In our experience, talking about legacy is often subtly discouraged by society and we find this to be deeply unfortunate. Thinking about the legacy you would like to build can help you better align your work, life, time – your sweat and tears – with your values. Below, we’ve tried to create a space for folks to start conversations about they legacies they are hoping to build.

Courtenay DeHoff

I hope to leave a legacy that inspires women from all walks of life to fully embrace the things that make them unique. Through my brand Fancy Lady Cowgirl, I work to empower women from all walks of life to be themselves, even if they don’t fit stereotypical molds. Cowgirls have long been praised for their grittiness, bravery and tenacity, qualities that I think all women should strive to embrace.I hope to leave a legacy that gives all women the courage to embrace the ‘cowgirl’ in themselves, to fight for the things they believe in and to ruthlessly pursue their dreams. Read more>>

Ebony Ohen

I hope my legacy will be one that gives dark skinned women at every age and size permission to embrace their beauty loudly and unapologetically. Right now, the modeling industry has a token few dark skinned models that are representing us beautifully and killing it. But it’s not enough. We need representation, not just in high fashion campaigns. I want to see us at Target. I want young black girls to see me in Target, and see themselves reflected in me. Read more>>

David Pailin

Legacy is something that stays at the forefront of my mind and at the end of the day it starts and ends with impact. My desire is to leave behind gifts that are both useful and inspiring. That frame of mind focuses the work that I do, the collaborations that I want to be a part of, and the projects that grab my attention. For my friends and family, my hope is that I will be remembered as an encourager and a safe place to share raw emotions and thoughts. For society as a whole, my hope is that I am remembered for my service and creating opportunities for those before and after me to show their best self. Read more>>

Huey Rawls

This question gave me the opportunity to reflect and look back at what I’ve accomplished so far. I started out as an artist just trying to showcase my artwork using video as my canvas. That turned into painting pictures for other artists. Artists that had the talent but didn’t have the access or the budget to go to big name videographers or directors. I like to believe we created a legacy just as good or better. And these artists all became successful in some form or fashion and somehow my visual presentation played a part in that. In the end I want people to know that money wasn’t the only motivation. It was all out of love for the craft and the service of my brothers and my sisters. I never took on any project that I truly didn’t believe in. Read more>>

Brian Green

It’s funny because I think about this a lot. If you had asked me this when I started my business in 2008 I would have said that it was to be the best event planner I could be and executing amazing events all across the Globe. But I’ve done that, But 2020 changed me irrevocably. Not only the pandemic and losing several close people to COVID-19 but that entire summer of the murder of Black people really refocused my entire mindset and what really mattered, and how I would use my voice for change. What came out of that was a more vocal, very raw, and honest business owner who was ALWAYS proud of being Black but now I wanted you to be absolutely clear that I was as well. Read more>>

Johnathon Espinoza

I hope the legacy I’m in the midst of constructing entails a translation of what I feel humbly in my heart, as opposed to the imperfections I utter or act. There’s nothing that I can leave behind that is greater than the source from whom I create. I hope to leave behind a foot hole in the quest for a Christlike consciousness. A path to Him. I hope that my works be awe-inspiring, divine and in tune with what my purpose is on this earth in this granted time. I wish to evoke in others a childlike sense of wonder with boundless creativity in how we perceive the world, our brothers and sisters and also ourselves. Read more>>

Christian and Noelle Portillo

Over the years Far Away Hood has had the honor of donating signs and proceeds of signs to several personal as well as international organizations. It feels so amazing to be able to give and give. My dream is to start a scholarship program for individuals who want to enter the trades as opposed to traditional college, regardless of their age. I want our family to be remembered for changing the lives of those who may not have had the chance to afford night school, or just needed a little help financially getting through a low paying apprenticeship because they already have a family to support. My husband’s father was a classic car restorer and my father was an electrical contractor. Both of their trades blessed our families with financial stability that every home deserves. We plan to one day create a scholarship to help give this to others. *I accidentally answered two panel discussion questions. Here is the second one, just in case you wanted to select one over the other. Read more>>

Kara Smith

As you can imagine, when you are the 5th generation on the family ranch, the legacy is quite deep. Hence, the responsibility of passing that on to our girls (generation six) is one that’s not taken lightly. The original homestead site is a half a mile from where my husband, the girls and I call home today. My family came out to Colorado during the Enlarged Homestead Act of the early 1900s. My great, great grandfather settled here because the grass was as tall as his horse’s belly. Each time I drive down the dirt road past that set of trees, something reignites inside of me knowing the history and the future ahead. Generations before me have withstood drought, war, economic crisis, and likely any other challenge we can dream up. My challenges come in the form of regulatory risk, water availability, land management, but I strive for the result to be the same… being afforded the opportunity to pass the ranch on to the 6th generation. My desire is that my children know I did right by the land, the animals, and my family so they are able to make the choice to continue this way of life into the seventh generation. Read more>>

Robyn Swaby Kiara Slaton

At She Hoops Elite, we hope that our legacy will forever be recognized as the club that brought women’s basketball back to South Florida. We are committed to creating a community for all experienced female players that have a passion for the game. Through our endeavors with local partners, vendors, players, and enthusiast, She Hoops Elite will always be a name affiliated with safe playing environments, great competition, and the place where women can always come to stay in the game. Read more>>

