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.
Kari Bello
The Braid Initiative is a program in partnership with Hamilton County’s Youth Employment Program to create vocational opportunities for youth in Cincinnati. The program is an intensive 7 week training for youth ages 14-21, who want to learn the art of hair braiding. Students come from all over the city of Cincinnati to get paid to braid! Youth are paid a stipend to complete the training. The program is apart of the county’s initiative to end youth violence. So far, The Braid Initiative has graduated 28 students since June 2024, with the hopes of continuing to spread the Braiding bug! Read More>>
Nicole Quillen
The pandemic played a big role in shaping the business as well. Being a stay-at-home mom during COVID with little kids was challenging, but it also gave me the time to dream and create. This platform allowed me to stay present with my children while building something meaningful and creative. Read More>>
Ash Dasuqi
I first realized birth was going to be a part of how I contributed toward my community and how I’d do my work toward liberation when I observed a birth during nursing school. I was dreading it until I saw this incredible person, amidst all these machines and wires and artifice, give birth to a child. When that baby emerged, I realized I was in the presence of the most alive, raw human thing I’d even seen. I hadn’t know there was reality like that during life on this teeming planet. There we so many attempts to control the process by the staff, both technologically and procedurally, and yet this baby did not care. Nor did the birther! Like dandelions springing up through concrete, they just did what their animal bodies knew to do. Read More>>
Janicka Harris
Perhaps the most persistent struggle has been securing clients who truly value the intersection of design, community impact, and sustainability, particularly those who appreciate the power of creative storytelling and impactful graphics. Lastly, this journey has taught me a valuable, albeit difficult, lesson: not every individual considered a friend is inherently obligated to support my entrepreneurial endeavors. The realization that kindness and positivity can sometimes be met with indifference or even hostility was particularly challenging to accept. It became clear that my optimistic outlook, while a driving force, could inadvertently make others feel uncomfortable or threatened. Read More>>
Cindy Michael
In 2014 I was working as an IT Project Manager in Corporate America and lost my job in April of that year. I had thought about a job in the yarn industry as something to do after retirement but decided that there was no time like the present. I knew that our local yarn crawl took place in September each year and my goal was to be open in time to participate… so I had 4 months to open my doors. Read More>>
Jen Hill
In May of 2022 Jen Hill Organizing was established. I immediately surrounded myself with a community of business leaders and mentors. I started getting clients right away and haven’t looked back. Today Jen Hill Organizing has 3 other ladies (and looking for more) that help organize and take care of our clients, I have appeared close to a dozen times on The Nine morning show, and have spoken at several events. Read More>>
Angie King
Homegrown on Haubner Hill was a stop on the Campbell County Backroads farm tour, where over 700 people stepped foot on the farm. A few photographers found my gem of a farm and took senior and family photos in the flower field and around our beautiful farm. Off season, I create using dried flowers from the field – everlasting pumpkins and bouquets in the fall, Christmas ornaments, and spring floral hoops. I hope that Homegrown on Haubner Hill brings as much joy to those that step foot on Haubner Hill as it has made us. The joy of hanging out in the flowers brings a sense of peace and I love showing people that anyone can do this – all you need is a bit of soil, sun and water. Read More>>
Ambre Emory-maier
When I arrived in Columbus, Ohio, I found myself working part-time as our daughter transitioned into high school in a new environment. For the first time in years, I had the freedom to explore something I had always been curious about: yoga. This exploration quickly became a transformative journey, deepening my connection to the body-mind-spirit. This exploration eventually led me to certification as a yoga, mindfulness, and meditation teacher. I began teaching the practice of yoga in yoga studios, ballet schools, and community spaces, as well as contributing to yoga teacher training programs. Read More>>
Ariel Peterson
It was in those lessons that my passion for this industry, and my passion for helping people look and feel their best evolved into more than I could have imagined. I am grateful to be doing what I love for work every day, and even more grateful for the clients that have trusted me along the way. Many of them encouraged me through any doubt and have followed me on the path of becoming an independent stylist. Within my first week of renting a chair in 2021 at Bombshell Cleveland in the Gordon Square neighborhood, I knew it was going to be one of the best moves of my career, but I never stopped dreaming of a space I could make my own. Read More>>
Gary Pillette
Our journey has went very smooth because i love what I do and I do it for our community but don’t necessarily depend on it for income because Ive been a Tool & Diemaker at Ford Motor Co for the past 28 years. There’s really no stress but to make sure to bring the very best events I possibly can while still keeping them affordable. The only struggles I see is keeping it fresh for fans and making all of our shows stand above others because there are no shortage of events in Michigan to choose from. Quality over quantity. I want our fans and attendees to forget their problems, make memories with their friends and children and hopefully leaving with the feeling they’re part of the family. Read More>>
Emily Miller
