ATL’s Most Inspiring Stories

The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.

Karron English

About me: I am an accomplished fashion designer and educator with a rich background spanning over 20 years in the fashion design industry, mostly in the New York City. Holding an Associate’s degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a BFA from the American InterContinental University (AIU), and an MFA from the Academy of Art University, I bring extensive expertise to every endeavor. Read more>>

MAGIC MALLY

With my father being a musician I was basically born into music. He taught me key music factors at a young age, such as counting music, playing the keyboard & playing the drums. Playing drums became a hobby for me until coming across a mixtape by a friend “Dj Sha too fly”. Read more>>

Trevell Franklin

Tipy has been engaged with music for over 15 years. He began by rewriting lyrics to songs from major artists, honing his craft from a young age. He wrote his first original song in 5th grade, which marked the beginning of his serious interest in music. He never let setbacks stop him. Read more>>

Khalid Salaam

I’ve been a musician since elementary school. Growing up in a religious family playing multiple instruments at church. When Hip hop came along during my childhood and I gravitated towards it immediately. Rapping and making my own beats quietly throughout high school. I attended college briefly before joining the military. Read more>>

Stephen Wilber

I am currently a Real Estate Professional with Virtual Properties Realty and am a Zillow Premier Agent in the Greater Atlanta Area, I started off as a classical concert pianist obtaining my B.M from Oberlin College, M.M. from Peabody Institute of music at Johns Hopkins University and my DMA from the University of Maryland…I traveled in Europe and Russia and the USA playing concerts. Read more>>

Chris Karabinos

I’m a builder. Of people; of communities; of products & businesses. I’ve worked for large companies (Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble), medium-size companies and a couple of startups as founder/co-founder. As trite as it sounds, I like the art of creation, be it teams, brands or people. Read more>>

Zach Bradley

I knew early on that I wasn’t meant for corporate America. I’ve always been wired to build, create, and lead, so entrepreneurship became less of a career choice and more of a calling. Over the years, I’ve founded and operated multiple businesses across the country, including restaurants, software companies, a consulting firm, and leadership development platforms for physicians and attorneys who own their own practices. Read more>>

Ashley Billings

I was always the friend people called to help them get dressed for events, trips, or big moments. Styling was something I did naturally long before I ever considered it a business. During the pandemic, I co-founded a resort wear line with my sister-in-law. That experience taught me a lot about fashion, branding, and entrepreneurship, but we ultimately dissolved the brand in 2024. Read more>>

Carvin & Keenan Thomas

One Vision, Endless Sight: How the Thomas Brothers are Redefining Optical Excellence from Dominica to ATL In the heart of Atlanta’s bustling creative scene, a new standard of ‘optical excellence’ is being set—and it’s rooted in Caribbean heritage and technical mastery. Meet Carvin and Keenan Thomas, the visionary brothers behind Optiprecision. Read more>>

Pat Henry

Dragon Con’s story starts as these things sometimes do: A group of friends walked into a pizza joint. It was 1986, and David Cody, John Bunnell, Robert Dennis, and I wanted to start a new kind of convention, one that combined science fiction literature, comics, games, and rock concerts into a single, multi-genre event. It would be a place where we could never get bored and everybody was welcome. Read more>>

Kelly Bigby

Sage and Silva began in 2021, rooted in a season of creativity and intention—my wedding. I chose to DIY all of the personal details, wanting every element to feel meaningful, thoughtful, and uniquely ours. What started as a personal project quickly caught attention. Read more>>

Caylin Sams

I landed the lead role in a musical when I was in first grade. I went on to perform in high school musicals and danced competitively at Georgia College & State University. It wasn’t until 2017 that I fell in love with on-screen acting. They were filming The Originals in Milledgeville, Georgia. I was able to spend some time on set. Read more>>

Josh Rowland

Well Hi everyone, my name is Joshua Rowland and I’m a photographer. I started photography during the year of covid by just taking pictures off a iPhone 15 and fell in love with taking photos since. Read more>>

Grant Wallace

The Southern Shmooze started because I was tired of seeing my neighbors get bad recommendations. Back when I was running my landscaping company, Grantlanta Lawn, I kept seeing people ask the same questions online: “Who’s a good plumber?” “Who do you use for gutters?” The replies were messy—spam, fake reviews, out-of-town companies, and the occasional horror story. Read more>>

steven berne

My journey began when I found myself unemployed during a recession. I opened my law firm at home with my wife answering phone calls. I soon realized that I worked more effectively in a traditional office. I found office space with a well-respected attorney, hired a legal assistant and began my private practice. Read more>>

