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.
Shay Brooks 
My story started in college at the University of West Georgia, where I studied Mass Communications with a concentration in Film and Video Production. I later joined the Young Apprentice Program at my former church and worked in its video department. I filmed and edited Sunday sermons and Wednesday Bible studies, and I ran the church’s YouTube page. Read more>>
Arnold Kamazima 
Somehow, since high school, I found a camera in my heads more often than not. That was all primarily thanks to my older sister. She would always let me use her camera and ended up giving me one when she got a new one. Once I started using that old 5d mk ii, Summer 2018 is when I really got going. Read more>>
Oluwajuwon Mobolaji 
My story splits into two paths: stylist and DJ. The stylist path: I moved to the US from Nigeria in 2020, a local boy with no idea how fashion worked here. I still remember my cousin’s reaction to how I dressed when I first arrived. Read more>>
Janet (Jan) Grover 
After more than 20 years in outside sales in the health and wellness industry, I was ready to forge my own path. Inspired by my father’s entrepreneurial spirit, I learned the value of self-employment and perseverance. In 2017 I opened my first Club PIlates studio in Frederick, MD, followed by my second in Germantown in 2019. Read more>>
Jason Henderson 
My name is Jason S. Henderson, but creatively, I’m known as King Jason. I’m originally from Philadelphia, and my journey has taken me from being a student-athlete at Florida A&M University to becoming a physical therapist, business owner, author, musician, and filmmaker. For more than 30 years, physical therapy has allowed me to help people rebuild their strength and regain confidence. Read more>>
Riddhesh Patel 
I’m originally from Mumbai, India, where I worked as an engineer while pursuing my passion for mobile photography. I’ve always been drawn to minimalism and the idea that less is more. What started as a hobby gradually evolved into a creative journey, allowing me to work with national and international brands and explore different styles, from product photography to architecture and surrealism. Read more>>
Michiah Graves 
I started doing hair because I genuinely loved helping women feel confident and beautiful. What began as braiding for family and friends slowly grew into a loyal clientele and eventually became Hairbychiahh LLC. As my business grew, I realized I wanted to create more than just a successful career for myself. I wanted to build a space where other beauty professionals could grow too. Read more>>
Darya Splendzer 
I was born and raised in Minsk, Belarus, where my journey into the world of ballroom dancing began at the age of eight. From the very first moment, I fell in love with ballroom dance, and it has been an essential part of my life ever since. My passion and dedication led me to compete in numerous ballroom dance competitions throughout the world. Read more>>
Zaria Smith 
My journey has been a mix of growth, challenges, and learning how to keep pushing even when life gets difficult. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for beauty, creativity, and connecting with people. I’ve explored different career paths, from healthcare and bartending to building my own beauty business. Read more>>
Davonne D’Neil 
My relationship with music started in church. Like most singers, R&B and Soul singers specifically your first masterclass is in church. I started playing piano in church around 11 or 12. I was always a part of chorus and ensembles all through elementary, middle, and high school. But I wouldn’t say I became an artist until college. Read more>>
Vicki Haberkorn 
We started farming in Florida with a friend who wanted to provide meat for our community that did have so much negative impact on the environment. We had the opportunity to start our own farm in Tracy’s Landing, Maryland in 2018, after 5 years of starting Trail Bale Farm with Travis Malloy. Read more>>
Marjorie Kreppel 
This is actually a second career for me. I spent about 25 years in sales and marketing, most of it in the food industry. Toward the end of that chapter, I was working in the autism community, and I saw firsthand how much support the families on that journey needed. Read more>>
Stephanie Parisi Loving Little Luca 
I’m a mom of two boys, Nico and Luca. My youngest, Luca, was diagnosed with autism at 18 months old. Before his diagnosis, we had started noticing that he wasn’t meeting milestones. We knew something was different, but we didn’t really know what that meant or what to expect. Once we had his diagnosis, I found myself trying to learn everything I could. Read more>>
Graham Furniss 
I grew up in somewhat of a musical family; my mom sang in the church choir and my dad played guitar in the worship band. I went to Rockbridge Academy, a small, private K-12 school in Millersville, and played cello there from 2nd grade until I graduated. Music was mandatory until 7th grade, and 1st-6th grade would always sing something at the holiday concerts. Read more>>
Audrina Venti 
I actually got started with drag in July of 2025 after my dad passed away. He was my best friend and my biggest fan and losing him was devastating. The desire to create had been living inside me for a long time, I just realized how short life is and that I owed it to myself and to my dad to pursue my dreams. Read more>>
David Camenga 
Built brick by brick. One client at a time. A legacy 11 years in the making. Dave’s Cleaning Consultants (DCC) began with David Camenga Jr. and David Camenga Sr., built on hard work, determination, and a passion for providing exceptional cleaning services. What started as a weekend hobby for David Camenga Jr. quickly grew into something much bigger. Read more>>
Mia Staples 
I’ve always been a builder. Growing up in Prince George’s County, I was the kid constantly picking up a new hobby or teaching myself a new skill, mostly because I wanted to know how things worked. Read more>>
marissa misner 
If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be running a laundry business, I probably would have laughed. Entrepreneurship was never the plan! I spent about 10 years working in marketing, and my corporate job eventually brought my family and me to Maryland. But while the move made sense for my career, it created some unexpected challenges for my sister, Miranda. Read more>>
Samantha Douglas
Growing up, I’d always watch my mom do her hair and makeup to the nines no matter the event or occasion and would be mesmerized. My mom was young when she had me (I’m the first born) so I imagine I was her live in baby doll lol. Read more>>
Yvonne Owusu 
My passion for styling started in my African household, watching my aunties get dressed in beautiful colors, rich textures, and tailored pieces. What fascinated me most was how their clothing transformed them into confident, powerful women. It taught me early on that style is more than appearance; it’s how you feel and how you show up in the world. Read more>>
