Progress depends on unreasonable people pushing boundaries, breaking out of boxes, challenging the odds and proving that the impossible is possible. This happens everyday, in big ways and small – from a small town kid ignoring the naysayers and making it in the city of their dreams to the folks with ideas no one will invest in who somehow brought their vision to life. Our community is filled with so many trailblazers, innovators, and rebels and we hope you’ll check out their inspiring stories below.

Marcela Pulido

My journey into photography was anything but traditional. I grew up always drawn to storytelling—first through writing, then through imagery. I studied psychology in college, but I found myself constantly picking up a camera, fascinated by the way a single frame could evoke an entire world of emotion. Read more>>

Maria Blanco

I was born in Mexico City, the daughter of a Spanish father who had to flee Spain because of the civil war and the rise to power of the fascist Francisco Franco, and a Mexican mother whose father had to leave Venezuela because he opposed the dictatorship of Venezuela. Read more>>

Meredith Heller

Disenchanted with society and feeling like I didn’t fit in anywhere, I left home and school at 13 years old and raised myself living in huts I built in the woods. I was grappling with the big questions of who am I, why am I here, what matters to me, and how do I create a meaningful life? I started writing poetry and songs as a way to tune into my feelings and express myself. I found that when I wrote, the act of naming my feelings brought me clarity and agency; it freed me and helped me belong to myself. I loved immersing in creative process: I felt connected to the life force, it gave me something bigger than myself to live for, and it held me like a lifeline. Read more>>

Makayla Mc Dougall

I was destined to be a photographer before I was even old enough to know what destiny was. I was five years old when I picked up my first camera. My grandfather and I were at a garage sale when we came across an old film camera for $20 and I had to have it. From that day forward I was taking photos of anything and everything every opportunity I had. Growing up photography was always just a hobby and I never planned on pursuing it as a career. In fact I went to college for engineering and business not photography. Every photography elective I selected in high school I was denied from for one reason or another so I just assumed it was not meant for me. Read more>>

Chiara D’Amore

In 2009 I was a manager in an international consulting firm. I was doing interesting, challenging and impactful work. And commuting more than an hour each way and working 50+ hours a week completing deliverables and contracts that would always be intangible to me. That fall my first child was born and in that moment it was like all of the cells in my body regenerated at once. While I was still me, I was totally changed. I took the few weeks of maternity leave that I was eligible for and then found myself trying to navigate a new life in which I wanted to be a present mom who was there for all the tender days, weeks, months and years of my child’s rapidly evolving life, while also not wanting to totally give up my vocation. I wasn’t just any kind of consultant; Read more>>

Ashley Fortune

The journey to Letter your Life Designs began around June of 2013 (after being gifted a crafting machine December of 2012). I can remember sitting in the room that held my six foot table, washer and dryer while I came up with a name. I have always been one who enjoyed creating and more importantly gifting home made crafts to loved ones. This all began after having many friends suggest I begin created and selling my creations. My number one seller at the time was an 11×14 floating frame created with vinyl and all of a baby’s stats (weddings were close behind) but my oh my how it has transformed over the years. Read more>>

 Lindsay Miller

I can not say that I’ve known since birth that I wanted to be an artist. Each step in my journey has been more intuitive than predetermined – one domino falling into the next. While each step wasn’t as effortless as a descending chip – they were each chosen and pursued with effort and intent. Read more>>

Nancy Cejari

The first part of my life was dedicated to art. My father was a musician, and from him, I developed a deep appreciation for music and art. However, singing was never one of my interests. My father was a multi-instrumentalist, and my brother is too. My sisters also learned to play instruments, but I preferred to perform and entertain people. I’ve enjoyed acting since I was a kid. Modeling was okay because it gave me the opportunity to make money in the beginning. Read more>>