In 2016, I got married and left the print shop. I started a job that quickly became unenjoyable. It lacked creativity and the environment was toxic. I decided to begin a graphic design company to give me a creative outlet – Inspire Design Co. I began focusing on wedding stationery. When the business didn’t grow as quickly as I wanted, I hit the road cold calling. Within six months, I was able to quit my job and run my business. I used my knowledge of the print industry to provide service that the local print shops weren’t able. Read More>>
Thomas Apathy
After a successful career as Quantity Director in Manufacturing, Tom took his love for music and photography and launched a 2nd career in concert photography Read More>>
Daniel Sinceir Aka Sauce Wayne
I’m a gospel rapper, preacher, and teacher from Columbus, Ohio. I’ve been performing my entire life, starting in my youth with roles in productions like The Chocolate Nutcracker. In 2017, I began rapping and making music, but it wasn’t until I had an encounter with Christ in 2020 that my direction changed. By 2021, I was creating music for the Lord, and in 2023, I released my hit single “Jesus Is Real,” now streaming on all major platforms. Read More>>
Mecca Freeman
I’d come home from work everyday whilst living in London, UK and the only thing that would lift my spirits was putting in my headphones, slipping some heels on and dancing until I got tired. During those times I’d engage in mirror affirmations and guided self-love meditations. Over the course of just a few months it changed me drastically from the inside out and I hosted my first class January 2018 to offer this same formula to women who may have been experiencing the same distress that I was at the time. And that is how Confidence Builds In Heels (CBIH) was born. Today I am grateful to bring woman together in love and community, offering a space of healing through soulful and intentional movement. Read More>>
Makena Horn
As I began to age and my body followed so did physical discomfort. I was looking down the barrel of physical dysfunction again and couldn’t bare the thought. I knew there was something different I could do for myself. I suddenly remembered that little girl that was so enthralled with all those herbs and the magic hidden within. So I began to study and I learned to support my physical body through the natural world. Read More>>
Mark & Jennifer Winter
Mark and I met over bed bugs, I was a hotel manager and he was the exterminator that took care of our bed bug situations, hence the fact that we had icing bed bugs on our wedding cake! In 2014, we saw a need for a company in the Cincinnati and Dayton area that would specialize in bed bug extermination. So we started Bed Bug Solutions and a few years later we added in residential and commercial general pest control to our services we offered, which in turn, we created Solutions Plus Pest Control to minimize confusion that we were only able to treat bed bugs. Read More>>
Mariam Abed
It was the perfect place to bring authentic Palestinian coffee, teas, Adeni chai, and Middle Eastern food to life. At the heart of this venture is my sister Saada Z, a widow and a culinary artist who has served the community with love and dedication for 18 years. Known for her incredible dishes and signature handmade dough, she has earned over 8,000 followers and 400,000 views on Snapchat Spotlight. Her passion and kindness have touched countless lives, and it was my honor, alongside my father, to help her bring her dream of a restaurant to life, showcasing her talent in the city that means so much to us. Read More>>
Susan Brown
Mom’s words came to me loud and clear. First was, Successful leaders are like tea bags. The hotter the water the stronger they become. Second, surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher. Good people, positive people, can do attitude people who are going to challenge you to make you better. Last but not least, people come into our lives to teach us something, some not meant to be in our lives forever, and sometimes the forever is not the person, but what we gain from them. I’m grateful for a talented and devoted team of professionals, appreciative and loyal customers and especially the forever love from family. Read More>>
Tia Santamaria
My name is Tia Santamaria, and I’m a proud triplet born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Growing up as number five in a family of seven siblings, plus three step-siblings, meant there was never a dull moment in our household. After graduating from Reynoldsburg High at 17, I naively sought freedom and independence but quickly found myself partying away my freshman year. That all changed shortly before my 19th birthday when I found out I was pregnant with my son, Noah. Read More>>
Austin Tootle
In my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to direct the school musical, which was when I really felt like I was in my element. This experience led me to pursue modeling and acting after graduation. However, I quickly realized that acting wasn’t for me, and I wasn’t the right size to pursue a career in modeling. But I became increasingly fascinated by the fashion being showcased on the runway, which ultimately led me to pursue a degree in fashion at the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD). Read More>>
Danielle Rojas-Taylor
For me, some challenges along the way would mostly include caring for myself through rough patches. Compassion fatigue and burnout are real, and early on in my career I found myself struggling with the emotional load I would take home day to day. There are so many barriers that you run into when trying to help, and I found it really hard to come to terms with that. Still to this day, I will always go above and beyond to do what I can – but recognize now the importance of caring for myself at the same time. Read More>>
Emily Hitchcock
So when my financial aid package fell through the following year of college, it felt like providence that the director of the writers’ group offered me a job at a new publishing company he was starting. I took a chance, dropped out of college, quit my boring bank job, ignored the shock of my friends and family, and started working at the fledgling company. I made no money, I still wasn’t getting enough sleep, but it was the best decision I ever made. Read More>>
