with social media began years ago, long before I ever imagined it becoming my full-time career. What started as a passion has evolved into a business where I help brands and small businesses build a meaningful, elevated presence online. After years in the corporate world, I recently made the transition into entrepreneurship and social media management full-time. Read more>>
Lora Rouse
I started this business because I couldn’t find anybody to care for my cats after I retired and started traveling more with my husband. At that time, I had two cats and one of them started showing signs of what I thought was separation anxiety when I would leave. Read more>>
Trev Truth
As a kid I was actually embarrassed or very secretive about any or all musical talent I had. Read more>>
Lucy Manning
I grew up in eastern North Carolina and have always loved art. I took art classes throughout my childhood and had a lot of great teachers and mentors who encouraged me in developing my artistic talents. I went to college at UNC-Chapel Hill (class of 2017) and studied graphic design by way of the Journalism School. Read more>>
Lisa Sykes
Almost three years ago, I left my corporate job as the travel manager for a Fortune 500 company, where I ran their entire corporate travel program, airline and hotel contracts included, while also managing their procure-to-pay system alongside a team based in India. Looking back, all that multitasking, the constant pivoting between fifteen things at once, was just normal to me at the time. Read more>>
Andi Engel
I decided to become an audiologist after my own experiences with frequent ear infections as a child. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of environments, including Ear, Nose, and Throat practices, as a manufacturer representative, and in private practice. Read more>>
Hannah Bieneman
My journey into the nail industry started as a hobby in high school. At the time, I was interested in everything beauty-related, including nails, makeup, and hair, but nails quickly stood out to me. I realized that the art I abandoned when I was younger could be reignited into a form that holds a more promising future. Read more>>
Tyria Bourda
In 2017, my immediate family and I relocated from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Raleigh, North Carolina. A few years later, I began looking for job opportunities as a reporter, which has always been my passion due to my love for writing. I reached out to The Carolinian Newspaper in Raleigh and was quickly hired after submitting my first article for their review. Read more>>
Cashavelly Morrison
I left my home in Beckley, West Virginia when I was 15 so I could study ballet at the high school at the University of the North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduation, I danced professionally in Texas, Virginia, and New York, before suffering a broken vertebrae. For a year, I was mostly immobile in a back brace.
Yasini Carr
My journey to Uplift Laundry Truck began through my years working in education and supporting children and families. I saw students being teased, isolated, or missing school because they did not have clean clothes. Some families were often working hard but struggling with the cost of laundromats, transportation barriers, housing instability, or limited access to laundry facilities. Read more>>
Dawn Reno Langley
Though I’ve been writing and publishing since I was nine years old, during the past couple of years, I’ve been focusing on the second book in my trilogy, The Art of Rivers, as well as a memoir about the last two years entitles Love, Leashes & Letting Go (which will be published September 15th). Read more>>
Brandon Keeton
I did 21 years in the Marine Corps and as I was getting out, I started a small business. A few years later, the business was very successful. It was a Martial Arts school. Read more>>
Bethany Peterson
I started painting and making jewelry when I was a young girl. I always enjoyed it and just did it for fun at music festivals but 15 years later it’s still my favorite creative hobby that I hope to grow more and more throw the effort and projects and networking I find possible through social medias. I hope to get my projects into galleries sometime. Read more>>
Krishna Regula
My Story I have been an artist since childhood. Some of my earliest and happiest memories are of spending my summer holidays drawing, painting, and experimenting with anything I could get my hands on. I loved creating art not just with traditional materials, but with all kinds of unexpected things—from candle wax to Styrofoam. Read more>>
Arok Hill
Arok Hill was born in the US but he’s a proud Nigerian Native. He is an artist for Driven Records, Production Manager § Engineer for Driven Studios In Raleigh, North Carolina with 20 years of knowledge § experience under his belt in the music industry. Read more>>
Cassandra Baker
I’m Cassandra Baker, better known as PinkLash. I started with a passion for music, writing, and using my voice to express what I’ve experienced. Over time, I grew into more than an artist—I became a host, promoter, actress, entrepreneur, and community activist Read more>>
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Kylene Babski
I was born in Orange, CA in 1983, but moved back east to WV at the age of ten. Like a lot of artists, I’ve been drawing and painting as far back as I can remember. I started seriously practicing art, in multiple forms, around the age of twenty. Read more>>
Victoria Gamrod
I graduated from St. John Fisher University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and began my career in the business world, but I always found myself drawn to the creative side of marketing. Outside of my full-time career, I started creating videos around thrifting and working with small, local businesses in Rochester and Syracuse, New York. Read more>>
