The Change-Makers: stories that inspire

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.

Ifat Lahyani

My Story Some of my earliest memories are of a home where the door was always open. My mother was always baking, always cooking, and always making sure there was enough food for anyone who walked through our door. The aromas that filled our home are still with me today. For years, I thought her secret ingredient was hidden somewhere in her recipes. Read more>>

Belinda Workman

My journey to creating Lotte Naturals began long before the company itself. Growing up, I had numerous sensitivities and was allergic to every artificial food dye. In my mid-20s, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s after seeking answers through holistic medicine, an experience that completely changed the direction of my life. Read more>>

Chris Glover

Running has always been a passion and expression of who I am. I’ve been involved with the running community for quite some time, whether its dressing up as superheroes or involved at the ground with run/walk clubs. Movement is such a gift, and I try to do whatever I can to ensure everyone has access when possible Read more>>

Tracy Hunt

Getting into a helping profession wasn’t obvious. As a young adult, I was drawn toward teaching, but my mom encouraged me to earn an associate degree in Office Information Systems so I could have a stable career as a secretary. After that I worked full-time while taking college classes part-time, using my employer’s tuition reimbursement to continue my education. Read more>>

Tatiana Wells

Born Aurelia Wells after my grandmother, but her name was changed to Tatiana Wells after her mom learned of a new name identified by a beautiful perfume that her mom’s twin sister admired. Read more>>

Dr Cortesha Cowan

My journey began with a passion for serving others long before I ever became a business coach or nonprofit leader. As a former teen mom, I experienced firsthand the challenges of trying to build a stable future while raising a child. Those experiences shaped my heart for helping women, families, and entrepreneurs overcome obstacles and create lasting change. Read more>>

Nicole Nickley

My husband and I was intrigued when learning about salt rooms. About 12 years ago, we drove a ways to try one and left wow’d and planning our next trip back. We wished there was one closer. Words cannot express how you feel after a halotherapy (salt therapy) session. The salt produces negative ions to help get the body to a calmer state. Read more>>

Kyle Peterson

My career path originally started with the goal of becoming a pediatrician. I’ve always loved working with kids, and with my mom working in pediatrics, medicine felt like a natural fit. Everything changed during my senior year of college. I took the MCAT, and the very next day I left for Africa to do medical mission work. That experience completely shifted my perspective. Read more>>

sonja Thams

It all stated for me when I took a surface design class in college and fell in love with the magic of natural dye pigments. All designs I create are hand-dyed with natural dyes in my studio located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some designs are made with ancient techniques and dyes as well as new. Dyes are combined and tested to create new variations of colors. Read more>>

Anthony W. Gaines II

My journey has never really been about building a media company, it has always been about building better conversations. Growing up, I developed a passion for people, ideas, and understanding why we think the way we do. Over time, I realized that some of our biggest challenges as communities don’t come from a lack of intelligence or opportunity, but from a lack of meaningful dialogue. Read more>>

Kristen LePrevost

The Good Neighbor Thrift Shop was started in spring of 1979 by members of the Avon Lake United Church of Christ as a way to help raise money to go towards mission work. Over the years the shop has expanded so now we were able to donate over $460,000 to charities in 2025. Read more>>

Marian Jacobs

Born Marian Searcy in Thomasville, Ga 1965, lived with my family in S.Ga.& attended Columbus State Univ. in Cols.Ga., obtained Bach. Of Science, danced & modeled professionally from age 15-29. Employed as Physical Therapy Technician & Pathology Lab Technician @ Hughston Sports Medicine Hospital & Clinic. Trained Fitness Clients and worked in Rehabilitation for several years. Answered an ad in Atlanta newspaper for Sebastian Intl. Read more>>

Julia Rankin Long

My name is Julia Rankin Long and I’m 33 years old. That will matter or not by the end of this. I’m a licensed esthetician in Northern Kentucky. Graduating college in 2015 with a bachelors in music and a minor in psychology. I had one job for 7 years after, and that was teaching preschool. Read more>>

Dallin Windsor

So I am 28 years old and was born in Arizona. Growing up my family moved around for work very frequently. After the age of 5 it was every 2-3 years we lived in Arizona, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, Oklahoma, The Philippines, Oklahoma, Mexico. It was hard moving and having to start from scratch every few years. Read more>>

Jana Jordan

I got into content creation by traveling a lot to Florida. I used to travel to Orlando almost every month. When I was in Orlando, I would explore all around with my aunt. She used to work for Disney, so I went to the parks a lot and started filming everything I did. Read more>>

