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.

Joseph Travis

Eastside Wraps started with a simple idea: turn a passion for cars into something bigger. I used to work at a factory making the film. We had access to the extra film and would do small projects at home. Read more>>

Seth Clark

I’ve always enjoyed art as a kid and growing up tattoos were very prevalent in my life between family members and friends. I wanted a tattoo way before I was old enough. I gave myself my first tattoos at 14 years old with a sewing needle and started getting real tattoos at 16. Art was always a huge part of my life growing up. Read more>>

Shelby Parton

From a young age, I knew I wanted to make a meaningful impact in my community, though I was not always certain what form that would take. Over the years, I explored several career paths, including the military and medicine, before earning my bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Read more>>

Kenzie + Nick Hoar

Are we a hubby/wife chiro duo? YES!! We love it. Many people ask if we met at chiro school, but we actually met in high school. We both loved the healthcare field. Nick knew he wanted to be a chiropractor since he was young, as his family received regular care (lucky!!). I, however, did not. Read more>>

Jide’ Fresh

The funny thing is, VoyageOhio interviewed me a couple of years ago, and I told a lot of the story of how I became Jide’ Fresh. So I won’t make everybody sit through the sequel to the origin story. The short version is that I’ve spent most of my life making things. Read more>>

Joely Kaylor-McCallister

My journey in the beauty industry started with a deep passion for skin health, science, and helping people feel confident in their own skin. Over eight years ago, I turned that passion into a career by earning my esthetics license. Read more>>

Lindsay Ciulla

Lindsay Ciulla (pronounced “chew-la”) is a full-time multi-disciplinary artist, musician and community organizer based out of Columbus, Ohio since 2003. Lindsay studied instrumental and world music in addition to exploring art courses including photography at The Ohio State University. For years after graduating she indulged her creative side while working a slew of matrix jobs. Read more>>

Morgan Schaaf

My journey in esthetics has really been shaped by a love of education, a desire to keep learning, and a belief that our industry deserves to be recognized as a highly skilled profession. Read more>>

James Davis McAllister

My Journey: From the Maples Ballroom to Heart of Haven My journey in the music industry didn’t simply start when I picked up an instrument; it goes all the way back to when I was four years old, watching my mother manage the Maples Ballroom—now famously known as The Dusty Armadillo—right out in Rootstown, Ohio. Read more>>

Bree Poe

My journey as a cosmetologist began long before I ever stepped foot in a salon. I was just a kid when I discovered my natural instinct for beauty. By the time I was 13 my ‘business’ was already thriving as friends and family trusted me enough to pay for my services. Read more>>

Steve Del Gardo

My story began almost 40 years ago, when I was just a chef’s apprentice at an Italian restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Even back then, I knew that someday I would own an Italian restaurant. But as life often does, my path took me in a completely different direction. Read more>>

Rachael Cammarn

Founded in 1959, Toledo Opera remains committed to producing high-quality operas, operettas, and musicals, reaching approximately 30,000 people annually through mainstage performances, educational programs, and community outreach. Each year, Toledo Opera presents fully-staged operas, operettas, and/or musicals at the historic 900-seat Valentine Theatre, located in the heart of downtown Toledo. Read more>>

Paula Melo

My name is Paula and I was born in Caracas, Venezuela. I lived in San Antiono de Los Altos until I was 4 years old. Read more>>

Elizabeth Milli

My story with BAYarts really began more than 10 years ago, when I started as a volunteer helping out around the BAYarts campus in Bay Village—the same neighborhood where I grew up. What started as volunteering eventually turned into a paid position, and from there I worked my way through a variety of roles and responsibilities within the organization. Read more>>

Aaliyah Burnett

I was working at a job that I really loved, but eventually I realized that the company didn’t necessarily love me back. At the end of the day, I felt like everything came down to being a number, and I knew I wanted something that felt more personal and meaningful. I had always dabbled in nails when I was in high school. Read more>>

Bria Marie

My story started in hospitality by accident, but I was born for it. My great grandparents were in hospitality, so taking care of people, creating experiences, and making a space feel good was always in me. Around 2015 or 2016, I attended a family friend’s club event called Second Saturdays. Read more>>

Emma Ansah

I am a journalist with purpose. As a Canadian correspondent for African Diaspora News Channel, Emancipation Media, The Daily Scrum News and yourNEWS, I Center stories that shape lives, the Black experience, systemic injustice, and the constant fight for equity. My reporting digs into uncomfortable truths, exposes anti-Black racism at home and abroad, and shines a light on the resilience that refuses to die. Read more>>

Darren Shea

I’m a barber and work with my dad. He has been cutting hair for over 58 years and is still cutting. During Covid we had to shut down for 3 months. During that time I got a little board and something popped in my mind while I was walking thru my kitchen. I said to myself “I wonder where Bob the builder has been”. Read more>>

Ashley Hall

My name is Ashley Hall, and I am the founder of Houston’s Lift Off. On August 14th 2015 I gave birth to my first son, Houston. He was born prematurely and spent 4½ months in the NICU. He was born premature due to a shortage in my umbilical cord. Read more>>