Brittany Futrell
Yes I started my business in 2015.I always had an entrepreneurial spirit.I decided I wanted to build something that could bring generational wealth to myself and my offspring. Read more>>
Sommore Terry
My journey has always been rooted in a passion for making a difference in the lives of young people. I began as an educator, and over the years, my love for teaching and dance grew into something even bigger. It gave me the opportunity to create a space where young dancers could learn, grow, and feel confident in who they are. Read more>>
Jim DiCiaccio
Thank you for the questions. Let’s start with today. Today I’m a photographer. Tomorrow I hope to be one too. Beyond that, who knows? I’m not a professional photographer although some good folks were kind enough to buy some work I produced. So I think I’m a professional amateur. The photography journey began five years ago upon my work retirement. Read more>>
Karina Britten-Vaden
My journey really started long before I stepped onto a runway. I grew up with a strong background in the performing arts and spent about 15 years training in ballet, jazz, and hip-hop with Meredith Gravely School of Dance in Danville, VA. Read more>>
Tish C
My journey begins in one of America’s most renowned states, New York. From a young age, I’ve always been an artist at heart. Whether it’s painting with a brush or using my fingers, art has always been my second language. One of my most significant achievements is becoming a professional abstract artist. I’m incredibly proud of the life I’ve built for myself. Read more>>
Haines Jones
Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, I always had a feeling I would start my own business one day. Even beginning at age 12, I enjoyed working for myself doing various odd jobs to serve others. This included pet sitting, babysitting, yard work, errands for the elderly, volunteering at local food banks, you name it. I’ve always had a heart for serving others. Read more>>
Betsy Abraham – Improv Charlotte
I went to my first improv show when I was in my early 20s and living in New York. Watching a bunch of people make up jokes, characters, and storylines on the spot seemed like magic to me. I was watching grown adults have the time of their lives playing pretend on stage – and I wanted a piece of it! Read more>>
Matt Conner
I joined Durham Ballet Theatre in 2018 as a 37 year-old former theatre kid with zero dance background. The team was putting on Cinderella and they needed a dozen adults at the Ball for her to attend, willing to teach all the dance I’d need for that role. Read more>>
Margaret Campbell
My journey began in September 1991. I was staying at home with our son (David) who had a car accident and needed physical therapy. David was doing much better and I wanted to get him back out to be around people again. I offered to help our neighbor Steve who was growing mums and struggling to load them and deliver them on his lunch hour. Read more>>
Allie Roepe
After nearly a decade of photographing families, couples and children in an outdoor, casual style, I found myself more than ready for a new creative challenge. While digging through a box of old family photographs, I came across my dad’s vignetted portraits from 1957. I couldn’t help but feel an immediate sense of connection to the timeless black & white style. Read more>>
Antony Woodard
I started as a hip hop artist. I was inspired to design by a post I saw on Instagram by hip hop juggernaut about artists having merch That inspired me to go further and create my own clothing brand. Read more>>
Pilar Hurtado Gutierrez
Growing up, one of the things I heard and saw from many families was how important food is when bringing people together. Food can make or break an event. When food is not made with love, it can change the entire mood and experience. But when it is made with care, it becomes part of the memories, connections, and moments that guests remember. Read more>>
Tia’Lavon Hill
Looking back, there were always signs that I’d end up in broadcast media, but my journey really started in radio around 2014. I worked as an on-air talent and producer in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was my first job, even remotely close to my college major. I hosted events as well as my own show, all while working behind the scenes on nationally syndicated shows. Read more>>
Sherrill Roland
I would begin with my graduate school thesis project because it fundamentally shaped my ongoing work. During graduate school, I was wrongfully incarcerated, an experience that drastically altered the path I envisioned for my life and art. When I returned, I had to navigate completing my degree while also processing what happened to me. My thesis became a way to confront that experience through art. Read more>>
Desiree Evans
My mother was a hair stylist at the height of her career. She owned seven salons so I grew up in the salon and spa environment. I always knew that I wanted to do nails because she had a nail girl in one of her salons and I would always sit and stare at her doing nails and just be mesmerized. Read more>>
AsheLee Bonham Gahagan
I started as a cellist and educator, and teaching has always been at the heart of my work. Early on, I saw how powerful music education could be, not just in building musical skills, but in shaping confidence, discipline, creativity, and connection. That belief led me to start teaching privately and eventually grow that into what is now Ashe School of Music. Read more>>
Colleen + JoAnne
JoAnne took her first big step into wellness in 2003 when she became a Certified Yoga Teacher. After teaching yoga for a few years she followed her desire to make more of an impact in her student’s lives and received training as a Mindset Coach. Read more>>
