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.

Lester Parker

I was born and raised in a small, historic Black village, known as the first self-governing Black community north of the Mason-Dixon Line. From a young age, I have always been the outspoken child. Being the only boy made me even more outspoken and willing to challenge things I believed were wrong, regardless of my age. Read more>>

Kristin Bodendorfer

DIVA Donations began with me the founder Kristin Bodendorfer and my daughter, Amelia. Before DIVA became a nonprofit, We had already been helping my daughter’s friends—girls whose families couldn’t afford formal dresses—find beautiful dresses at thrift stores so they could attend dances and special events. When Amelia was getting ready to move out, I looked at my daughter’s closet and saw about 15 formal dresses. Read more>>

Jada Hobson

The story of Destination Dream actually began as a YouTube web series during my college years. Around 2012, while attending Kent State University, I launched the series to interview local artists and creatives about their dreams—whether they were pursuing careers in the arts, music, entrepreneurship, or any other passion. Read more>>

Samantha Ludwig

Art has always been a part of who I am. Recently, I came across a kindergarten assignment where I expressed my goal to be an artist. As early as possible, I designed my schooling using art as a core that all else extended fro, and at 18, I dedicated my undergraduate degree to exploring creativity and processes at the Kansas City Art Institute. Read more>>

Brianna O’Dell

I started at a very young age. My family likes to tell the story about how the teachers would tell them that I would sing on the toilet at daycare at the age of three. Read more>>

Tommy Earsing

Starting with our grandfather and the generations that followed, our family has been shaped by the restaurant world for more than 30 years. The place where my parents met — the iconic Jolly Roger in Buffalo, NY — became the foundation of who we are today. Read more>>

Robie Benve

Being an Italian immigrant who reinvented herself – twice – it feels like I’m living my third life. I grew up in Italy and started helping in my family’s shoe business when I was seven years old. I never imagined I would leave my family, my country, or the business. I’ve always been creative, but there was rarely time for painting. Read more>>

Olivia Aynes

My photography journey started long before I ever imagined owning a business. Growing up, I experienced challenges within my family that taught me resilience at a young age and shaped how deeply I value connection, relationships, and preserving meaningful memories. I’ve always been drawn to documenting people and the moments that matter most. Read more>>

Tawanna Tyson

My story is one of transformation, resilience, and purpose. Fifteen years ago, I was struggling with substance use and experiencing firsthand many of the barriers that can keep people trapped in difficult circumstances. Recovery gave me the opportunity to rebuild my life, and education gave me the tools to turn my lived experience into advocacy. Read more>>

Dr. Jenn Roedig

I’ve known I wanted to be a vet ever since I was 8 years old. I don’t remember a specific moment or event that happened to lead me to that decision, I just kind of knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. Read more>>

Heidy Chu

My journey began in Hong Kong, where I grew up surrounded by vibrant culinary culture, before moving to the US to be close to my family. As someone who lives in the neighborhood, the Worthington Farmers Market was always a favorite spot for my family to visit, and I fell in love with its warm community vibe. Read more>>

Devi DeVille

The 1st time I ever performed in front of a sold out audience, I was 6 years old with Otis Williams and the Temptations when they came to Springfield, Ohio. That started school solos, choirs, plays etc. Now, I write my own music, record it myself, mix and engineer it myself and put it out. Read more>>

Tommy Fello

Tommys started in 1972 as a drugstore with a 7 seat soda fountain that I took over and gradually kept removing the medicines and school supplies and added more and more tables when we lost our lease in 1977 we moved down the street and grew to a75 seat restaurant. Read more>>

Lisa Goldsand

After 30 years as an executive in the apparel manufacturing world, I founded Circular Thrift—a for-profit social enterprise focused on building community around sustainable fashion. My mission is to shift consumer behavior from the ground up through hyper-local community clothing exchanges and mending workshops. Circular Thrift also advocates for creative, hands-on solutions to the global textile waste challenge through remanufacturing. Read more>>

