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.
Urooj Maree Baloch
I didn’t grow up dreaming of building an AI company. I grew up watching, from what felt like seven seas away, the people I quietly believed were the more successful version of me. Read more>>
Lise Pampaloni 
I’m Lise — mom to five amazing humans, granny to eight sweet littles (and counting!), and the hands behind Blessed by Bread. When I’m not elbow-deep in flour, you’ll find me savoring a rich espresso with my family, writing children’s books, gazing at the stars, or curled up by the fire on chilly winter nights with hot chocolate and my Bible. Read more>>
Adriana Margriet Grant 
I doodled my way through childhood. I’d filled up notebook after notebook. It was how I connected and communicated with the world around me. Later, I found excellent teachers who helped me take my art to the next level. Finding good teachers was a game changer for me and opened my eyes to the art world at large. Read more>>
Hannah Moorhouse 
Old Town Girlies was founded by me, Hannah Beth Moorhouse, and my friend Meaghan Pawelczyk. We’re both military spouses, and the idea started with something pretty simple: wanting to make friends. Our husband’s military careers brought us to Old Town Alexandria in 2024, and we understood how much effort it could take to build a community in a new place. Read more>>
Lyane Semeniano 
Honestly, PnayCake was unplanned! Haha! It all started when I was living in California. I made a cake for a friend’s daughter’s birthday, and I started getting compliments and people asking if I made custom cakes or took orders. I wasn’t really planning on starting a business, but I thought, why not? So I started accepting orders, and that’s pretty much how it all began. Read more>>
Santiago Camargo
My story is really about taking a chance, adapting, and building something from the ground up. I originally came from Venezuela, and I moved to the United States in 2015 with the goal of creating a better future and new opportunities for myself. Like many immigrants, starting over in a new country meant learning a different culture, adapting, and figuring things out along the way. Read more>>
Owen Newman 
I’m a science teacher and MCAT tutor, and I got started by realizing how much I loved teaching. After taking my MCAT, I wanted to help other students work through the same challenges I had faced while preparing. There’s so much information out there, but there isn’t always much guidance on how to navigate it. Read more>>
Kay ‘Lady Kay’ Lambert 
Curiosity and determination to experience freedom has been my compass. I’ve never done well with feeling limited in my expression. I was an outgoing child, in the arts — fashion, dance, theatre, poetry, nothing could stop me. Except…a period cycle, a natural part of a girl’s life. Read more>>
Joe White 
My journey as a photographer started as a kid on the Virginia Peninsula. I had a little leaky skiff and my grandfather’s Polaroid. I poled that little boat into every inlet and canal I came across, photographing uncooperative marsh birds, old boats, and sunsets. Read more>>
Candace Weather 
I’ve always been a creative girl. A little different, a little unconventional, and certainly never one to blend in with the crowd. Although, for a long time, I wasn’t always sure that was a good thing. Read more>>
Shannon Calley 
In my heart, I’m not an event coordinator. I’m an artist, and that’s where my background really starts. Since I was six, I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I painted, drew, dabbled in different fiber arts, beadwork, I even liked to write. I used clay that I dug up in my parents’ yard to make bowls. Read more>>
Candice Suarez 
I have always worked in the helping professions. First as a school counselor, then working in community- and school-based behavioral health programs, and finally in my current roles as a life coach and college admissions coach. My bachelor’s degree is in English education, and, not knowing it at the time, has led to my current coaching framework called Life Drafting. Read more>>
Tricia Allen 
I was born in Denver, Colorado, and went to college with the goal of becoming a university professor. But I became drawn to economic development—the opportunity to connect ideas, people, and resources to create meaningful change in communities. Over time, my focus shifted toward inclusive economic development and place-based strategies. Read more>>
Jordan Dail 
After discovering Cape Charles as a possible vacation location in 2013, we spent a wonderful week vacation in the picturesque town. Almost immediately after our stay we began dreaming of owning our own historic home in Cape Charles. A few years later, our dream became a reality and we purchased a vacation home in town. Read more>>
Scott Harris 
I founded Reliable Rides LLC on November 19, 2019, after a career in healthcare and hospitality. The idea came from a moment that stayed with me while I was waiting to pick up my wife, Gena, at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, where she works. I watched a patient being brought outside to a waiting cab and felt that the welcome and personal attention were missing. Read more>>
Lisa Parker 
My love for photography started long before I ever thought about becoming a content creator. Believe it or not, when I was younger, I actually wanted to be a meteorologist! I was fascinated by the weather and even dreamed of chasing storms. I absolutely loved taking pictures of the sun, clouds, and stars. Read more>>
Tippy Tippens 
Tippy Tippens is the Chief Eternal Optimist/founder of Goods that Matter and her two collective stores, the GOOD Shop (New Orleans) & Kind Hearted Goods (Richmond, VA). Kind Hearted Goods initially opened in Asheville, NC but was forced to close due to Hurricane Helene. Read more>>
Hope Sinclair 
I was born and raised in Hampton Roads and grew up in Chesapeake, Virginia, with an older brother and a younger sister. My mother spent more than 30 years teaching in Norfolk Public Schools, so education was an important part of my world from the beginning. I was very active in school and graduated with honors from Oscar Smith High School. Read more>>
Daniel Murray 
I grew up in a musically rich house hold. My Father David is a percussionist by trade – playing in The President’s Own Marine Band for 26 years – he was a big Jazz head. His parents were musicians as well, his father RJ was an Opera Professor, Director and singer. His mother, Cynthia was a master pianist. Read more>>
Kristin Sykes