KC Loesener

My name is KC Loesener, and my journey as a writer began at the age of eight, when I knew I wanted to become a published author. While I couldn’t have predicted where that dream would lead, the path has been filled with both challenges and rewarding milestones. Read more>>

Afi Elizabeth Ntontolo

I was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and spent my childhood moving between several countries before eventually immigrating to the United States with my family. My father is a pastor, my mother is a nurse, and watching their faith, resilience, and work ethic shaped who I am today. Read more>>

Kachera Williams

Fashion has been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. My mom loves to tell the story that by the age of three, I insisted on dressing myself. She would buy me these perfectly coordinated outfits everything matching from head to toe but I’d come out of my room with my own combinations. Read more>>

Mario Gonzalez Lopez

COORDINATE began as an idea in 2021, when I came up with the name and started building the brand’s identity and vision. Over the next few years, I focused on developing every detail, from the concept to the designs, before officially launching in 2024. In the beginning, I operated from home, with most of my sales coming through my online store. Read more>>

Willis Bing Davis

I have been deeply involved in art and sports since my pre-teen years. I was always making art and participating in basketball, football, and track. I achieved awards in art and all-city recognition in basketball and track. Attended college and excelled in art, basketball and track. Achieved MVP in basketball and selected into the DePauw University Hall of Fame. Read more>>

Peter Lopez

I found Cleveland Kendo a little over 10 years ago. I had previously done other martial arts and was looking for a way to stay in shape and compete. Kendo stood out to me because the students and instructors were older than most other martial arts dojos I visited. Read more>>

Andy Billman

My journey has always been driven by one thing: telling stories that matter. Growing up in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, I developed a passion for sports and storytelling that eventually led me to ESPN in 2002. Read more>>

Kristin Gibson

In 2013, I was already photographing weddings when I decided to add boudoir to my business. At the time, I honestly thought it would just be something fun to offer. I took a few workshops, learned a handful of poses, reserved a beautiful hotel suite, and jumped in. There was no professional hair and makeup, no wardrobe guidance, no luxury products. Read more>>

Melanie Bradford

My husband and I founded Labor Compliance Pros (LCP) in 2018 to solve a major pain point we saw across the construction and public works sectors: business owners and general contractors wanting to maintain full regulatory compliance, but finding the administrative process overwhelming, highly technical, and deeply inefficient. Read more>>

Lee Jones

I think a lot of my story starts with feeling in-between worlds. I was born in the UK and raised in the States, so from an early age I was constantly observing differences in culture, taste, communication, identity, energy, all of it. I think that naturally trained my brain to see layers in things. I never looked at the world at surface level. Read more>>

John Osborn

I’ve always wanted to own my own business since high school. About 20 years later I became the owner of Little Hugo’s. From what information I can find we are the oldest Ice cream store in town and was originally a Dairy Queen. We have updated the logo and revamped the menu. Over the years we have been investing heavily in the building and equipment. Read more>>

Tiernan McKinney

When I was in high school my buddies and i got really into modifying our guitars. I loved doing it so much that my senior project ended up being all about luthiery and moding one of my personal basses. We started out small but worked our way all the way up to building our very own kit guitar. Read more>>

Brittany Valentine

At 38 years old, I am the founder and owner of Balance Vitality, where I work as a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP). Health and fitness have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I was always active, and I believed I was making healthy choices through nutrition and exercise. Read more>>

Stephen and Trina Winner NA

If you had told us while we were in physical therapy school that one day we’d own a business together, we both would have laughed. We actually promised each other we’d never work together and never own our own practice. God had other plans. Read more>>

Meghan Rosbottom

I was born and raised in Concord, Ohio, and after spending my college years at Kent State University, I returned home to put down roots in the community I love. I graduated from Kent State in 2013 with a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication and began my career in the banking industry, where I worked my way up to becoming a Private Banker. Read more>>

Patty Gibson

Pat Gibson and The ARTISTRY of You, LLC Patty Gibson and The ARTISTRY of You, LLC: We are a full-service image consulting firm that specializes in helping busy, aspiring women to look and feel their best. Read more>>

Krystyll Harden

My journey with Henry County Humane Society began with a lifelong passion for animals and a desire to make a meaningful difference in my community. I spent most of my career working in the service industry waiting tables and bar tending until I accepted a position as a barn specialist providing animal-assisted therapy to adults with autism. That experience changed my life. Read more>>

Heidi von Harringa

I am a therapeutic sound facilitator in Columbus, Ohio. I have only been on this specific path for a little over a year but in that time, I have discovered what it is that I am truly drawn to in this life. Read more>>