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.

Dr. L Brock-White

While I knew I wanted to go the distance educationally and complete my doctorate, there were many points throughout my journey where I felt completely out of place and unfulfilled. I valued what and from whom I was learning, but the application of said in a traditional clinical fashion wasn’t speaking to my soul. I had always found joy and purpose in educating clients because it fostered empowerment, commitment and a solid foundation for the healing process. Read more>>

Imani Powell

Most certainly! The moment that changed my overall grasp of medicine & health/fitness was when I encountered customers while working as a GNC associate. I was amazed at how they all came to the herbal supplement section and completely changed their health statuses due to holistic/botanical medicine. Read more>>

Carla Calderas, MA, LPC, NCC

Definitely, when I was in college. I moved to North Carolina to study International Business but after taking some of the business courses I realized that I was not passionate about it. Business classes felt cold and disengaging. Against family opinions, I decided to take a semester off from school. I took time to engage in things I liked like singing, modeling, and developing myself. Read more>>

Brenda Hardwick

I worked for the state government for twenty-seven years. It was a promising career, although not the path I initially planned to take. I retired and started my own business after leaving that job, but it was in the spring of 2008 when I was desperately engaged in trying to move up the ladder and secure a position in management, either within state government or somewhere else when things changed. Read more>>

Helen Hooper

I think you most defining moment in my career in community advocacy and Human services is when a young woman I was helping through some childhood trauma tried to commit suicide. She had become very close to me, a friend even. One day she called to say goodbye and to see to her son and her soon to be born grandson. Long story short, she lived. I was determined to find her in the city in an urgent search with the assistance from three police forces , we found her and she lived. Read more>>

Jovon Quarles

Being Born & raised in Washington DC by my grandparents that pushed me into the military due to having two kids as a teenager in High School was a challenge in June 1999. I wasnt doing great in school and after having two kids my grandmother felt the best thing for me is to go into the Navy. None of the family agreed on this during that time nor did I. I couldnt see what her purpose of this idea was but i eventually broke and agreed. Read more>>

Emily Brulotte

Since our first interview some things have changed… Previously, I was running an in-person, whole food, plant-based meal prep business out of San Diego. I then transitioned to cooking privately for a few clients based on their personal health needs, goals and taste preferences. Over the last 6 years, I focused on getting certified in holistic nutrition to cater toward my niche market. Read more>>

Christian Busch

A very defining moment in my professional career occurred during my time spent in Tucson, AZ. I had moved there to seek out mentorship so that I could improve my ability to diagnosis conditions and further my hands-on skills with patients. I trained there for several years and really enjoyed gaining the knowledge I needed training under my mentor. Read more>>

Erick Rosales

I think it started like everything else, because of a heartbreak I quit my job as a Barista on a Monday and that Saturday went on a tour as a co-host to learn the job. It all started there. I met the owner of Xplora Baja in late 2016, he used to tell me I had a lot of potencial and was loosing all of it working in a coffee shop. It all started there, he (Ivan) lighted the spark. Read more>>

Ilana Kearns

.My passion for health and wellness began after overcoming my own difficult health journey while working full-time in Corporate when I learned I was a carrier of the faulty BRCA 1 gene mutation, placing me at high risk for Breast, Ovarian, and other cancers following the death of my young cousin from ovarian cancer while her mother (my aunt) was being treated for Breast Cancer at the same hospital at the same time. Read more>>

Mira Chotalia

The defining moment in my career was back in March of 2020, right before the pandemic began. I had recently moved to NYC with my husband and started looking for jobs about 6 months before March. I knew I wanted to work in the health & wellness space, but I wanted a role where I could wear many hats and be challenged daily. I had already worked in management consulting, user experience design, and marketing, but I was not feeling challenged by my role or fulfilled by the mission of the companies I worked at. Read more>>