Monica Cleaves

In November of 2016, I came home early to celebrate my birthday with my family. On November 5th, we went to Cheddar’s in McDonough, Georgia, for an early birthday dinner, an evening filled with love, laughter, and togetherness. None of us could have imagined how quickly that beautiful night would change our lives forever. Read more>>

Caroline Ferrari

Sarah and I met in grad school at UGA while training to become counselors, and what started as shared classes quickly turned into a deep friendship. Like many new clinicians, we struggled to find our place, moving between private practice and the school system, questioning where we fit, and at times wondering if we might even leave the field altogether. Read more>>

Laquana Sinclair

My journey began at 29, after a divorce, bankruptcy, and a period of deep personal reckoning. What looked like failure became the foundation for transformation. I was forced to rebuild my life from the inside out—healing old patterns while learning how to create real stability through strategy, structure, and aligned decision-making. Read more>>

Mekayla J

Then in 2022, I was granted the opportunity to join Streetlights, a minority career-ready program based in California that launched its first bi-costal program to collaborate with the aspiring talent in Atlanta. That experience was a turning point for me because it didn’t just inspire me—it prepared me. It gave me hands-on training, a stronger understanding of how the film industry works, and the confidence to take myself seriously as both a creative and a founder. Read more>>

Fatha Flex

All platforms millions of interactions all over the world millions knows my name that’s still only half of the dream I hope to one day be a international award winning singer currently working on my album and visuals for the project I’m an author and serial entrepreneur multiple streams of income from selling merch hosting events podcast radio streaming and creating content Read more>>

Joshua Chatman

Funny enough, I’m not even from Atlanta. One of my closest friends, Cyndereaper—who was previously interviewed by Voyage ATL—nominated me because of the work I’ve done for her and many others. Being given the opportunity to tell my story through this platform is truly a dream come true. My story begins in Louisiana. Read more>>

Kimberly Vann

My journey started with a genuine love for hair and helping people feel good about themselves. What began as a passion slowly turned into a career as I spent years learning, growing, and perfecting my craft behind the chair. Over time, I realized that hair was only part of the bigger picture. Read more>>

Dr. Darius Peterson I

I am a native of Southwest Georgia, born and raised in a rural community that shaped both my resilience and my resolve. My early life was marked by significant challenges—poverty, instability, and familial dysfunction—but it was also defined by something powerful: community. I was raised not by one household alone, but by many hands and hearts. Read more>>

Kara Zajac

I was a cross-country runner in high school who developed high pain after several years of ten + mile training days. My parents took me to doctors who x-rayed, scanned, MRI’d my body for months. Read more>>

Lisa Stephens

Sunrise Nursery is an independent plant nursery with a focus on native plants and ecological growing practices. The nursery opened in the spring of 2021 on the former Thyme After Thyme property about 10 minutes from downtown Athens. Read more>>

Poorvi Pfenning

Opening my own direct primary care practice has been my dream since I first learned of the model in medical school. Read more>>

Alem Peljto

OpenForge Construction and Design was formed out of necessity, alignment, and timing. Alem Peljto and Wascar Aracena came together through active development work, not theory. Both were already deeply involved in real estate and construction from different but complementary angles. Read more>>

Carla Hanibal

Built on Desire. Backed by Science.* It all started with one frustration… Those stubborn spots that wouldn’t budge. No matter what I tried, they stayed. I wanted a solution that actually works. *Simple and Effective.* Hi, my name is Carla Hanibal — the force behind TIKA FAYA. Like you, I’ve battled weight gain, self-doubt, and tried everything to see results. Read more>>

Octavia Bruce

My journey began over two decades ago with a simple but powerful belief: healthy hair starts with knowledge, care, and intention. I entered the beauty industry driven by passion, and over time became a licensed master cosmetologist, licensed instructor, certified barber, and non-surgical hair loss specialist. Read more>>

Haleigh Linn

In 2022, I was struggling with restlessness at work and what I was doing with my life. I wanted to be more available to my family, but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. I reached out to a few friends and started assisting with event set up for a luxury event planner. Read more>>

