So often mission and purpose driven folks have fascinating stories about where they draw their inspiration from. Often it’s a historical figure and so we’ve highlighted some of those conversations around historical figures and what some of the best and brightest have learned from them.
Dwynesha Lavigne

One of the historical figures I look up to is Chef Lena Richard. I was first introduced to Chef Richard in 2017 by Elizabeth Williams founder of The Southern Food and Beverage Museum. At our introduction Richard had been deceased for over 65 years. Doing research and speaking with historians I tried to find out as much information about her as I could. Looking at how successful she was over her short lifetime was nothing but impressive. Lena Richard was a chef, cookbook author, restaurant and eatery owner, frozen food entrepreneur, and hosted the first cooking segments live on television from New Orleans, Louisiana. Read more>>
Taylor Cravey

I have idolized Amelia Earhart since I picked up a biography about her in 5th grade. I did countless book reports and speech competitions about her life and accomplishments. She was the first woman brought to my attention that had lived unbound by societal constraints, or rather had forged ahead despite them. Earhart became The First Woman to accomplish so much in aviation- a field that had been created and dominated by men. Read more>>