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.
Stacy Bare
My family and I moved from Utah for this position in 2022. It has been an outstanding decision. We spent 10 years in Utah where I worked leading the Military Outdoors Program at the Sierra Club before being promoted to run Sierra Club Outdoors. I also launched the Great Outdoors Lab in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center at Cal-Berkeley. Read more>>
Elaine Dalcher
MY STORY, Elaine Dalcher I’m a Michigan-based painter whose work is grounded in direct observation, memory, and lived experience of place. Over the years, my paintings have evolved from intimate studies of trees, water, skies, and still life to an exploration of the contemporary Midwestern landscape as it is reshaped by human intervention. Read more>>
Amanda Shields
I mainly got started with photography as a fun hobby- taking self portraits or photos of my friends. That expanded into people asking for senior or family sessions, and then I ended up photographing a friend’s wedding which lead me to fall in love with wedding photography! Read more>>
Christina Zardus
I got my start picking magnolia petals in my childhood backyard and pretending they were teacups. Still following the path of play and making, you will find me creating functional ceramics, teaching classes through Sugar Hill Clay Studio in Detroit, or on a picnic with my daughter. I discovered ceramics my senior year of college and have been chasing it ever since. Read more>>
Tanissa Smith
Lotusbtr. started in 2016 after battling burnout that nearly broke me! I realized I had spent so much time pouring into everyone else that I had completely neglected myself. I wasn’t looking to start a business as much as I was searching for a way to reconnect with myself through intentional moments of rest and care. Read more>>
Dr. Maya Cobb
I’m a Black girl from Detroit before I’m anything else. And I say that because I truly believe it defines who I am today. That little Black girl from Detroit is still driving the boat often times. I grew up in Detroit and graduated from Renaissance High School. Read more>>
Taylor Carlson
I owe a lot to my mom for getting me started in photography. She had bought me my first camera as a gift for Christmas in 2015. I had been dropping hints for months about a camera, and it was a sweet surprise to open it on Christmas morning. Read more>>
Katy Joe DeSantis
I first began training to become a teacher in 2013 with Hilaire Lockwood, ERYT-500, at Hilltop Yoga in Lansing, MI. I received my 200hr Yoga Alliance certification that year, and then went on to complete 500 hours of training in 2015 at this same space at 107 East Cesar Chavez Avenue. Read more>>
Laurissa Myers
When I was a little girl, my favorite thing to do was take pictures. My gear back then was much simpler: a little blue film point-and-shoot camera. My subjects were a little different back then as well, usually my pets or my younger siblings (whom I would convince to pose for me). Read more>>
Allie Stornant
I’ve been a gardener and a student of plants since my early twenties. My love of plants (and the pollinators that make it all possible) led me to beekeeping — I’ve been tending my backyard hive for 8 years now. In 2020, I had some extra time on my hands so I rendered the beeswax I had collected from the honey harvest. Read more>>
Kali and Shante Newbury
We are a mother and daughter who have always connected over reading. From the time Kali was little we would read to her. She developed a love of reading. We have talked about opening a mobile bookstore ever since Kali saw one out west. We finally decided to do it and the search for the perfect trailer began. Read more>>
Maja Metera
Obedience founder was in a relationship where BDSM played a very important role, and he searched the web for tools that would make it easier to keep his power exchange dynamic top-of-mind. In his search, he found that there wasn’t anything like it on the market – even though community members were clearly asking for such a tool on various platforms, forums. Read more>>
Christiane Rosa
I started my own cleaning business and spent more than 25 years helping families care for their homes. During those years, I realized that what I loved most wasn’t just cleaning, it was creating organized, functional, and beautiful spaces that made people feel better in their own homes. That passion inspired me to become a Certified Professional Organizer and start Art of Organizing with Christiane. Read more>>
Dominique Mathews
My journey into content creation started in 2021 when I decided to share my love for cooking online. At the time, I was following a vegan lifestyle, so I created vegan recipes for myself while also making traditional meals for my family. Ironically, I never planned on becoming a content creator. My mom had started making social media videos, and watching her sparked my curiosity. Read more>>