Marie-Lies Van Asten

My journey in herbal medicine started in 2008, when I picked up a book at the Auburn University Library. I don’t remember the title of the book, but it talked about the importance of what you put on your skin and inside of your body. I started reading a variety of books on the topic, including books by Brigitte Mars and Rosemary Gladstar. Read more>>

Ana Catali

My life began in circumstances that required resilience from an early age. After a tragic event, I entered witness protection and later moved through the foster care system. During that time, music and art became my refuge that calmed my nerves and gave me a sense of escape, expression, and safety. Read more>>

Dr Lottie Kelly

I grew up on the Gulf Coast, where hurricanes reshape the land — and people learn early how to survive what tries to take them under. That lesson followed me into every chapter of my life. I was raised with early exposure to mental health and addiction through my mother’s work in psychiatry, but years later those issues became deeply personal. Read more>>

Tiffany Clark

I started Power of Touch Beauty Bar from a deeply personal journey with my own skin. For years, I struggled with hyperpigmentation and found it difficult to locate a skincare professional who truly understood my concerns or how to treat them effectively. Read more>>

Ericka Axelsson

I started makingThe Dripping Rain Cloud during the COVID-19 lockdowns as a simple idea to bring more joy into my everyday routine. Inspired by a cloud decoration I made for my daughter’s room—and the task of watering my plants—I used my 3D printer to create a cloud that could gently “rain” on them. I shared the design online, and what happened next surprised me. Read more>>

Latasha Hill

I am a healthcare leader, mentor, and advocate with 20 years of experience in medical imaging and radiology services. I currently serve as the Director of Radiology Services at Atrium Health Navicent in Macon, GA. Read more>>

Ratesia Harden

I’m actually what you’d call a SERIAL-preneur lol but let’s start with my insurance career. I started insurance in 2014. After obtaining my personal lines, I quickly realized that this was a great way to become financially stable while having a work schedule that benefited my children. Read more>>

Shelly Todd

I have been an esthetician for 14 years. When I started, I had a difficult time finding products that I could use without having a reaction. I have mast cell disease and it makes my skin and body sensitive to many products. Read more>>

Marcus Pollard

Bee Pimpn began as a small family homestead focused on produce cultivation and sales in 2018 in Fayetteville, Georgia. As the operation expanded, so did its offerings, which soon included poultry and eventually honey bees. Without prior experience or established contacts in beekeeping, I, Marcus Pollard, committed to self-education, joined local beekeeping clubs, and enrolled in the UGA Master Beekeeper Program. Read more>>

Etosha Mone’ Leone

Control Hair Care was born from my own lived experience as a Black woman navigating natural hair, confidence, and identity in spaces that often expected me to look a certain way—especially corporate America. I struggled for years with breakage, dryness, damage, and the frustration of styling thick 4B hair without truly understanding what it needed. Read more>>

Caitlyn Broyles

I created C.L Broyles Counseling Services LLC because of my own life experiences with loss, hardship, and resilience. I lost my mother at a very young age, and through that grief I learned how powerful it can be to talk about things that aren’t easy or comfortable. I also learned how isolating it can feel when emotions go unspoken or unsupported. Read more>>

Queen Rogers

She is also a grandmother (glam-ma), poet, actress, stand-up comedian, mentor, and a former TV News Desk Journalist for NBC-6 Miami. Her latest published children’s book, “Please, Take Yazz Home,” was written to entertain and educate young readers on diversity, acceptance, and quarantine measures during an outbreak. Read more>>

Luh Kee b

It’s been relatively smooth. Space is extremely open. Even within the asteroid belt the average distances between asteroids can be hundreds of thousands of miles. So outside of the planned flybys it’s a lot of downtime. The prep leading up the journey was the hard part. Making sure my mental, physical, and spiritual were all in the right place. Read more>>

Tricia Warren

A Business Leader’s Guide to Operational Success and the Endless Pursuit of Better”, explores the patterns of operational friction I have seen repeatedly across industries and my company, TLW Integrated Solutions, felt less like a leap and more like a natural extension of the work I had been doing for years. Rooted in resilience and faith, TLW Integrated Solutions is a reflection of my life mission: to turn challenges into momentum and help others lead with intention, excellence, and grace. Read more>>

JayR Rashiq

Founder of Harhum Music LLC. From Yonkers, NY inspired by his father Stone Rivers & Michael Jackson. Rashiq grew up seeing his father create music in the house (producing & writing). Rashiq picked up on that at a young age & began writing poetry in the 2nd grade. Read more>>