We’ve highlighted responses from some of the brightest and most talented artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in the community below.

Keshara Mason

My hero my anchor is my mother. She’s influenced my journey to be brilliant and resilient in a society that tries to place you in a box and expect you not to come out of the circumstances that your in. My mother was a teen mother she had me at 19 ,so we practically grew up together and I learned about what it takes to be a great woman having morals and ethics respect for the room and to always understand that you will cross paths of people who can either be in your life forever or just a season and then their time is up. I have so many stories to share but I’ll choose just one lol since 2018 I was out of work living off of my savings up until early 2022. I was injured on my job and of course my former employer tried to cover it up and stated that I had an illness and I was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis twice . Unbeknownst to me I had never heard of the illness in particular I had to engage in doing further research to understand it better. Not to mention I was given the wrong images the images were of a man and this whole ordeal just overtook me of course with not understanding what was going on my emotions were in high volumes the impact of my life practically trying to be ruined by caretakers who I thought were put in place to help their patients. But that wasn’t the case! Not to mention already lying about my injury they even tried to do an illegal case study on me as well. I ended up losing both my jobs behind this matter and I never fully recovered with employment from the matter I was just living off my savings. At that moment my mother continued to keep me motivated of course and didn’t want me to feel down about my current situation, and I always had faith things would get better and I was always praying just asking God for answers and understanding. I ended up just helping my mother at work as a way to feel a relief of feeling employed again my mother is a hairstylist and she has been in the cosmetology business for 30 plus years. That’s how i became a salon coordinator just making sure all guidelines were met in the salon and handling technical logistics. My mother my anchor influenced me by just showing me support wisdom knowledge and strength and I can’t thank her enough for continuing make sure I was okay even when it was days I wasn’t I was in pain both physically and emotionally. Read more>>

Valerie Foster

“What Would Dolly Do?” So says my favorite pink tee-shirt. I use the word “hero,” very sparingly. I believe it should be reserved for those who do not just do a good job at their job, but who go beyond expectations, who unselfishly reach for the extraordinary in leaving this planet a better place. For me, that describes Dolly Parton. Of course, she is supremely talented and creative, but she exceeds all meaning of fulfilling one’s purpose. I envy her exceptional business acumen, her bold willingness to assert herself in protecting her one-woman industry. That even extended to turning down Elvis wanting to record “I Will Always Love You” when it would mean losing her rights to the song. She is not afraid to claim her one-of-a-kind style, not afraid of hard work, as she oozes grace, personality, and humanity. Most of all, her dedication to promoting literacy through her Imagination Library has resulted in her donating over 186 MILLION books around the world! Wrapped in uncompromising femininity, she is one highly intelligent, honorable, and resilient warrior. The lady is comfortable in her skin, and when I begin to doubt my own abilities or purpose, I pause and think, “What would Dolly do?” Read more>>

Dedi Felman

There are so many people I look up to in the film industry: trailblazing female directors who pursued their goals to direct and ground it out in the trenches long before the rest of us thought that career path was even possible, female producers who’ve created the opportunity for other women to tell their stories on-screen and provided roles with real substance for female actors, and many, many other talented artists whose work inspires and elevates my own. Read more>>

Chanel

My hero is my grandmother and the reason why is because she was the best person ever from her spirit her soul her beauty her smile the way she loved and help people. She taught me so many things she taught me how to love with all my heart she taught me how to don’t take life for granted to cherish everything moment how to respect people how to not judge people listen and understand that we all as humans go through things in life everyone has there on mission and we need to be understanding. She taught me how to bake. She taught me to give to others when they are in need. She taught me how to be a great mother to my children. And most of all she taught me how to be a Spiritual being. She has influenced me to be great and to be all I can be and to stay strong no matter what situation. And I love her for that. Read more>>

Justen Arnold

Though potentially controversial, my hero is Jesus. His teachings on compassion, empathy, and leadership have profoundly influenced my journey as a business owner. His emphasis on serving others and his knack for connecting with people from all walks of life inspire me to lead with humility and kindness. Read more>>