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.
BreAnn Reed 
Imagine scrolling through Facebook Marketplace and seeing a trailer pop up for sale, the one you have seen in your literal dreams and envisioned owning one day, already painted the color you wanted it too. Read more>>
Deboreah “Reah” Ross 
I started interviewing Baltimore music artists in 2021 and working in nightlife after connecting with Drea England, business consultant and manager of Baltimore rapper ‘President Davo’. My first door girl opportunities were for 88 Events and eventually expanded, allowing me to be booked by other figures in nightlife. I’d been able to leverage my experience at the door to connect with more Baltimore artists. Read more>>
Wendy Rose 
Meeting of the Moms really started long before I knew that was what I was creating. Years ago, when my daughter was in junior high school, I started a group called Girlz Talk. Like many moms raising a teenage daughter, I wanted to stay connected and have a better understanding of the young girls she was spending time with and the things they were experiencing. Read more>>
Katie Speert 
I grew up in Westminster, but the story really starts a few hours away, at Salisbury University. I was studying psychology and sociology and volunteering at an afterschool program, the kind of place that does homework help, runs a food pantry, keeps a soup kitchen going. That’s where I met an eight-year-old girl who changed the direction of my life. Her dad was incarcerated. Read more>>
Logan Rippons 
I’ve been hunting, fishing and crabbing on the Eastern Shore of Maryland since I can remember. I started guiding and running a dog when I was 12 years old. I started working on the water with my dad and grandfather when I was 4 years old. I was a full-time waterman until I became a police officer at the Cambridge Police Department in 2017. Read more>>
Marina Massino 
I started writing with the goal to become a published author back in 2015 after my mom passed. She was only 55 years old, and while we all know the old adage ‘life is short’, it struck me then just how short it could be. Read more>>
Michael Dadson 
My story begins with acting and modeling it stops midway with music take a huge portion of my life and ending with my clothing line. Each of these 4 things has been a focal point of my being for the better part of 20 years. Read more>>
Valerie Gregorio 
My name is Valerie Gregorio, a multipotentialite 29 year old Filipina American currently based in Southern Maryland. I’m a Gen Z woman of color wearing many hats. Read more>>
KMack Knokville 
Kevin “K Mack” Mack was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 23, 1973. Attending Baltimore public schools is where he began his love for music, entering school and local talent shows to get exposure in the community. In 1992 KMack dropped his first demo tape with 2 other childhood friends to make up the group Force of Terror. Read more>>
Blue Masiello 
The first time I considered myself an artist was as a young teenager in the punk and graffiti scene. I grew up in a creative family off of the DC Metro line, with easy access to the Smithsonian so there was art all around and easily accessible which shaped me in a wholly positive way. Read more>>
Ainae Nielsen 
I started as the kind of kid who felt everything, but did not always have language for it. Music became the language. I grew up singing, writing, and collecting moments that felt too big for my body, then turning them into melodies so I could carry them. Read more>>
Obinna Mojekwu 
I’m Obinna Mojekwu, a Nigerian-born chef and the founder of Bim Bim’s, a small-batch kitchen in Chicago making gourmet sauces and seasonings for the diaspora. Food and art have always been my two languages. I studied art and design at the University of Illinois Chicago, and I designed the Bim Bim’s label myself. In 2018 I trained in culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu. Read more>>
Kristen Rogers 
My journey as an esthetician actually started a little differently than I had originally planned. I went into the beauty industry thinking I wanted to become a makeup artist because I always enjoyed doing my own makeup. Read more>>
Tim Touchette 
I was always interested in niches and am fascinated by real estate’s role helping people create their identity. When my wife and I had an opportunity to invest in real estate, one of the 1st properties we bought was being sold with all the furniture in it. Read more>>
rachienuzz@gmail.com Rachel Prell 
I started playing soccer when I was three years old and instantly fell in love with the game. I went on to play for the U.S. Youth National Teams from ages 13 to 20, competing in World Cup qualifiers and becoming the first American U-17 player to score a hat trick against El Salvador. Read more>>
The District Midwives Asha Compton CPM, LM and Bebe Williams, CPM, LM 
The District Midwives PLLC was founded by two midwives, Brittney ‘Bebe’ Williams, CPM, LM and Ashley ‘Asha’ Compton, CPM, LM, who met as students together at a high-volume birth center in Virginia. With 10 years of experience serving women, babies, and expanding families, they wanted to create a space where they could fully show up in their authenticity for their clients. Read more>>
LaKeisha ‘Keezy’ Daughtry 
My journey began with a desire to understand and dismantle the systemic barriers that hold people back. With a Master’s degree in Criminology, I always had a deep interest in human behavior and societal structures. However, I eventually realized that to create real change, I needed to be the one building solutions rather than just studying them. Read more>>
Daryl Barriteau 
Began practicing photography in high school as a hobby shooting my friends and random things, more documentary style. Shortly after high school I realized I can make money from it and began offering services which included music videos and short form videos, compilations etc. Read more>>
Aisha Olayinka 
My journey has been a combination of creativity, passion, and discovering different ways to express myself. I was born in Cameroon, but I’m Nigerian by origin, and growing up with a multicultural background played a big role in shaping who I am today. I’ve always enjoyed exploring different interests. Dance and modeling were some of the outlets I found for my creativity. Read more>>
Deborah Lombardo-Wehlan 
