Stories are incredibly powerful – their ability to teach, inspire, and create understanding is why we are so in love with storytelling. Most stories have a defining moment and so we’ve asked some of the most talented, insightful folks across a broad range of industries and markets to tell us about a defining moment in their story.

Julia Granacki

On an evening in March of 2020, I had just gotten home from working an 11-hour day at my corporate real estate development job. I bent down to get something out of the kitchen cabinet, hit my head, and burst into tears. It didn’t even hurt. Not really. Read more>>

Rachel Timothy

I had been owned off and on during my life. It began when I was nine by my grade school basketball coach when he began to sell pictures of me, as well as, sell me to other men. It became a life I couldn’t get out of even as an adult. My body was owned by other men and all control was stolen from me. Read more>>

Chandi Rae

I remember I had just furnished my apartment and I heard God say “It’s time” “Time for you to move out of state” Now I had been wanting to move for a year and it never worked out. It was at this point where I was finally comfortable staying in Ohio that God decided I gotta go. I was like no way I just got myself set up and everything was going great besides the fact I was going through a divorce,  Read more>>

Haley Harrison

For so long a person is driven by where they think they should spend their career based on passions and skills, and that is exactly what happened to me. I was driven to the outdoor industry and had grand plans of owning and operating a summer camp, educating children in the wilderness on the environment and outdoor pursuits, or being a professional mountain guide. Read more>>

Heather DeKeyser

I’ve had several defining moments throughout my career so far, but there is one that sticks me and I think about often. In June of 2020 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My diagnosis required me to begin treatment right away as it was already stage 2B, and I was worried about losing my practice. But every single client said “you stick with us through our crap, we will stick wit you through yours.” Read more>>

Julia Vering

I started working as an “activities assistance” at a nursing facility shortly after graduating with my bachelors in liberal arts with emphasis in social work, experimental animation and music in 2003. After noticing that Pictionary did little to engage residents, I decided to experiment with “Let’s make a movie!” night instead. Read more>>