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.

Michelle Schneider

My path to where I am today wasn’t a direct path to travel, but a great journey, nonetheless. My 27-year career started exclusively in the finance world working for a large brokerage firm. This was where I became meticulously detailed, honed my follow up skills and demonstrated my work ethic. Read more>>

Bobby Haag

I was introduced to oil painting when I turned 20 years old. I never heard of it. At first I would fill notebooks full of drawings. Those were the first pictures I made independantly and I have a lot of those notebooks from the classic days of drawings and colorings and words. Read more>>

Bob Von Kaenel

I’ve always been curious. About how things work, about what motivates people, about what’s possible if you refuse to accept the status quo. My career started in the early 80s in Erie, Pennsylvania. I had an entry level sales role for a large company in the healthcare industry. I was young, ambitious, and eager to learn. Read more>>

Kareen Oosterhart

A Chiropractic Love Story It’s hard to say exactly when my chiropractic story began. Maybe it started when I was six years old, when my dad hurt his back and began seeing a chiropractor. Or maybe it started when my brother began care with that same chiropractor for chronic ear infections. Read more>>

Kathy Elsesser

I have grown up in Michigan my entire life. When young, I watched as my father would try(experiment) with different things from solar panels on our house to starting to build an electric car to chopping down a van to make it into a truck to haul an rv trailer. He was always doing something out of the norm. Read more>>

Jackie Miller

I spent about five years living and volunteering in Theravada Buddhist monasteries. I came to breathwork when I was volunteering at a monastery in Australia in 2008. I knew I’d had a difficult birth, and I’d heard that breathwork was a modality that could potentially reach emotional memories as early as that. I was not disappointed! Read more>>

Rhonda Willingham

My story began over ten plus years ago. In the dentist office( when they actually had magazines in the waiting room) I ran across an article about a woman who happened to be the president of a division of Kraft Foods. Read more>>

Batoul Ayoub

I’ve been passionate about interior design for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Beirut, Lebanon, I loved rearranging the furniture in my parents’ home, sometimes in ways that weren’t exactly practical, but I was always driven by creativity and curiosity. At ten years old, my family moved to the U.S. Read more>>

Libby Western

Deane and Libby grew up in Michigan. Both have always had a love for the outdoors. The last twenty plus years they lived in Florida where they raised their kids. With the kids gone and on their own, they were looking for an adventure. Libby always knew she wanted to be back in northern MI, Deane loving Libby was good with that. Read more>>

Tonya Maveros

As with so many businesses, I got started because of my own personal experiences in having an unhealthy marriage. In my previous relationship we tried five therapist, but ultimately it ended in divorce. In creating space for my independent therapy journey, I was able to learn more about myself as in individual and how that showed up within my failed marriage. Read more>>

Sandra Kravitz Jimmy Mazzola

My brother and I were born in Detroit and now call St. Clair Shores home — the same community where our bakery is located. My love for baking began in childhood, spending time in the kitchen with my aunt and grandmother. Those early moments of learning, laughter, and the smell of something sweet in the oven continue to inspire me every day. Read more>>

Zaden Reid

I’ve always wanted to work, since I was young I’ve learned how to take care of myself. A great and more prominent example being cooking, something not only I was passionate about but also my old stepdad. He showed me the ins and outs, what I need to know, what spices can perfect a dish. Read more>>

Misha McGlown

I am a native Detroiter who grew up on the Northwest side. Like many Detroiters, I grew up surrounded by creatives, makers, entrepreneurs, side-hustlers, and hard-working families – people who invented themselves and made things happen – most of them, most of us, overcoming tremendous odds…with grace and with style. Read more>>

Mary Anne David

A Lifelong Symphony Music has always been in my life. I grew up in a family immersed in it, and that passion drives me today as the manager of Kawai Music Lesson Studios (formerly Evola Music). At Kawai, we focus on providing a fun, inclusive, and comprehensive music education environment. Read more>>

Meghan Duffey

My Story: My path to owning and creating The Bell, a boutique motel in Petoskey, Michigan, started in an unexpected way. For most of my career I have been in the tech industry in New York or San Francisco, leading strategic enterprise sales teams and helping businesses transformation and innovate. Read more>>