Tracey Furtak
My Story As I prepared to graduate high school, two things were clear: I had a deep passion for photography and for video editing. I loved telling stories with images and then extending those stories through a edited video. Although I initially planned to study film and video editing, photography kept calling me. Read more>>
Dale and Ree Erdman
Riham and I (Dale) met at SVSU 2012 fall Spanish 111 class. Riham walked into the class and asked if this was Spanish 111? I replied no, this is German 220 jokingly. We became friends instantly. Riham was attending SVSU through a scholarship from Fulbright. Read more>>
Matthew Evearitt
I fell in love with photography and video-making through skateboarding and making movies with friends. Looking back, it was really the simple act of just making things I thought looked cool with them that led me to where I am today. I would take my dad’s camera when I was young and just bring it everywhere I went. Read more>>
Xzavier Simon
I started writing as a middle schooler when my mother gave me my first-ever journal. I loved English and Literature class, and I said I wanted to be an author. Read more>>
Supacha Thongsuwan
Everyone has a unique story to tell, but I didn’t start sharing mine until 2024. I was on a plane, traveling to Thailand, escaping sadness with a broken heart. Read more>>
Charisse Thomas
I’m Charisse Thomas, founder of Detroit-born social-impact cannabis brand Grams & Pearls. It’s rooted in ritual, education, advocacy, and community. More than anything, I think of Grams & Pearls as my contribution to cannabis culture. My path into cannabis didn’t begin with entrepreneurship. It began with creativity. After college, I started doing freelance creative consulting and design work for cannabis companies. Read more>>
Issac Burgess
I started playing guitar at 7 years old. I was getting ready to go to college to become an English teacher when I decided to jump ship & explore music as close to full time as I could, so I packed my bags & moved to Detroit in 2016. It has been my home ever since. Read more>>
Shelby Love
Born and raised on Detroit’s west side, I grew up in a creative family where art, music, and faith played a major role in shaping who I am. Inspired by my parents’ backgrounds in modeling, music, and performance, I developed a passion for creativity at an early age. Read more>>
Lani McNeal (LowCarbieBarbie.nene)
Yes of course. I’m from the south suburbs of Chicago. I Always had a passion to help people feel good from the inside out. I have a Degree in sociology and Worked as a mental health professional for some time. I’m a Wife and mom of two. Read more>>
Tatiana Billings
My story starts with a lifelong love for animals. Growing up, my family always had pets, dogs, turtles, cats, even a pigeon at one point. Animals were a constant in my life, and caring for them came naturally. Read more>>
Chrissy Palanjian
I grew up with a love for baking and being in the kitchen. As a teen, I started baking treats for my family and did tons of holiday baking with my grandma every year. Fast forward to around 2018, I was looking for a creative outlet for myself. I started baking more often and taking pictures of my baked goods with my phone for fun. Read more>>
Carmin Issa
Detroit didn’t just shape me. It introduced me to the power of community. My story began on Detroit’s east side on the corner of Mack & Bewick. While many viewed my infamous neighborhood through a lens of hardship, I experienced something different. I grew up in a community. Read more>>
Aaron Jackson
I’ve been making little videos and stuff since I was a kid on this phone my sister gave me, I think it was an “Altica” or sum, if I dropped it the back would come off. I did my first musical my sophomore year of Highschool, Wizard of Oz where I played the Tin-Man now I currently attend Oakland University where I’m studying Musical Theatre. Read more>>
Levi Adrianson
The focus of Firehouse Guitars has always been finding the perfect piece of gear for each player’s needs while offering honest service, industry expertise, and killer value, which is often a difficult combination to find. In 1997, Tim Adrianson, my father, founded Firehouse Guitars in a tiny storefront on Division Avenue in Grand Rapids. Read more>>
Kaley Clements
Makeup has been my creative outlet for as long as I can remember. I remember watching makeup tutorials until 4 am. Having navigated complex challenges in my youth, I have developed a strong sense of empathy and perseverance. I was in college for nursing when the pandemic happened. Everything moved to virtual learning and I just cannot learn without being hands on. Read more>>