Sarrah Smith

When I began this journey, I had no idea what I was in for. As a child, I could feel, see, and sense when spirit was around, but as a teenager, I shut my gifts down. It wasn’t until my late 30s—after hitting rock bottom for the second time—that I was guided to meditate and work with healing crystals. Once I followed that guidance, the doors to my abilities swung wide open, and I was able to reconnect with the gifts I had once suppressed. Read more>>

Sally Gadea

It’s hard to say exactly when I got started but when I was little my mom hosted dinner parties for her friends, and I was always her assitant, helping her make the appetizers and dishes, pick the right plate to serve each dish, and set the table for the food. When the guests are arrive I would shyly chat with them and cotinue hosting and refilling the food. I knew going into school that I wanted to go to work in the culinary field. It was all very clear to me what I was meant to do. Read more>>

Victoria Kravchenko

I immigrated with my family from Russia in 1995. My parents brought us to the land of opportunities and for better lives. In 2009 I graduated optometry school with my doctor of optometry degree and started practicing optometry profession. I worked in many retail locations in NYC practicing primary care optometry. Optometry field has always been appealing to me because it involves both areas-healthcare and fashion. I love fashion and love styling patients with eyeglasses wardrobe, which I didn’t get to do much while being employed, because my main area of practice involved medical side, taking care of patients by providing comprehensive eye exams. Read more>>

Veronica Jarboe

Well, when I was a child I used to try to imitate my mother’s handwriting. Her cursive was so elegant so I pretended to write like her even before I could actually form letters. Once school taught me how to read and write, it was game over. I was writing stories and stories and it felt natural to me. My best friend and I used to have “writing play dates!” which was wonderful. As I’ve gotten older my style and voice have changed and I’m constantly working on growing in any way I can. I knew I always wanted to write and publish books, and now that I have, it feels surreal. I’m just getting started though! Read more>>

Victoria Tiso

My story started at Louie and Ernie’s Pizza in The Bronx working for my father. For years I worked for him while I was coaching college softball . It was the best of both worlds but eventually I chose to go into the pizza world full time. I love how creative pizza is and how the culture has been evolving within the community. I decided to open my own pizzeria in March of 2024 on Long Island called Tori T’s Pizzeria. Tori T’s is a place where all my ideas and recipes come to life. I take pride in showing the different styles of pizza we make and how far I have come as a women in pizza. Read more>>

Jennifer Henriquez

Hi there! My name is Jennifer Henriquez and I am the founder of Coaching with Grace. Coaching with Grace is a holistic life coaching service that helps 9-5 women and educators achieve work/life balance, mindset reset, and stop limiting beliefs that might be hindering their goals. I myself am a school counselor and consider my job a traditional “9-5”. I actually LOVE my job but I started to notice my colleagues feeling overwhelmed with simple day to day tasks. I also noticed that they didn’t feel seen. At one point in my career I felt alone, judged, and overwhelmed. I went to therapy and although it helped me navigate my feelings I didn’t know my next steps. When I started my coaching career I knew this would be a niche that I know I can help impact. Read more>>

Jenna Schmidt

Hello, and thank you for reading! My name is Jenna, and in addition to my full-time role at a law firm in Wisconsin, I am the owner of Curious Capture & Company, LLC. My business is truly a labor of love, offering a variety of services including photography, custom designs, laser engraving, and more. My primary goal is to express my creativity while helping others bring their ideas to life. Read more>>

Juliette McGill

As someone who loved playing sport and moving as a child growing up in the 90’s it was no surprise that diet culture got ahold of me, and as a teen into my 20’s I continued to love sport but hate my body. Through a career in different areas of sport however my passion lay in encouraging more and more women to participate, and eventually I qualified as a PE teacher with the intention of doing the same. Read more>>

JULIETTE CRANE

I’m Juliette Crane, an abstract and figurative painter based in Wisconsin, USA. I create colorful art to spark your spirit and uplift your soul and have been making a living from my art for the past 15 years. Art had been my passion growing up, but I didn’t believe it had any real value. So, I moved from one job to another—copywriter, journalist, photographer, programmer, graphic designer, floral designer, website developer, and more. Read more>>

Myriam Mylo Lopez

The journey that has shaped who I am today began in 1989, deeply influenced by my childhood experiences along the border between Mexico and California.