Thomas Harvey

There are several facets to the legacy that I want to leave, but they are all related. At the core is showing people truth and love. I desire to do work that takes people outside of themselves, Helps them to forget themselves. There are truths in this life greater than what we think and want, and being liberated from self is freedom. Our world is obsessed with self: self actualization, self identity, fulfilling potential, etc. In terms of our business, this means service that puts the needs of my clients at the forefront our relationship. It is my job to love them, which means seeking their long term best interest. In our designs and product, it means making something beautiful and serviceable, that people love and want to last, objects of value that transcends any of us as individuals. My view of beauty is that it conveys truth that is universal. Style is in the eye of the beholder, beauty reflects truth. Personally, I want to leave a legacy of leading others in knowing and understanding God, of being a good servant of Jesus Christ, and a steward of the good news of salvation. I want the people that I am around to know that they are loved and valued as individuals. Read more>>

Chakeia Johnson

I hope my legacy will revolve around care, love, and unity for my family and community. In all of my adventures I focus on bringing people together. To do this in a way that takes into consideration a myriad of personalities, backgrounds, expectations, and even uncertainties is an intricate dynamic. I truly care about people so I make myself see things from a variety of angles. This takes time, patience and understanding. The time it takes is an investment into humanity. I submerge myself in new places and around new people so I can learn how and why they think the way that they do. Understanding people helps create even better events. Read more>>

Derek and Sandy Davis

Our business is all about family. Derek had the idea of starting Lelo’s while visiting Sandy’s grandfather (Abuelo) in hospice. After Abuelo’s passing, Derek wanted to serve his memory in a meaningful way and Lelo’s (short for Abuelo) was born. The business has always been just the two of us, with close family and friends supporting us along the way. The dream is to build something with love that we can not only share with our friends, family, and community, but with our children as well, for them to carry on if they choose to. The most meaningful legacy we could leave would be for our family as a team to honor Lelo’s memory by sharing it through something everyone loves: coffee. Read more>>

Sakina Jackson

I hope my legacy will be one that inspires the everyday person to listen to their inner voice as it relates to purpose while on this earth. I want my family and others to know I worked hard to build a company that would enable me to help others. Some of the community work I have been humbled by was working to educate and empower disadvantage students in a hospitality program. Many of the students had various struggles in life and just needed a chance at a better life and opportunities. Working alongside a team of professional chefs and program manager who had the heart to believe we as a team could make a difference. Another opportunity was working in a food desert community of which had either no viable grocery stores or simply a community mart with little to no fresh produce or limited items usually at higher cost. One of the local colleges had a large farm of which I worked alongside farm director and student farmers who planted, worked the farm to harvest and distributed organic produce throughout the community. During the height of the pandemic, we were able to donate fresh produce to local churches to be distributed to our elderly population. Read more>>

Meridy king

I certainly hope that my legacy is that I was able to interpret my clients needs and provide interiors that make their life better in some way . That being said, I hope that I have created environments that reflect the owner and make them feel fufilled , confortable and proud . Regardless of the location or size home , I hope that each space that I am involved in reflects a home lived in by someone with good taiste. Read more>>

Karen Roberts

I have been doing photography full time since I was 21 years old. I hope that my decades of professional portraits will leave the memories that I have captured preserved for my clients. I love to create and capture life and beauty with my camera. Life is crazy, messy, heartbreaking, amazing, its a whirlwhind but the moments when life is still and calm and good those are the moments that I hope to capture. A five day newborn baby girl sleeping in my studio while I take her 1st photos now thats good and magical. To watch that baby thrive and grow and capture those moments until one day she calls me for engagement portraits. Thats my happy. We cherish memories they are the things that never leave. People pass on life moves forward but photography freezes time. I really hope that people remember me being part of their family portraits, graduation photos, and newborn sessions. Read more>>

Greg Garcia

I believe that each of us have a duty to leave this world in a better place than when we found it. I hope my legacy reflects that, in the ways I live my life, be it through the way that I raise my children to think, love, care, and dream, through the service that I’ve given to my community over the course of my life, or even in creating a new and better for you ice cream bar. Read more>>

Shelby Borer

After I’m long gone I hope that when people think of me they’re reminded about how I lived my life so fearlessly. That despite the risks of all my choices I continued to live in integrity to who I was. And in times of change and confusion I stayed honest to myself. I wasn’t afraid to feel, to express who I was and to speak my my truths. I hope that I inspire people to be exactly who they are. To be unapologetic about what makes them unique. Unapologetic about what they want and need to be happy. Read more>>

Kendra Riley

I hope my legacy will be how I was able to utilize my company, skills and experience in order to help families like ours whose children have also dealt with life-threatening illnesses. When I started my PR agency I thought that would be my purpose in life, so to speak, but now – having two of our three children face a terminal illness where only one could get treatment because she was not yet symptomatic – I realize that my career was merely part of my larger purpose, which was to help other families like ours who are in need, and don’t have access to easily garnering media attention, to raise awareness and funds so their children can also have a chance at a normal life. Read more>>

Phaidra Wright

Connect. Empower. Transform. Connecting with our young people is the most essential part of our mission. Our goal is that every child we interact with knows that we see them and love them for who they are. We want to pour into our youth so much that they are empowered to face the world knowing they have us as a support system. We want our young people to be transformed into well-rounded individuals who make positive contributions to society. Read more>>

Beverly Marshall

I would hope that my legacy would be my compassion for people and the way its’ portrayed within my art. I like to focus on the emotional aspect of the human condition and show the viewer what I see. I hope somewhere along the way, I’m remembered for that and for my spirit and how I have interacted with those around me. I hope I am remembered for my respect for artists and the gifts they have given the world. I hope my art is remembered for its human spirit. Read more>>

Henry Ward

I hope to raise much funds as possible to give to those who are struggling from addiction so that they can afford treatment and aftercare. I also hope to give people strength and courage to speak up, not suffer in silence and seek help for their addictions. I will continue to create and execute large scale long distance running events/challenges and use these as a platform to share my message and story. I hope to leave my mark not only here in Arizona, but around the world as well. Read more>>