I opened D’Ann Danse Studios in Salisbury, Maryland, in 1983, after teaching various styles of dance at Salisbury University, known as Salisbury State College at the time. I was young and passionate about sharing this beautiful art form with my community, and I believed that dancers on the Eastern Shore deserved the same quality of training and opportunities available in larger metropolitan areas. Read more>>
Alexis Tchou 
For years, I was set on climbing the corporate ladder. I did everything the “typical” way: four years at Lycoming College, playing a collegiate sport, with a clear career path in mind. Then COVID hit. During that time, I got my first taste of working for myself through network marketing with Beachbody. Read more>>
Dee Sapp 
My journey into advocacy and leadership began nearly two decades ago, when I found myself challenging an educational system that seemed more interested in checking boxes and moving my son through an assembly line of processes than understanding him as an individual. Read more>>
Dee Sapp 
My journey into advocacy and leadership began nearly two decades ago, when I found myself challenging an educational system that seemed more interested in checking boxes and moving my son through an assembly line of processes than understanding him as an individual. Read more>>
Zhechao Jin 
I’m Chao, the founder of Pretty U&Me. I grew up in Shaoxing, China, a region home to the world’s largest freshwater pearl production and trading center. Pearls were all around me growing up, and that early connection is why I chose pearls to make them the heart of my jewelry brand. Read more>>
Kelly Sayre 
My journey into the personal safety and security industry started in a pretty unconventional way. I don’t have a law enforcement or military background. I’d never studied martial arts, and despite being physically active my entire life, I’d never even taken a self-defense class. After becoming a mom to two boys, I decided I needed to learn how to keep myself and my children safe. Read more>>
Dexter Adjei 
My journey started with watching YouTube videos, everything from travel films and short films to comedy skits. I would watch these videos and think to myself, “I feel like I could do this, maybe even better.” So, I decided to stop just watching and actually try it myself. I started filming with my iPad and learned as I went. Read more>>
Chidi Tiffany Achebe 
In 2016, just before walking the runway at Howard University’s Homecoming, I made a decision that would unknowingly change the course of my life: I cut off my hair. I remember nervously looking in the mirror after my barber finished my buzzcut, unsure of what to expect. But the moment I saw my reflection, something clicked. Read more>>
Shannon Madison 
I started working as a face painter in 2023. My daughters helped out with a neighborhood party doing tattoos for kids and it inspired me to look into face painting. I enjoyed painting when I was younger, but found it to be very solitary. Read more>>
Holly Justice 
My journey has been anything but traditional, but I’ve learned that some of the most beautiful stories are the ones we never imagined we’d be telling. My name is Tazia, although many know me professionally as Holly Justice or Holly Dream. I’m an actress, model, entrepreneur, community advocate, and, most importantly, a mother. Read more>>
Valencia Courtney 
My parents put me in a modeling program when I was in high school to build up my confidence and self-esteem. From there, I gained an interest in modeling. My mom is a hair stylist, so I believe I inherited the ability to do hair naturally. Read more>>
Lexx Abner 
I always had an interest for this industry growing up. It wasn’t until I watched Aladdin 2019 in theaters with my sister, I discovered that I wanted to become apart of making history with some of the most epic projects! Read more>>
Ash Samuels 
The arts have always been important to me for self-expression, as a hobby, and eventually as a form of storytelling and community connection. I grew up in the DMV and received my BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design. Afterward, I did my first internship in TV animation, then held roles in arts education, administration, and even mural design. Read more>>
Jody Wright 
My name Is Jikon . I was born in Prince George’s County,Maryland. I mainly resided in Seat Pleasant and Greenbelt Maryland mostly. I started creating music at the age of 7 . I performed in talent shows, as well as music entertainment shows, also participated in movies. Read more>>
Natarsha Wright 
My path has connected creativity, strategy, and the work it takes to bring an idea to life. Over more than 17 years working in operations, project leadership, and organizational support, I became the person who could see how the pieces fit together: the people, the processes, the systems, and the details that determine whether a plan actually works. Read more>>
Janeen Brown 
Third generation seamstress. My grandmother (father’s mom) taught my mom and my mother taught me. All of us self taught. My grandmother would share stories of her time with clients and the beautiful garments she constructed from dresses to all sorts of coats. She was commissioned from local shops to do alterations which is incredible to be sought out. I’m truly proud of that. Read more>>
Lyndja Canal 
I grew up in a church-going, musical, Haitian family and have been singing for as long as I can remember. I started at four years old, was leading children’s choirs by six, and already in recording studios sessions with some of Haiti’s biggest artists, by 10. Things changed quite a bit when we moved permanently to the States in 2007. Read more>>
MARY ANN JUNG 
Greetings! I am an award-winning actress, writer, director and Smithsonian Scholar who performs fun, interactive and inspiring shows about amazing heroines of history. I have appeared on CNN, Good Morning America and in newspapers around the world. I research and write my own shows and always perform in the authentic accent, clothing and attitude for my characters. Read more>>
Kristie L. Farley 
Voyager Baltimore The beginning of my writing career started in first grade. My teacher loved my fantasy story I did for homework. She even wrote my parents a note. They were proud and it gave me a quiet confidence. From that point on, I started participating in different writing competitions and got used to being on stage. Read more>>
Erica Miller 
Honestly, Be Still Bakery started from something really personal to me. I was diagnosed with celiac disease when I was 14, so I know what it feels like to go somewhere and not really have anything you can eat. Read more>>