Tatum Romanowski

Mondays began as a simple pop-up lemonade stand in May 2025, when our teenagers wanted summer jobs and we saw an opportunity to teach them the value of entrepreneurship. What started as Mondays Mix & Sip quickly gained local support and grew faster than we ever imagined. Read more>>

Janet Bloom

Jean Roman, my business partner, was down for the count with a GI medical issue and during that time she was talking to a friend about food truck booking agencies. Given her background, it was a natural progression to try and get one off the ground. As she vacationed in FL, I tagged along and we talked about doing this venture together. Read more>>

Abe Auer

I have always been interested in stand up comedy. In Jr. High I signed up to do comedy at my school talent show and then backed out at the last minute. The ghost of Jr. High talent shows haunted me for many years. I would see comedy clips online or hear about shows in the area and it would pique my interest. Read more>>

Sherry Gershon

We started with a dream to create an escape room that was more than just puzzles, we wanted it to be a fun, creative, and interactive space where people could really connect. The idea was to get people thinking out loud, working together, and feeling that excitement of solving things as a team. Read more>>

Buffy Mallo

**Title: From Adversity to Inspiration: My Journey as a Hair Stylist and salon owner** **Introduction:** Hi, my name is Buffy, and I’ve been a hair stylist for 30 years. My journey has been filled with challenges, but it has ultimately shaped me into the professional I am today. Read more>>

Jennifer Clasman

Here is our lil burb we use for social media: Meet the co-owners: Maryellen Werstine and Jenny Clasman This dynamic duo met in 2018 and had an instant spark that lit the flames that would become Boyne City’s massage and wellness studio. They are both passionate about health and wellness, and helping their community live more enriched lives. Read more>>

Brandon Orzame

When I graduated from Michigan State University, I felt like I was starting over. I was lost, with no direction or plan on how to start my adult life. I took a leap of faith and decided to pursue my passion of fitness, even though I had no idea what I was doing. Read more>>

Sam Wickey

My name is Sam Wickey, and my wife Miriam and I own Discount Foods of Bronson. We’ve been married for 22 years and have built this business together from the ground up. Our store manager who also happens to Miriam’s sister, Martha, has also been a vital part of this journey. We started small—just a 1,000-square-foot storefront at 123 North Madison Street in Bronson. Read more>>

Harley Wallen

I took the most complicated version to becoming a Filmmaker or at least that’s what it feels like.. I had ambitions as a little kid back home in Sweden. I would be watching Tarzan and telling my parents already at five years old that I was going to move to America and be an actor.. Read more>>

Carolyn Drier

My grandfather bought this business in 1913 from Alex Watson. I am the third generation working with the fourth generation. I have worked on and off through my life working with my father. When he unexpectedly died in 1994 I was able to continue the business. Read more>>

Kelly Jansens Mensch

My story really starts with a deep desire to make a difference. I’ve always had that entrepreneurial fire in me — the drive to create, build, and inspire. But over the years, I’ve realized that my journey is about so much more than business. It’s about purpose. My faith has been the foundation of everything I do. Read more>>

Jessica Cortez

I have always wanted to work with children through a mental health lens. I graduated from the MSW program at the University of Michigan in 2011 and since then, have worked towards building a practice solely treating children and adolescents. As a clinical social worker, I work on creating coping mechanisms for kids and addressing symptoms related to anxiety, depression, ADHD, and behavioral concerns. Read more>>

Adrienne White

I started my yoga journey way back when I was 18 years old! I thought of yoga as exercise at that time and didn’t start to see yoga as a philosphical/life embetterment practice until my 20’s when I realized doing the postures and especialy the breathing, made my life so much better and gave me the energy to do everything I wanted to do… Read more>>

Angie English

Bloom began in two small salon suits with women who wanted more. More to offer clients, more to offer the community, and more to give back. Since then, we acquired our own space and carefully grew our team to offer the best to our clients. Read more>>

Megan Byrd

I grew up outside a small mountain town in Colorado, where a lack of cable TV led me to flood my family’s Netflix queue with Will & Grace DVDs. I idolized Grace Adler, and with the unshakable confidence of eighteen year old, I set out to become an interior designer. Read more>>

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>>