David Jordan

My journey into sports media has been anything but traditional. I didn’t go through the typical college-to-career path or have a degree in this field. I really started with a camera, a love for sports, and a willingness to learn by doing. I began shooting local sports, events, and whatever opportunities I could create for myself, and I continued building from there. Read more>>

Fran Kerg

Thirty years or so ago, my hands spontaneously became extremely hot and I felt energy moving through them. This happened when I was reading a book about Edgar Cayce, an intuitive whose work included helping people with health problems, many of whom had run out of options. Read more>>

Angela Rudolph

My story is one of resilience, service, faith, and purpose. My journey began with motherhood and an experience that changed my life forever. When I was told that my child might die, I discovered a strength within me that I didn’t know I had. Read more>>

Penny Robi

I started my journey around 2005, with a genuine love for people and a desire to create my own path. I’ve always been someone who believes in paving my own way rather than waiting for opportunities to come to me. Over the years, that mindset has carried me through every stage of my journey. Read more>>

Ples Jones

I’ve been in music for over two decades now — DJ, producer, and independent record label owner. It started with a genuine love for the craft, learning to read a room, build a set, and eventually helping other artists bring their own music to life through production and my label. Read more>>

Deandre Richardson

I’ve always been creative, even before I realized art would become such a big part of my life. One of my earliest memories goes back to the fifth grade. My teacher called a parent conference because I kept turning in assignments without my name on them. Instead of writing my name on the line, I’d fill the space with doodles and little drawings. Read more>>

Bob Szuter

In 2012, my dad, Alan, and I quit our jobs after preparing our business plan for Wolf’s Ridge Brewing. We spent the next 10 months building out our downtown location before opening in late September 2013. Initially, we opened with a restaurant and small brewery. Read more>>

Sgstreetz Streetz

My story is really about coming from the bottom and building something out of nothing. I started in music as an artist, just trying to find my voice and make a name for myself. Over time, I realized I didn’t just want to be in front of the camera—I wanted to understand every part of the creative process. Read more>>

Brody Alexander

I heard the bagpipes at a very young age at a veterans organization. Read more>>

Lauren Alvarez

Music has been my passion for as long as I can remember. My journey began at just four years old, and at age five, I joined the Riverside Choir in Lakewood, Ohio, while also beginning to pursue acting and singing at the Beck Center for the Arts. Read more>>

CEO TiMBO

I am CEO TiMBO independent artist & the owner of Onlythacircle Entertainment. I was born on the westside of Cincinnati, Ohio in the subsidized housing units of Moosewood Avenue but I was raised uptown in a poverty-suburb neighborhood known as 7hills. Read more>>

Oz Neal

Founded in 2018, Mommy’s Little Heart was inspired by a nickname my mother lovingly gave me when I was born: ‘Mommy’s Little Heart.’ That simple phrase became a symbol of unconditional love, comfort, and family. In 2009, my mother lost her courageous battle with breast cancer. Read more>>

Michael Price

Started personal training over 20 years ago, as I wasn’t fully invested in the criminal justice field. Was wanting to have more time freedom and help others, while being able to provide and make a living. Entrepreneurship has opened my eyes and career to many opportunities and great relationships. Read more>>

Juanita Duquesne

I started cutting hair seven years ago and fell in love with it. I decided to get my barbers license in 2024 to further fulfill my dreams of being a master barber. I come from a culinary background so, (I’ve been cooking for 20+ years) I decided barbering would be a good change for me. Read more>>

Trey Weekley

It really started for me when I was a kid. When I was little and my parents were still together, they were both involved in community theater. A lot of their friends were theater people, so I grew up around that world. There were always parties, rehearsals, performances, and eventually they started putting me in shows with them. Read more>>