I started Sports PT Lab in 2018 because I wanted to create a Physical Therapy environment where I could provide high-quality care in a positive environment, one that encourages people to rise to their fullest potential. Read more>>
Veena Pandiri 
Here’s a draft written from **Notes n’ Beats’ perspective**: Notes n’ Beats started with something simple: teaching music to a few children of family and friends in our neighborhood. In 2005, our founder, Veena Pandiri, was working in technology when she discovered how much she enjoyed teaching music. Read more>>
Natasha Colon Moreno 
I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and after graduating high school in 2017, I pursued my passion for volleyball, playing at the junior college and NCAA levels in Kansas and North Carolina. In 2021, I moved to Virginia, where I worked in different industries, including childcare and recruiting, taking on roles in reception, HR, and recruiting. Read more>>
Laura Cariello 
I was a college athlete when things started going sideways. I was having trouble seeing on the soccer field, and before long I had severe vision loss from optic neuritis, plus numbness and pain in my hands and feet. My first stop was the eye doctor, who sent me home with reading glasses. A college athlete losing her sight, armed with drugstore readers. Read more>>
Amina Kamara 
Hair was never the plan. In fact, I spent years building a future for myself in healthcare before Kamara Spice was ever a thought. Read more>>
Ariel Arison 
I’ve been creating content for as long as I can remember, although I didn’t always recognize it as content creation. Growing up, I was what you would absolutely call a fangirl. My first major obsession was One Direction, and that love for the band has followed me into their solo careers. I’m still keeping up with the members and their music today! Read more>>
Angie Vann 
The theatre was founded in the 2000’s. The building we occupy is an old Opera House that was in much disrepair. For the first few years we weren’t able to perform in the building because it wasn’t up to code, so we performed in various other spaces. Read more>>
Danasia Crazé 
I joined Instagram in 2014 and began posting outfit pictures in middle school. By 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I started posting pictures of myself more frequently to get my name out there. I began doing my own photoshoots to showcase my different fashion tastes. As I became more confident in myself, I started sharing more of my alternative and goth style. Read more>>
Shequandra Boone 
I have always had a love for reading, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself falling deeply in love with books all over again. The very first book I picked up was Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us series, a story that resonated with me in ways that I was dealing with at the time. Read more>>
Carmen Hinebaugh 
My path into wedding planning wasn’t exactly a straight line. I planned a friend’s wedding while I was in college and fell in love with the combination of creativity, logistics, and bringing people together. But before making a career of it, I took a few detours, including working as a data privacy attorney in Washington, DC, and owning a coffee shop. Read more>>
Pierce Kafka 
I started making videos as a kid, and that early passion for storytelling eventually grew into a career in both filmmaking and marketing. I co-founded Kafka Media Group, a public relations and marketing company, while continuing to pursue my own film projects. My first feature film, Contradiction, is a psychological thriller made on a zero-dollar budget over more than a decade. Read more>>
Nathan Jarrelle 
I’m Nathan Jarrelle, an independent recording artist, singer, songwriter, and U.S. Air Force veteran based in Hampton Roads, Virginia. My music crosses several genres, including Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop, Alternative Rock, and Christian music. I’ve never been particularly interested in limiting myself to one sound because the experiences that inspire my music don’t fit neatly into one category. Read more>>
Brita Allgyer
I grew up in Northern Virginia, and my journey into physical therapy actually began with a very personal experience. After being involved in a car accident, I went through rehabilitation to regain my strength, mobility, and ability to return to the activities I loved. That experience gave me a firsthand understanding of how powerful physical therapy can be, not just physically, but emotionally. Read more>>
Cassandra Kelly 
Beyond the Lens: The Story Behind Cassandra Kelly Photography Some of the most meaningful chapters of our lives are the ones we never saw coming. My path to photography wasn’t a straight one, but rather a collection of experiences, unexpected challenges, and moments that profoundly shaped the way I see the world. Read more>>
Sally Rose Monnes 
I am a country-queer musician, activist, and self-defense instructor. I am nonbinary, and my pronouns are they/them. My two musical projects are my solo project ‘Sally Rose’ and my band ‘Shagwüf’. I run a grassroots nonprofit organization called Fight Like A GRRRL Club, and we provide free self-defense training to folks in need. Read more>>
Sarah Gallahan 
I have been drawing and creating from a very young age and basically, never stopped. Out of high school I moved to San Antonio where I got my first job illustrating educational children’s books. A year after I returned home to Winchester where I opened a tiny art studio on the walking mall downtown. Read more>>
Carylanne Steinberg 
My Spiritual Journey My spiritual journey began when I was a young girl. There was a part of me that always knew there was something more to life, a deeper truth beyond what I could see or explain. I often seemed to know things intuitively, although I couldn’t quite understand how or why. In my early twenties, I reached a turning point in my life. Read more>>
Thérèse Prentice 
For decades, I have asked women, “How do you want to feel inside your life?” That question connects the many chapters of my story. After my husband’s death five years ago, it became a question I needed to sit with and answer more deeply for myself. My entrepreneurial background began in the wedding industry. Read more>>
Eboni Harbeson 
I don’t think I started with some big plan to build a media company or host a show. A lot of my story has been me following my curiosity and being willing to try something before I completely knew where it was going. I started creating content several years ago, mostly as a creative outlet. Read more>>
