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.
Meg Murray 
I started playing music professionally in Annapolis in the 90s, playing my original material in a town that had a lot of cover bands at the time, who were incredible musicians. Read more>>
A. Hinders 
I was initially attracted to photography to fix an imbalance, I hadn’t been exposed to African-American photographers, and I hated family photos (the posing, the forced smiles). Learning took time, experimentation, and patience- I started with film, making mistakes, exposing incorrectly, and my framing was atrocious. Read more>>
Mariah Foster 
My journey in fashion started with a genuine love for creating. I went to college for Fashion Design, and over the years, that passion grew into something much bigger than simply making clothes. I’ve designed custom pieces, worked with clients for special occasions, I’m the designer behind Pragmatic Label Designs, where I specialize in custom designs, particularly statement pieces and custom prom gowns. Read more>>
Tiffany Spithas 
I always knew I wanted dance to be a part of my life. What I didn’t know was exactly what that would look like. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to travel and pursue dance professionally, or if my path would lead me toward teaching and creating a place of my own. Read more>>
Shawn Owen 
I grew up in Snowshoe, West Virginia, and my path has taken me from snowboarding and music to sailing. My first real introduction to sailing was a family trip through the Florida Keys when I was about 12, and that experience stayed with me. I moved to Annapolis in 2007 and built a career performing music, both solo and with the Shawn Owen Band. Read more>>
Nick Sevilla 
Started creating content once the pandemic hit. Was streaming video games at home, and wanted a better reach to obtain new viewers. Created my first TikTok account ‘AlgeBruh’ and was the math teacher who played video games. Over the course of a few year, that blew up to 180,000 followers at one point, and gave me opportunities within the gaming space. Read more>>
Rashidat Azeez Richardson 
My journey in the beauty industry really started before I even realized it. My mom was doing hair before I was even thought of, so beauty and hair were always around me growing up. Watching her work, create, and use her hands to make people feel beautiful inspired me more than I probably understood at the time. Read more>>
Giselle Valentina 
Giselle is a a multi-disciplinary, trauma-informed Facilitator and Magnetism Coach who believes that your external success is a direct reflection of your internal alignment. She is here to guide you in uncovering your truest, most powerful self—free from past traumas, generational limitations, and societal expectations. Read more>>
Gifts Ungiven 
We are a post-hard core band based in the DMV area. We have five members: Evan Capella (drums), Eric Foreman (bass), Steph Kallay (vocals), John Karavatas (guitar), and Joseph Quinn (guitar). The band started in early 2025 after Evan, John, and Steph connected through craigslist and started writing music together. Joseph and Eric joined the band soon after and the lineup was completed. Read more>>
Debra Thomas
I have wanted to be an author for as long as I can remember. I have always been creative and loved writing. When I was young, I read stories to my little brother, and later I read to my own children and volunteered to read stories in their classrooms. My career has been in accounting, and I still work in that field today. Read more>>
Luba Hansen 
In 1994, at the age of ten, I was adopted from Russia by an American couple and came to the United States without knowing how to speak or read English. Although I was surrounded by other children at school, I often felt alone. Some children made it clear that I was different and did not belong in their group. Read more>>
Dr. Pamala Mintz Williams 
I’m Dr. Pamala Mintz Williams, affectionately known as **Dr. Pam**, and my story is one of resilience, faith, reinvention, and refusing to allow where I started to determine where I would finish. I became a teenage mother, experienced academic setbacks, survived domestic violence, and later survived triple bypass open-heart surgery. There were seasons when the life I live today existed only in my prayers. Read more>>
Carlotta Tyler 
While I would not consider the start of my story very unique, I think I am in an interesting stage in my life currently. It’s full of creative exploration, immense growth, struggles, and acceptance. Four years ago I started my aerial arts journey and now I am happily teaching students starting out just as I was a few years back. Read more>>
patrick Mcguire 
My path to Peak Golf Institute wasn’t a straight line. I’ve always been fascinated by performance and why some people continue to improve while others get stuck. Working with players at every level has shaped how I coach. Success looks different for everyone—winning on tour, earning a scholarship, reaching a personal goal or simply gaining confidence. Read more>>
Brandon Bell 
My path to where I am today definitely wasn’t a straight one. I’ve always been creative, but I don’t think I understood early on that art could become the foundation for the life and career I have today. Read more>>