Giselle Graham
I found the Kindermusik program 25 yrs ago when my baby was 6 months old in Grand Rapids, Mi. A postcard that was mailed to my home saying, ‘Come join a music class with your baby’. I left my profession as an interior designer to pursue becoming an accredited Kindermusik educator. Read more>>
Olivia Simone
I have always had a passion for writing, which led me to start my blog, LIV in Style, while I was in high school. I took the project very seriously as a teenager. I organized photoshoots, wrote lengthy articles, had my mom copy edit each piece, and then published them on my website alongside a newsletter announcing my latest post. Read more>>
Kris Rundblad
My first career was restaurant management (among other properties I managed for the former Stafford’s Hospitality and, opened, managed and developed the event program for the Charlevoix Country Club). Read more>>
Dos Bold Latinas Jatnna Abreu & Rosibel Vialet
Listening to a podcast based in the Dominican Republic inspired us to create our own podcast in our local community Grand Rapids, MI along with the power of technology to listen worldwide. We knew there was a need for a Latina-based platform where women felt empowered, heard, be themselves, and connected with other women. Read more>>
Jada Holmes
I’ve wanted to be a writer and help others for as long as I can remember. Growing up in a chaotic environment pulled me toward child and family welfare — I wanted to help others build the confidence I had to fight for myself. My story really starts in 2017, when I moved to Kalamazoo to attend Western Michigan University as a first-generation student. Read more>>
Mary Pilibosian
After planning my own wedding in 2022 and genuinely loving every moment of the process, I realized that event planning was something I was meant to pursue. The idea stayed with me for months until my husband, Andrew, encouraged me to take the leap and turn that passion into a business. Read more>>
Tiffany Rouser
When I was younger, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. All I knew was that I had a desire to help young people, especially those who were often overlooked or left behind in some way–but I didn’t know what doing that work professionally would look like. Read more>>
Nicole King
My story is one of pain, purpose, and God’s restoration. In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, my life took an unexpected turn. After discovering my husband’s affair, our marriage fell apart, and he filed for divorce. My children and I were devastated. As ministers and leaders in our community, the pain was not only personal—it was very public. Read more>>
Christine Nola
I realized I could draw when I was about 15 (because I had a crush on a boy who was an artist). Once I discovered I could draw, my curiosity took over and I experimented with painting, charcoal, pen & ink, pastels and watercolors, I realized my future career should include art in some form so I focused on graphic design & illustration in college. Read more>>
Kendra Strevel
I grew up in Sparta, Michigan, and feel incredibly grateful to now be raising my own family in the same community that helped shape me. After the birth of my second daughter, I launched Kendra & Co, my virtual assistant business – as a way to support fellow small business owners while creating a career that allowed me to be present for my family. Read more>>
Taylor Orr
My journey as a creative developed long before I began expressing myself through content creation and making handmade crochet pieces. Artistry has found me in challenging life seasons as far back as high school. Whether it was art classes, woodshop, or CAD, I have always flourished best creating with my mind, and most often with my own two hands. Read more>>
Suzanne Claire
If you had told me 20 years ago that I would one day own a successful photography studio, travel the world creating and teaching, speak in front of photographers, and build a six-figure business from scratch, I would have laughed. Not because I didn’t want it. Because I never believed someone like me could do it. Read more>>
Elizabeth Kerby
In the late summer of 2023 I (Elizabeth) was planning my own backyard wedding at my parents home in Ionia. As my husbands family is from the east side of the state I was having trouble finding a close accommodation for them. Read more>>
Christal Davis
Images of Heaven Events, LLC began in 2004 in the basement of my home. At the time, I was working in Human Resources for a McDonald’s owner-operator who owned several restaurants and automotive companies. One day, I came across balloon magazines tucked away in a drawer and I instantly fell in love. Read more>>