Todd Mobley

Prior to starting Avalanche Advertising, I worked in the music industry for 10+ years. Selling musical instruments over the internet. After that I went back to school and studied computer science. Post graduating, I had already started to do some freelance marketing work and decided to go ‘all in’ on a new agency. Read more>>

Quintin Banks

My story really started as a kid playing basketball all day and night. Back when my family couldn’t afford an actual basketball goal, we made our own I used a crate nailed to a telephone pole as a hoop. That taught me a level of resourcefulness, grit, and pure obsession with the game that stuck with me ever since. Read more>>

Saya Meads

I grew up this highly-sociable, misunderstood AuDHD creature in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans and my makeup were like two puzzles that shared the same cut and I was a piece that technically fit, but was out of place. So when people ask me how I got my start to Comedy, it’s always hard because there was no beginning, middle or end. Read more>>

Adi Tamarapoo

DJ Dholak had originally started as a duo between my best friend Meki McCoy and I. The name was inspired by our friend Noah Beny who had told us to pick something that is meaningful to us as our DJ Name and due to my history of playing Indian Drums, DJ Dholak was born. Read more>>

Michael LaMattina

I began playing drums at age seven while growing up on Long Island, NY. My dad was my first drum teacher. When I was eleven we moved to the metro Atlanta area. In sixth grade I joined band in middle school and began to take music more seriously, increasing my practice time and playing all the instruments in the percussion family. Read more>>

Yasin Cuevas

My journey began in 2005 when I moved to Ohio and noticed the limited opportunities available for Latinas in modeling and leadership. I began volunteering at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center and created a small modeling program that, with the support of Letitia Lopez, eventually became the Latina Image Leadership Program. Read more>>

Moroni Lane

Music didn’t begin for me as a career plan. It became part of my healing. There was a time in my life when I was in a very dark place. I had experienced trauma, addiction, loss, and periods where I had become disconnected from myself and from the person I knew I could be. Read more>>

Miracle Flowers

I started my entrepreneurial journey in late 2019 when I founded Embellished by Miracle. At the time, the business was much more creatively focused, and I offered services ranging from fashion styling and design to website development and business development. I’ve always loved helping people bring ideas to life, and even then, I was naturally drawn to the intersection of creativity, branding, and strategy. Read more>>

Diamond Hammonds

Afrikan Kings & Queens was created in 2015 when I was a broke college student being plus size it was hard to find clothing that fit me living in the small city of Daytona Beach, FL. Read more>>

Demariel Baker

My story really began with music. What started as a passion for creating and understanding music eventually grew into a career as a producer and audio engineer. I’ve always been fascinated by what happens behind the scenes. Taking an idea, a sound, or a feeling and turning it into something people can connect with. Read more>>

Sunaina Bhagi

My journey into content creation wasn’t something I planned it evolved naturally from my background in acting, modeling, and being in front of the camera. Before becoming a full-time creator, I worked as an actor and model, which taught me the importance of storytelling, visual presentation, confidence, and connecting with an audience. Read more>>

Darwin Gardner

Life has been a whirlwind for me. Just 10 years ago I was homeless, depressed and struggling with addiction. Read more>>

O’shayia Richardson

I never imagined that one of the hardest experiences of my life would eventually become the reason behind something so meaningful. On December 6, 2023, I lost my daughter, LunaBella, to stillbirth. That loss changed me in ways I am still learning how to put into words. Then, in March 2025, I experienced a miscarriage just two days after losing my grandfather. Read more>>

Jude Brown

This whole idea started when COVID hit. I had to figure out some way to occupy my time during the lockdown. I had just gotten a new phone. It was the (at the time) brand new iPhone X. I was amazed by the camera quality on it, and wanted to know what I could do with it. Read more>>

Dedrick Lynch

I started my business in November 2023 at just 20 years old with the goal of building something of my own. During my first year, I worked in the business full time. We were able to stay busy and keep things moving, but I quickly learned how challenging it was to grow a young company and make it fully sustainable. Read more>>