Portraits of Michigan

It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Michigan.

Selina Hill Lee

It’s a funny thing, having to write your own story. I have never been asked to do something like this before and I find myself hoping my story is enough, whatever that means, for the readers. I am in awe that I was chosen to be a part of this ‘Inspiring Stories’ series. Read more>>

Abby Usher and Tara Freni-Kenbeek

Our story began in 2022 when the two of us began dreaming about opening up our own psychotherapy practice where we could focus on our top 2 priorities: therapist well-being and client care. In that dreaming phase, we sat down and created a list of the values and intentions that we wanted to guide the opening of our practice. Read more>>

Lance Beaudry

Sure! My story really starts with curiosity and a love for figuring out how people find things online. Back in college, I built a few websites for fun and started to notice that some of them got traffic from Google while others didn’t. I wanted to understand why. That curiosity turned into an obsession with SEO and content strategy. Read more>>

Jennifer Edson-Rife

I launched my real estate career while working full-time as a registered nurse and raising my children as a single mother. Gradually I reduced my nursing hours to part-time and ultimately transitioned to real estate full-time; in my first year I was honored with our board’s Rookie of the Year award. Read more>>

Jennifer Faketty

Our founder and chocolatier Dale Anderson worked as a counselor with young people in the Juvenile Court. He saw how many systemic barriers these young people faced as they sought employment and the opportunity to turn their lives around. He wanted to help them overcome these barriers. Read more>>

Zack Weber

Weber Web, LLC has been in the making for years. I’ve always had a passion for computers and was fascinated at an early age. I aspired to be a computer programmer out of high school, teaming up with a childhood friend Kyle to form HellWeb Studios; a collaboration to learn and build Android apps and games. Read more>>

Jamie Phillips

A humble dream of having my own private practice someday.. The dream was inspired when my father had to have open heart surgery.. I kept dreaming about creating a place of my own. I named the practice in honor of my dad’s surgery which was extremely successful and he made it through. I have lived in Pontiac Michigan all my life. Read more>>

Bonnie Burd

From an early age, I felt connected to Yeshua (Jesus’ Aramaic name). As a child, I would speak to Him freely through the heart, having daily conversations where I learned the importance of connection and communication with all things. Read more>>

Tina-Marie Wohlfield

I am a firm believer that the more we connect and share our story with others, the better we are as stewards of people. I am a human resources professional, working in a field where we are people, supporting people. We are blessed to be of service to others in the organizations and communities we serve as an advocate, ally and door opener of opportunities. Read more>>

Lauren Hixson

My path into photography began in the mountains of Colorado. While earning my Doctorate in Physical Therapy, my husband bought me my first camera so I could capture our mountain adventures together. Read more>>

Angela Lee

I was born and raised in South Korea and immigrated to the United States when I was ten years old. Growing up, I was always captivated by K-beauty, its innovation, the emphasis on healthy, natural-looking skin, and the artistry behind it all. Although K-beauty and K-culture are now widely celebrated in the States, it wasn’t always that way. Read more>>

Jaime Davey

I am a 49-year-old Michigan native and have been a licensed physical therapist since 2002. Having lived locally my entire life, I chose in 2020 to open my own outpatient physical therapy clinic just a mile from my childhood home. With the support of my family, friends, and colleagues, I was able to turn my dream of owning a business into a reality. Read more>>

Jay Strawn

Hi! My name is Jay Strawn, and I’m a 24-year-old business owner based in Michigan. I founded JV Productions, LLC in August 2023, offering video editing, videography, and social media design services. My journey in content creation began over a decade ago with my own YouTube channel, which I launched at age 13. Read more>>

Abby Sumbler

The experience I had during the birth of my first child is why I became a doula. I hired a doula early on in my pregnancy on the advice of a friend. Through my pregnancy, my doula helped me understand what was going on in my body and helped me talk through some stressful situations. Read more>>

Nathan Jaworski

I started in fitness when I was fairly young. I always loved human movement and it fascinated me. I also knew I was really good around people ad building connections quickly along with being really good at business because of this skillset I had. Working with people is what I love to do most and I love people. Read more>>

Andrea Goucher

I started my journey as a young mother, looking for a way to contribute financially while still being present for my kids. When my second child was born, I launched a home-based business selling handmade goods, which I ran for 15 years. That experience taught me a lot about perseverance, time management, and juggling multiple responsibilities, lessons that still shape how I approach work today. Read more>>