Growing up, my family faced significant financial struggles, especially during the economic crisis in Mexico in the 1990s. We even experienced a period of homelessness, during which we slept outside with nothing but a mattress. I vividly recall an incident that profoundly impacted me: I walked to a nearby bodega with just one peso in hand, hoping to buy a box of Sonrisas cookies. The cashier informed me that I had insufficient money and asked me to return with three pesos. Read more>>

Kristen Nguyen

I’ve always had a passion for the fantastic. I grew up reading stories like the Chronicles of Narnia and watching shows like Pokemon and Digimon. I would write short stories and act out storylines where I was the main character (picture me being a Pokemon Gym Leader who also had a digimon partner). Read more>>

Leila Judeh

I fuse the gap between giving back and advocating for mental health with the fashion industry. I am someone who went through some pretty rough years early on which led me to be very anxious and suffer from terrible panic attacks. In 2022 I spent the year back home as my grandparents’ primary hospice caregiver, which led me to my Mental Health Awareness Non-Profit BlockTheNoise. My grandmother was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreas cancer that spread to her lungs causing her to have breathing attacks. Read more>>

Caitlin Holmes

I pursued a career in nutrition out of a passion for food and healthy eating but also out of compassion for people who want to feel good in the bodies they have. My journey into this field began with a personal health scare, but what has truly fueled my career is working with individuals who want to understand how to figure out how to feel their best in their daily lives, for their favorite activities, and as they grow older. Witnessing their transformations as they discover what feels simple and sustainable has been incredibly inspiring! Read more>>

Andrea Parker

Hi, I’m Andrea Parker, a former police detective turned leadership expert who helps high-performing teams and people-first companies reimagine how they work, lead, and live—through one powerful, paradigm-shifting question: What Would Make This More Fun? Read more>>

Manuela Insixiengmay

My name is Manuela Insixiengmay (Manny), and I’m a Seattle-based photographer. I was born in France and moved to the US when I was 4 and spent the next chunk of my life in Minneapolis, MN. I remember always being interested in photography and took as many classes available to me. However, I also grew up in an immigrant family, and seeing as I was a “good” student, I was encouraged to make the “practical” choice to pursue science as my career, while exploring my love for photography and art as my hobby. Read more>>

Lisa Pidge

I was at a stage in my life when I had the chance to start again after a long-term relationship ended about twelve years ago. I took a chance and did what I truly loved—returning to the entertainment industry—because the company we ran together was also going out of business. I used to work for a renowned talent management company in Los Angeles shortly after graduating from college. I loved it and worked there for just about three years. I lived off Sunset Blvd, three blocks from cool spots like The Comedy Store and Laugh Factory. However, at that time, my family and relationships took some unexpected turns, so I returned to my home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read more>>

Sarah Wragge

For most of my life, I struggled with gut issues, acid reflux, and inflammation. By the time I was 18, she had multiple colonoscopies and endoscopies with no telling results. I trekked back and forth from doctors who ordered me to take every prescription under the sun to cure her symptoms. Read more>>

Priyanka Gupta

I started practicing yoga in 1994 as a way to deal with the stresses of being a teenager. whilst i practiced from a purely physical point of view, things changed tremendously after I did my first vipassana course in 2011. it seemed to be an epiphany moment, as my practice became deepened and became more enriched. Read more>>

Sandra Arnold

I’ve always had a love for fashion and wanted to be a fashion. However; I was a teen mom. I had my eldest child at the age of 17, so I felt like a couldn’t work toward being a fashion designer right out of high school. Despite being a teen mom, I graduated from Luther Burbank high school in 1998 with a 3.4 GPA. I was excepted into Sac University, but I decided to go to Heald Business College instead. I felt that I needed to learn the computer, so I could get a good job and take care of my son. I received AA in computer business administration. During my time at Heald all my project were about fashion and I was asked why did I go to Heald. I didn’t have time to wait 4 years to get a degree because I had a child to take care of. Read more>>