Sam Miller 
I was inspired by the Donkey Kong Country games to learn music as a teenager. I feel that video games in the 90s captured a sense of feel-good melodicism and ingenuity with its music that has since been lost. I dissected and analyzed these tunes to discover how they were engineered and what it was I loved about them so much. Read more>>
Miles Blackman 
My journey has brought together two interests: tennis and building things that help people. Over nearly a decade of coaching, I’ve worked with players at different stages, from beginners picking up a racket for the first time to experienced players looking to improve. Read more>>
John Krueger 
I’m sure like many, my journey into fitness began as a high school athlete. Initially the goal was to get in better shape for my senior year, and eventually with the goal to play in college. Read more>>
Mandy Low
I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t enjoy baking and being creative in the kitchen, especially when it came to playing with flavors and design. But I can pinpoint one very specific moment that I think started it all. Read more>>
Kristina Wilde 
My journey into cosmetology wasn’t a traditional one. It was actually my second career. I became a mother at just 18 years old, and my priorities shifted early in life. It wasn’t until I was 28 that I attended cosmetology school, ready to pursue something I was truly passionate about and build a career of my own. Read more>>
Christalene Karaiskakis 
I’m a Greek Cypriot, born in South Africa, raised in Melbourne, Australia, and I’ve called Annapolis, Maryland home for the past 20 years. I’ve always been creative. In Australia, I studied child development, dance and drama, and eventually decided I wanted to somehow combine everything I loved into one business. That became Crystalooney’s Creative Arts. Read more>>
Casimiran Taylor 
What am I? I am. What do I do? Everything. Producing music is what this interview is for though right? I started producing music officially in 2024 after a horrible horrible year. I asked my mentor, Meccavelli to assist me in downloading FL studio and to teach me how to sample. Read more>>
Shoareged Phillpotts
It Takes A Village Collaborative(ITAVcollab) was born from something my sister, Aishia, and I had been living long before we had language for it: the practice of showing up for one another. We grew up in a Hyattsville, Maryland household shaped by our Caribbean roots and a way of living that did not need a name because it was simply how things were done. Read more>>
MariaClementina Rutayuga 
The CEO and Founder of MariaClementina Beauty, Mariaclementina Rutayuga is a Mental Health Advocate, Model, Creative Director, Model and Self taught Makeup Artist who developed her love for the beauty industry towards the end of 2019. MariaClementina Rutayuga was born and raised in Maryland, USA of Tanzanian Decent. MariaClementina has very dark and sensitive skin. Read more>>
Sakhele (Shak) Seshibe 
Started In The Entertainment Industry in 2003 as a producer/songwriter. After considerable peaks and valleys I pivoted into being an executive to recording artists. My most recent pivot has been into TV and Film where I’m an executive producer/director creating 4 feature films and 3 TV series. Read more>>
Stacy Villegas 
I was born and raised in Maryland to parents who immigrated from El Salvador, and resourcefulness was a big part of how I grew up. In my family, we were taught to value what we had, waste less, and understand that access and abundance aren’t realities for everyone. Read more>>
Hannah Smith
Hi, I am singer, songwriter and multi-facetted artist “Hannah G.”. My music journey begins on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Vincent & The Grenadines where I was raised in a small religious household of four: my dad, my mom, my sister and I. Music and singing have always been a major part of my life. Read more>>
Pat Renny Alzadon 
I started when I picked up a guitar in middle school. During that time, I was really into the movie “School Of Rock” and watching kids that were round my age start a rock band with Jack Black made me want to start a group of my own. Read more>>
ZaRon McCoy 
PrettyBoyCollection started from my love for both fashion and art. I’ve always looked at fashion as more than just clothes—it’s another form of art and a way to express yourself without having to explain who you are. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to create my own brand was because I wanted a way to put my own art into the world. Read more>>
Shaja Joyner
I’m Shaja Joyner, founder of Table Dress Boutique and inventor of the patented Brogil™ 6-in-1 Convertible Chafing System. My background is in interior decorating, but hospitality and design have always been part of who I am. Long before I understood tablescaping as a concept, I was always the go-to person for parties and events. Read more>>
Ellen Carroll
I grew up in a large Irish-American family with a mother who gave me the freedom to be creative. In my attic bedroom, I spent hours covering the walls and ceilings with drawings, poetry, stories, and songs. that instinct eventually became the foundation for a career in art and design. Read more>>