Jesse Hopkins

I built my first guitar when I was 18 or 19 years old as a student at Central Michigan University. This happened to coincide with my disillusionment with the traditional collegiate experience. Read more>>

Eleni Kelakos

Bitten by the performing bug at 12, when I sang a song (Froggy Went A ‘Courtin) all by myself in a talent show at sleepaway camp, I knew I’d be on stage one way or another throughout my life. Through middle school, high school, and college, I was fortunate to get roles in musicals and plays, and solos in choirs. Read more>>

Chris Chamberlain

It all began in the late 1970s, when my parents, John and Karla Chamberlain, started renting canoes on the river in Lansing. What began as a small, family-run operation quickly grew into something much bigger. Seeing the excitement of people lining up to enjoy the river, my father recognized an opportunity. Read more>>

Zachary Roberts

Mixing Memories is owned by husband and wife, Zachary and Brittany Roberts. Zach used to be a middle school teacher in Plainwell and started this business during college. He has since left the public school system to work full time within the wedding industry. Read more>>

Chad Swan-Badgero

I caught the acting bug when I was in fifth grade when I was cast as Charlie Brown in ‘You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown’. I took part in theater all through school, and the summer I graduated high school, I wanted to be part of a production, but nothing was going on in Lansing at the time. Read more>>

David Fox

Metro Jiu-Jitsu was born out of a long-held dream. Founded in 2018 in the city of Southgate, our headquarters started as a vision between myself, David Fox, and my partner, Mohammad Abdrabboh. After beginning my own Jiu-Jitsu journey back in 2009, it was always my goal to open a gym that would become a community hub for martial arts. Read more>>

Monica Ross-Williams

I’ve always believed that when life gives you an open door, you walk through it — even if it leads you somewhere unexpected. My journey began in public service as an elected official, where I spent nearly a decade focused on community policy, ethics, and access. Those years shaped my understanding of how systems impact people’s everyday lives — especially when it comes to healthcare. Read more>>

Sheri Munsell

My story really began with my own personal challenges. I live with mental health conditions that made it very hard for me to work in traditional office settings. The stress, noise, and lack of flexibility often became too much to manage, and I found myself struggling to stay employed even though I had the skills and motivation to work. Read more>>

Laurie Vance

Laurie D. Vance comes to Midwifery naturally….. Since the birth of my first child in 1983, my passion, interest and support of the childbearing cycle has grown right alongside my family of 12 children (5 of whom were home births). I earned my first credential in 1996, Certified Lactation Educator from UCLA’s Extension Program. Read more>>

Kennedy Lynch

I started teaching Pure Barre in 2014 when we were stationed in Maryland. I fell in love the community that was built around the barre + the amazing workout. I knew very early on that I wanted to open my own studio some day. Fast forward to when my husband retired from the Air Force in 2019. Read more>>

Christopher Leifson

How I got to where I am today is as much a spirtual journey a much as a physical one. Read more>>

Richard Schultz

After more than 30 years in the IT industry, I made the decision to leave the corporate world and pursue a long-standing passion—photography. My interest in photography began at a young age, and over the years, I refined my skills through formal training at institutions such as Palomar College, Calumet Photo, The Right Light Studio, and various Meetup groups. Read more>>

Nickolas Magee

Truth be told, my story starting this incredible, well needed business is simplistic and admirable. My name is Nickolas Marcus Magee (43), proud graduate of Benton Harbor High School (Class of 2000). After high school, I attended Lake Michigan College (Benton Harbor, Michigan) graduated with Associates in General Studies (Prelaw Concentration). Read more>>

Mark VanVoorhees

A dynamic blend of jazz and blues standards, original compositions, and high-energy showmanship. The Voortex Jazz & Blues Band Featuring Papa Kiszka was born from a magical, impromptu jam session at a graduation party. Bassist Mark VanVoorhees gathered a group of talented musicians to perform jazz standards for his daughter Emma’s celebration. Read more>>

Laura Griffin

Worked in public accounting for 4 years out of college, after being the first person that they offered a full time position to before graduation after my internship. I left public accounting, started working as a financial and plant controller for various small and large businesses. Read more>>

carol hartford

The Ann Arbor DBT Center was established in 2000 by myself and 2 colleagues all from Washtenaw County Community Mental Health. DBT as a treatment became available post research and publication as of 1993 therefore relatively new as a model of treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder. My colleagues and I started out very humbly as an after work from CMH out patient practice. Read more>>