Glory Paredes 
Glory Paredes is a talented mixed media artist originally from El Salvador who has called Annapolis home since 2004. Her passion for art began at the age of seven, and it has remained an integral part of her life. Read more>>
Gabriella Moser 
i think my love for doing hair started way before i even realized it could be my career. my stepmom vanessa is a hairstylist and she’s really the reason i got into the industry in the first place. i grew up spending so much time in the salon with her. Read more>>
Payton Mitchell 
I’ve always been a little bit of a Renaissance man. I wasn’t necessarily the best at one thing, but I was good at a lot of things and I never wanted to be one-dimensional. I started out playing basketball, and that helped me get through school, but I’ve always been an artist too. As I got older, cannabis became part of my life. Read more>>
Torland Greene Jr 
I have worked in a variety of settings programming, marketing, curating and creating art Since 2016. Building a boutique style creative agency called Ars Media Arts Group also known as Ars MAG. Using all of my experiences to help develop and build brands and business that highlight. Independent creatives. Read more>>
Hunter Lubawski 
My company Fairytales and Fantasy Co. opened on June 27, 2022. We are a princess and character performer company, bringing magic to birthdays and events in the Baltimore area. Since then, we have attended over 50 parties and events! We offer a variety of characters, our most popular being our Ice Queen. Read more>>
Jayson Britton 
My story started in Baltimore, Maryland, where I discovered my love for dance at just six years old. What began as a passion grew into something much bigger, eventually leading me to earn my BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia on a full-tuition scholarship. Read more>>
Ben Fordham 
My parents gave me a video camera for Christmas when I was in the 8th grade. I would film my friends skateboarding. I attended film school in Los Angeles and worked as a freelance videographer. I learned how to film weddings from Gilbert Le, a Los Angeles based cinematographer. Eventually, I started to take on my own weddings. Read more>>
Jay Sanborn 
I started my fashion journey as a kid who loved fashion magazines and spent days on end cutting out my favorite images and making collages that entirely covered the walls of my bedroom. Read more>>
Kirstin K The MUA Kay 
My story becoming The MUA Kay begins in 2018. When my mother invested in my love for cosmetics and passion for beauty. Growing up she noticed my gift as I would sneak her mascara clumped onto my lashes before bed, or as I attempted to apply a ridiculous amount of blush before school in 5th grade. Read more>>
Vondell Richmond 
I was born in Oklahoma and raised in Mobile, Alabama. My parents divorced when I was seven, and my mother later married a soldier. His military service took our family to Germany, where an unexpected invitation opened the door to my life in theater. In middle school in Mobile, I sat first chair playing saxophone. Read more>>
Lansana Sesay 
I started Winner’s Circle Podcast and Outreach LLC in 2020 with a simple idea: create a platform where entrepreneurs, creatives, business owners, and community leaders could share their stories and connect with people who could learn from their experiences. What started as a podcast gradually became something bigger as I realized the relationships we were building could be used to create real community impact. Read more>>
Jarvin Hernandez 
My journey began at my church, where I discovered an interest in cameras and spent many years serving on the media team. That experience gave me a foundation in photography and video, and it showed me how meaningful it can be to capture moments that bring people together. Read more>>
Collette Jones 
My career journey has been anything but linear, and I believe that’s what makes it meaningful. I first discovered my passion for libraries while attending Rutgers University in 1990. Through the Federal Work-Study Program, I secured a position as a student assistant in the academic library. I immediately fell in love with the environment. Read more>>
Kendra Bryant
Growing up, I’ve always loved writing. English was my favorite subject and library summer reading challenges were my favorite pastime. In the 10th grade, I joined CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth, where I began writing poetry. I went on to place in poetry competitions and had published works in CHARM’s anthology. I remained with the program for over seven years. Read more>>
Ram Thapa 
My story starts in my grandmother’s kitchen in Nepal. That is where I first fell in love with cooking — watching her make traditional Nepali dishes with so much warmth and care. She taught me that food is not just something you eat; it carries your family, your culture, and your history. Read more>>
Jessica Unger 
My passion for helping others started with volunteer work in my childhood. Two core memories I have are helping underprivileged kids in Philadelphia and helping rebuild homes post Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Additionally, I volunteered at Planned Parenthood, Food Banks, and a wildlife rescue. Read more>>
Toni Aderinwale 
We started as a group of friends from our university who just wanted to make music. We all have our individual styles and influences but that love for music unites us. It all started when three of the members were covering a song at an event at our university 3 years ago without a drummer. Read more>>
Jhunio Medina 
In 2019 after working for an international union for 13 years and having experienced several changes with the leadership I felt that a personal change had to also take place. That’s when I made the tough decision to part ways. After leaving I wasn’t sure of what I was goin to do next, but I knew that returning to the union was not an option. Read more>>
Jordan Cathleen 
I first started my career in public relations more than 10 years ago – a fact that still feels surreal to say out loud. In that time, I’ve had the privilege to work with clients ranging from the CEO of DocuSign to conferences with keynote speakers like New York City Councilman and member of the Exonerated Five, Dr. Yusef Salaam. Read more>>
Adia Williams 
I’ve wanted to create content for as long as I can remember, but like a lot of people, I kept putting it off. Then life made the decision for me. I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, and not long after, I lost my 18-year-old little brother in a tragic accident. Read more>>
Tobi Oluremi 
From a young age, I was always drawn to images so. From National Geographic to Marvel comics, I was amazed at the worlds of creativity before photography became a serious part of my life, that curiosity showed itself through drawing, art, fashion, and eventually an interest in textiles and design. Read more>>