Shanice Whittaker

A little over a decade ago, I took my first official job in Human Resources, stepping into the world of higher education with big eyes and a heart full of ambition. I was eager to be part of an industry that, while historically flawed in its treatment of underrepresented communities, also held incredible power to create change. For me, this work wasn’t just about building a career—it was about making a real impact. Read more>>

Sabrina Rocano

I knew from a very young age that art was a big part of who I am and being an artist or creative was all I ever wanted to be. But I grew up in a time where the majority of people believed following a creative career path was unlikely to translate into something stable or successful and was viewed as unrealistic. The expectation was to follow a more traditional path, but as it turns out, my path wasn’t meant to be traditional. Read more>>

Isabel Criado

When I was a little girl my mother would call me “ratón de librería” which translates, literally, to “library mouse”. What she meant by it when she shared it with our family and friends, was the ability I seemingly had been born with to be inherently curious about any text that fell in my hands. She didn’t mean to say I was a small, meek girl, but rather, that I was a reader of big books. Read more>>

Jenna

Sometimes, I reflect on the experiences that have brought me to where I am today. These moments make me think about everything I’ve been through to get here. I often feel as if things don’t make sense, but in reality, it’s all connected. For example, my passion for helping children and providing counseling stems from the lack of support I felt in middle school and high school when I was secretly dealing with personal challenges. My struggles were often labeled as “poor behavior” or a “lack of focus,” but the truth was that I had so much to process and didn’t know how to express it—or who to turn to. This realization became my “why” for becoming a School Counselor, Read more>>

Tasha Moore

I began writing in 2016 when the initial desire to publish an anthology that featured stories of youth who braved navigating the Juvenile Justice systems as I remained both inspired and galvanized by their heroic stories of resilience. After spending over 15 years serving youth and families in various communities who all had similar testimonies of unheard tragedies and triumphs, I wanted to offer a way their voices could be heard. Read more>>

Kathleen Sarpy

I grew up in the western suburbs and have lived in Chicagoland my entire life, so I like to say I’m a Chicagoan through and through. I’m especially enchanted with the Midwestern values of kindness, empathy and hustle that I believe represent a lot of the people I know in this great city. After graduating in less than 3 years from Purdue University in the early 1990s, I pursued a career in the field of communications working on both the agency and corporate side for many years. I enjoyed my early career but after the birth of my first child when I was 28, I realized very quickly that my work at the big global PR agencies wasn’t conducive to being a present and committed mom as I hoped to be. When my fist child was born, Read more>>

Colleen Luksetich Alexa Strotman

In 2023, we met at a local music basement show during a grindcore night. We quickly became great friends and began spending most of our free time together. Our connection grew not only through our shared love for art but also as we both experienced artist’s block. To help each other overcome it, we started by painting portraits of one another, creating art on our days off, and engaging in community-building activities together. Read more>>

Leanna Williams

Hi, I’m Leanna. As a body confidence and mental health influencer, I inspire people to love themselves, regardless of where they are in life. I help individuals recognize their capabilities and encourage them to tap into their inner strength while practicing self-compassion. Every unique story can resonate with others, and through sharing mine, I aim to show that no one is alone in their struggles. My journey proves that it is possible to overcome challenging times and thrive on the other side. Read more>>

Lara Frazier

My mom enrolled me in dance classes when I was three years old like so many moms do. I stuck with it for much longer than a lot of girls my age. My mom saw how much I was enjoying it and enrolled me in theatre classes, and I’m sure she is still regretting it because there was no going back at that point. It was pretty clear that performing in front of an audience was where I felt the most comfortable and at home. It was definitely where I was happiest. Read more>>