Erin Christen

I began with a desire to make healthier, more natural choices for everyday life. What started as a personal passion for natural wellness grew into a business built on the belief that people shouldn’t have to choose between products that work and products made with ingredients they feel good about using. Read more>>

Sarah Icardi

I started violin at age 5. Violin has always been a huge part of who I am. I knew from an early age that I wanted a career as a musician and so as a child, I started working towards that goal. Read more>>

Nicole Ortiz

My story begins with music. Youth choir, then church choir, middle school band, and eventually jazz band and honor ensembles all through high school. By the time I got to college, studying music wasn’t really a decision, it was just where the road had been leading all along. Read more>>

Natasha Hollweck; Taelor Reese

It started just like any regular hangout between two childhood best friends (since the 3rd grade specifically). We planned a craft night where Taelor taught me (Tasha) how to make resin art. Satisfied with the results, the idea of starting a business with it came about, and ended on a handshake. Thus, Wicked Wild Treasures was born. Read more>>

Rebecca Norton

My career path has always centered around people, relationships, and helping others move forward. Before entering the matchmaking industry, I worked in property management and later as a district manager, where I developed a strong foundation in leadership, communication, and client relations. Read more>>

Jen BARILARO

My story definitely hasn’t been a straight line, and I think that’s what makes it mine. I’ve spent most of my adult life bartending. I’ve also operated heavy machinery, worked in national parks, taught snowboarding and skateboarding, became a certified doula, and eventually became a mom. Read more>>

Layla Malkat

I’ve always had a passion for beauty and fashion. When I was 14 years old, I started experimenting with lip gloss and a little bit of mascara. My mom wouldn’t let me wear full-blown makeup yet, but I remember seeing makeup looks on TV and in magazines and feeling inspired to express myself in different ways. Read more>>

Midori Zimmerman

Growing up, I always had a dream of owning a business but did not know exactly what for. Around the same time, I was starting freshman year of high school and I started to have some changes in my skin. My forehead was bumpy and I was very oily. I began to have a lot of breakouts all around my face. Read more>>

Alexis Wiles

Yes — I’d make your creativity the heart of the story, with technology being one of the things that makes you unique rather than the main focus. You want them to understand that you’re a multidisciplinary creative: fashion, sewing, design, content, entrepreneurship, and technology all connect in your world. Read more>>

Nichole Biller

I started djing in 2013 with a little box tv and a dream. I averaged 2 weddings a year and a couple karaoke gigs a week. After a few years I was finally able to quit my serving jobs and focus on my career as a dj. Read more>>

Cierra Johnson

My story isn’t a straight line, and I think that’s one of the most important things about it. I grew up without my parents, and that shaped me in ways that I didn’t fully understand when I was younger. I had to learn independence, survival, and resilience early. Read more>>

Dallas Cash

My life’s journey has always been driven by a passion for rhythm, storytelling, and spotlighting underappreciated voices. It began in the seventh grade, fueled by a deep-seated love for hip-hop, when I first stepped into the arena of battle competition. What started as an early outlet for lyricism naturally evolved over the years into a music career and a serious competitive pursuit. Read more>>

Matthew Hrpcha

My name is 7EVEN3TIMES, and I’m an independent artist from Lorain, Ohio. My story is really about evolution—learning how to turn pain, setbacks, and life experiences into something with purpose. Music has been part of my life for a long time, but my journey hasn’t been a straight path. I’ve made mistakes, lost people close to me, experienced setbacks, and spent three years incarcerated. Read more>>

Anthony Jordan

My journey started with a passion for bringing people together around the table, which led me to launch **Invito Personal Chef** to create tailored, intimate dining experiences. As my work grew, I wanted to connect with a broader audience, so I started ***The Everything Food Podcast*** on YouTube to explore culinary culture and interview industry voices. Read more>>

Tameka Fredericy

My name is Tameka Fredericy, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Reflecting back, the artist within me was always there. I just didn’t always understand it or allow my inner artist to have the voice she deserved. Creating has allowed me to express my inner world through experimenting with colors, painting, using different materials, and incorporating my experiences and interests into my art. Read more>>

Johnny K. Wu

My story has really been shaped by my love of martial arts, filmmaking, and Asian culture. I’ve been involved in martial arts and filmmaking in Cleveland since the late 1990s, producing independent films and working on projects that allowed me to explore Asian culture and history through storytelling. Over the years, that interest grew beyond filmmaking. Read more>>

Greg Schenk

40 years ago, I was living in Hermosa Beach living a life of a early 20s person thinking I would never leave. I flew back to Columbus Ohio for a friend‘s wedding and had a gut Field. Read more>>

Kai Jamison

As a kid, I was always expressive—excited, full of energy, always dancing, and loving to film content. I was always down to make anyone laugh. As I grew up, I started loving to film even more, and I built my YouTube platform, filled with every joyful expression I could find. I filmed for four consistent years, but unfortunately that led to a break. Read more>>