Kathryn Petersen

I’m a family medicine physician with an additional one year of training called the fellowship and osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). I used to work in a hospital; sometimes in the ICU, sometimes on the normal floors, I also ran a private practice, seeing primary care patients. Read more>>

Marc and Michelle Harlow

Our journey to owning an Irish goods store and becoming tour operators started with the discovery of Marc’s Irish ancestry. Having learned of that later in life, Michelle began buying Marc Irish-themed gifts for birthdays and Christmas, and eventually, we became good friends with the former owner of our company. Read more>>

James Clement

I grew up in Saint Ignace Michigan. My parents, Scott and Diggy, taught my sisters and I that success is driven by determination and hard work. Without my parents guiding me to succeed my lift would have gone down a completely different path. Thank you mom and dad for being the best parents I could have asked for. I am dyslexic. Read more>>

Jennifer Lemerand

Books have always been a part of my life – both as a personal passion and as a source of connection with others. For years, I dreamed of creating a space that combined everything I loved: good books, good coffee, and a sense of community. Read more>>

Bridgett Blough

My husband (Trent) and I met at the farmers’ market in Kalamazoo. I owned a food truck called The Organic Gypsy and he had a farm called Green Gardens Community Farm. For almost a decade, we worked together professionally, him supplying me organic fruit and veggies, while I provided catering for his clients at the venue. Read more>>

Crystal Dawn Able

As a young child I see, hear and sense things that others did not. I felt things on a deeper level than most, I guess. Many people would label me as being overly or too sensitive as being shy or scared and weird. Read more>>

Jack Greve

Lakeshore Keepers’ Story: In 1987, a small group of local Ludington residents dedicated to restoring and preserving Big Sable Point Lighthouse, located in the beautiful Ludington State Park. This organization was formed as the Big Sable Point Lighthouse Keepers Association and became a 501(c) (3) organization in 1991. Read more>>

Keith Pearson

Started working for a local HVAC company doing preventative maintenances during the summer while attending school. I received my associates in Mechanical engineering technology and associates in HVAC/R from Ferris State. I then worked for a local mechanical contractor in Grand Rapids as well as an equipment manufacturer as a technician over to course of a couple years before starting my own business in 2021. Read more>>

Vipul Hapani

My professional journey began in healthcare — working as a licensed physical therapist in skilled nursing and home health settings. Over several years, I treated more than a thousand geriatric patients. Those experiences shaped my philosophy of leading with empathy, trust, and consistent service — values that continue to guide me today. Read more>>

Kisstina Francis

My story really began when life threw me a curveball. During the pandemic, I lost my job, and like so many others, I was left wondering what was next. But instead of letting fear take over, I decided to take a leap of faith and bet on myself. That leap became Kissy Face Med Spa. It started with just me, one room, and one laser. Read more>>

Jay Williams

I wanted to be an orthodontist from age 11. I got my braces at that age, and my orthodontist seemed to just love every minute of every day in his practice. Fast forward to when I was in dental school, I started to appreciate how rewarding it was to give people smiles they can be proud of. Read more>>

Drew Bentley

When I was 21, my dad took me on a birthday trip that changed my life. We spent two unforgettable weeks traveling through Michigan’s wine country—starting in Petoskey, winding our way through Traverse City, and following the Lake Michigan coast all the way south. What began as a fun father-son adventure quickly turned into something much deeper. Read more>>

Ayla Schmidt

My journey with Devotion in Motion Dance Studio really began long before the doors officially opened. I grew up with a deep love for dance and a passion for creativity and community. Over time, I realized I wanted to build something that combined both — a space where dancers could not only learn technique but also feel valued, confident, and part of something meaningful. Read more>>

Sydney Stiles

In my late 20’s I struggled with a multitude of symptoms, the worst of which were chronic fatigue, brain fog and constant pain. After several years of running me through a vast array of tests from blood tests to a spinal tap, my doctors concluded that I had Fibromyalgia. Read more>>

Dominic Aker

I started this with a passion to be an entrepreneur. My love for cars and cleaning has been since I was little. What I do now is something I enjoy and to be able to service people for their needs is a blessing in full. Read more>>

Tyler Mitrzyk

Been boxing 25 years fighting around the world. Boxed while in the United States Marines. I’m a business buy, so I promote fights as well as train fighters Read more>>