SÍ ERA

I’ve been a creative since a child. I decided to start making music this year and I’m having a really good time. I’m enjoy tapping into another side of myself. Most of my journey has been focused on theater yet over the years I’ve explored modeling, writing, creative directing and now music. My newest venture gives me the opportunity to bring all my skills together. Read more>>

Kofi Oduro

I am Kofi, a creative cinematographer , photographer, and a musician. I started creating simply because I loved capturing moments and telling stories. At first, I didn’t really know where it would take me. I was just learning, experimenting, and taking every opportunity I could. Read more>>

Tina Wilmhoff

My path to professional organizing was shaped by a wide range of experiences. Early work as a file clerk taught me the value of clear categories and reliable systems. Retail showed me how layout and visibility affect the way people navigate a space. As a daycare owner, I learned how routines, visual order, and simple expectations can lower stress for both children and adults. Read more>>

Susan Castillo

I’ve been creative for as long as I can remember. As a child, I spent hours drawing and making things, always finding ways to turn the ideas in my head into something real. One of my favorite examples is a Barbie car I made from a tissue box, complete with working doors and a trunk. Read more>>

Jessy Lee

Statement Peace started in 2017 with one piece and a vision that felt much bigger than where I was standing. I could already see it out in the world—on shelves, in shops, on people I had never met. So I worked toward that picture with manifestation, perseverance, hard work, and probably more than anything, an unshakeable will. One piece became a collection. Markets became wholesale. Read more>>

Robin Fiddes

In 2006, E. John Busser started a small ballet scholarship in honor of his late mother, Lillian’s, memory. Lillian was an avid supporter of the arts, particularly ballet, and ensured all her children grew up to appreciate the arts as well. John shared that passion and carried it into his adulthood ny volunteering for the Cleveland Ballet for over 15 years. Read more>>

Eddie Beasley

Born in Nuernberg Germany. Raised Edgewood Maryland, Late teens relocated to Baltimore Maryland. Where I endure tremendous trials and tribulations. Where I became wise to adapting to survival. And actually did more surviving then living. Spent most my teens in juvenile institution and prison along with most my twenties in Baltimore Cith Jail and DOC. Read more>>

Kayla Taylor

My story really starts before fashion. I grew up in ballet and the performing arts, so I’ve always understood clothing as expression. The way a costume can change how you carry yourself, how you move through a room. That never left me. Read more>>

Stephanie Archer

Approximately 15 years ago, I knew someone with ailments and a degenerative disease that has now claimed his life. This person was the owner of a labor doodle. They had paid upwards of $8000 for the year to have their dog trained by a major company. What I observed? Very different. A dog WITHOUT ANY training. Read more>>

Vinnie Langdon III

I was such a 90’s kid growing up! On Friday nights after dinner, we would run to the nearest Blockbuster Video or Hollywood Video store. There was something about running your fingertip across shelves of movies. Read more>>

Gracie Hubler

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been passionate about all things beauty. I would run around the house in little dresses and plastic high heels, begging my sisters to play ‘makeup’ with me. I learned about the esthetics industry when I was a junior in high school. I was immediately captivated. I would watch esthetician inspired Tik Tok’s and YouTube videos endlessly. Read more>>

Mia Shy

My journey started at Mt. Sinai hospital in Cleveland, Ohio where I was born. I was raised in Euclid, Ohio a suburb only about ten minutes away. My Dad and mom raised me, and since the age of four I had a tennis racquet in my hand-I was an avid tennis player all the way up until my teenage years. Read more>>

Heather Moser

Like many people of my generation, my first introduction to the world of the weird was through listening to Robert Stack tell us horrifying stories on Unsolved Mysteries. It was a sort of morbid fascination, I guess, because I loved every moment of the show but would be terrified after each episode. Read more>>

Mercedes Brown

My story really started with beauty, but it was rooted in something much deeper. There was a time in my life when I learned how to hide behind beauty. If I looked good on the outside, people wouldn’t know that I was secretly struggling on the inside. Read more>>

Will Newsome

There was always music in the house growing up. Dad was a lifer in the Army, a music lover, and would occasionally strum some chords his military buddies had shown him on an acoustic guitar that would sit in the corner. Read more>>

Don Iannone

I grew up in eastern Ohio in the 1950s and 1960s, in a working-class family and a region shaped by steel, coal, immigration, and close-knit communities. That background gave me an enduring interest in people, places, and how communities change. After high school, I planned to study to become a Nazarene preacher. Read more>>

Alicia Maslar

I was born in Little Italy, Cleveland, Ohio. A few years later my family moved to Olmsted Falls and I spent most of my formative years there. In high school, I was voted Most Individualistic in the senior superlatives, which tickled me, until it ended up medically true. Read more>>

Ashley Ingle

I’m a CPA and entrepreneur, and Profit Matters really started from seeing a gap in the traditional accounting world. So many business owners were getting financial statements and tax returns, but they still didn’t really understand what their numbers were telling them or what they should do next. I wanted to build a firm that felt different. Read more>>

Vernon Shelton

My life started like a survival story—no background, no safety net, and enduring childhood abuse from relatives. I picked up martial arts back then for one simple reason: self-protection. What started as a shield became my destiny. Read more>>