Portraits of Atlanta

It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Atlanta.

Nikki Alexander

My journey has really been rooted in community, advocacy, and creating spaces where people feel seen and valued. I started my career in property management and real estate, building more than 20 years of experience in leadership, operations, finance, and project management. Along the way, my passion for community work grew into something much bigger. Read more>>

Jordi Verdeguer Cuevas

When I was 13, my friends and I were obsessed with doing handstands, which naturally led us into breakdancing and capoeira. I fell in love with blending dance and acrobatics. After three years of capoeira, I met a former Cirque du Soleil artist who was teaching tumbling and trampoline, and I immediately joined his classes. Read more>>

Sabrina Jenkins

My story really started with something very simple: I wanted to create a space where women could come together, enjoy themselves, build genuine friendships, and experience sisterhood outside of their everyday responsibilities. That vision eventually became Destiny Dash Brunch Club, or DDBC. What started as women simply coming together over brunch grew into something much bigger than I ever imagined. Read more>>

Richard Erickson

We are the originators of the affordable ten week dental assistant teaching program that has now spread all over the country. It began in 1986 when we hired an inexperienced person to be a dental assistant and spent about 3 months training her During cancellations and breaks to be a fully capable Dental assistant. Read more>>

Amanda Whyte

My journey as an actor has really been shaped by a combination of rigorous training, a love of storytelling, and a desire to develop skills that allow me to bring something distinctive to the work. I graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where I developed my foundation as an actor. Read more>>

Clare Thanhauser

I began my journey as a jewelry designer quite young, even as a child I was a prolific beader and crafter. My formal career in the field began in my 20s, when i was studying art at The College of Santa Fe and would sell my handmade jewelry at the farmers market on the weekends. Read more>>

Lindsay DeFranco

I’m a Georgia Peach, born and raised in Alpharetta. North Fulton is the place that shaped how I think about community, so after spending years in California building my career, coming home felt a little like fate. My career in independent media started in 2006, back when “independent media” mostly meant a camera, an internet connection, and a very high tolerance for embarrassment. Read more>>

Michael Roberson

I grew up in Inkster, Michigan, just outside Detroit, in a world held together by the gravity of three powerful grandmothers and the rhythmic, high-gloss pews of a basement church. Early on, church was where I learned my first lessons in leadership—watching a choir director pull harmony from a hundred different voices. But it was also where I learned the unwritten rules of survival. Read more>>

Jai Grey

I started creating content when I was in high school (10th grade). During that time I didn’t have a clear direction of what I wanted to do nor the kind of creator that I wanted to be, I just propped my phone up and hit record with whatever idea I had. Read more>>

Ashley Rader

I’ve always been creative, but I definitely didn’t have some perfectly mapped-out plan to become a full-time artist. My background is actually in marketing, branding and design, and for a while I worked around interior design and architecture as well. Read more>>

Acacia Muhs

Sure, I’m Acacia. ‘Acacia’ is a plant, a type of wood but most importantly a beautiful tree. A strong tree, and that is my story. Not all trees start off strong, but they do eventually grow into big strong amazing trees. A lot of my life was understanding what type of tree I am, my strengths and weaknesses. Read more>>

Cortez Daniel

I’ve been performing since I was 7 years old, and music has shaped nearly every chapter of my life since. That journey took me from singing to piano and composition. I earned my degree in Music Education and started teaching, directing, composing, and performing across the country straight out of college. Read more>>

Chikilia Parks

My story really begins long before I became a nurse or founded the Institute for Future Registered Nurses. I grew up experiencing circumstances that could have easily limited what I believed was possible for my life. Read more>>

Amy Osaba

Flowers have always been a part of my life. Every summer I would visit my grandmother in Arkansas, and she had a beautiful garden. I helped with planting, planning, weeding, and watering. I fell in love with the beautiful variety of flowers she grew, and I remember we would always have a fresh bouquet on the table at dinnertime. Read more>>

Dhara Gadi

I came to the United States from India 20 years ago, and if you had told me then that one day I would be building an Indian food brand, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. My journey has been anything but linear. Read more>>

Loren Perry

I think my creative journey started before I even realized I was on one. Growing up, and especially in college, people were always asking for my opinion on outfits, hair, makeup, or how to put a look together. At the time, I thought it was kind of funny because I didn’t always feel like I had everything figured out myself. Read more>>

Cato

My name is Cato and I’m the creator of Comma Club Podcast. I started out in music as an artist. Since a child I always had an infatuation with the entertainment business as well as the radio. I would call up to talk radio stations and fake like I was older than I was just for them to take my points seriously lol. Read more>>

Kyia Young

The origins of All Saints Embroidery, Ltd. Co. go back well before I officially set up the business in May 2025. Both my granny and grandmother were skilled at sewing and tailoring clothes, linens and all sorts of other things, so working with fabric has always been part of our family’s history. Read more>>

Indi Tyton

My story has never followed a straight line, but creativity, leadership, education, and service have remained consistent threads throughout it. I was born in Washington, D.C., raised primarily in Alexandria, Virginia, and grew up in a creative family where music, theatre, dance, education, faith, and hard work mattered. Read more>>

Yuchen Li

Hi, I’m Yuchen, but you can also call me Moxi. The name Moxi comes from the Japanese word moshimoshi, which translates to “Is anyone there?” Every time someone calls my name, it feels like a gentle reassurance—a quiet reminder that I am still right here. I am a multi-disciplinary visual artist, with photography as my primary medium. Read more>>

Kurtis Carter Phillip

My name is Kurtis “Carter” Phillip, and my journey has been shaped by survival, reinvention and a commitment to creating opportunities for others. One of the most defining experiences of my life was battling end-stage liver disease and receiving a liver transplant after coming dangerously close to losing my life. Read more>>

Felicia Bennett

It’s a Wrap Cafe was born in 2016 during one of the most transformative seasons of my life. Before launching the brand, I spent nearly ten years helping operate a business with my former husband. Read more>>

Becca Woods

When I graduated college Spring of 2023, I was assured that I would be able to get a job post grad, despite not being on a hunt for one during my Senior year. I soon realized that the job market had changed drastically, and not in a way that favored me or my skillset. Read more>>

Eugene E. Jones, Jr.

I was born on September 29 1955 on Selfridge Air Force Base near Mount Clemens, Michigan – just outside of Detroit. I am the second of six children, with an older sister among the four girls and two boys in my family. Unlike many other families, the six of us were really close and did everything together. Read more>>

Kiyomi Strickland

I’ve always loved fashion and how the right outfit can completely change the way you feel. That’s really where KOS Stylez started for me. I wanted to create something that felt feminine, confident, stylish, and still affordable, but also something that felt like me. Read more>>

Rasha Robinson

I started out as an actor about 12 years ago, working on and off in the industry. Eventually, I realized I didn’t want to keep waiting for opportunities to come my way—I wanted to create my own. That decision pushed me into writing, directing, and filmmaking, and I’ve been building my own projects and creating opportunities for myself and other creatives ever since. Read more>>

Tatianna Graham

I started my career as a physiotherapist over 15 years ago, fascinated by the human body and passionate about helping people move and feel better. Over time, yoga became an important part of both my personal life and my work, and I began to understand that truly feeling well goes far beyond treating an injury or strengthening a muscle. Read more>>

Lerae Funderburg

My journey began with a desire to help creators protect not only what they make, but what they are building through it. After graduating from Howard University School of Law, I earned an LL.M. in Entertainment and Media Law and began building a career at the intersection of creativity, culture, business, and intellectual property. Read more>>

Lani Love

My journey in the entertainment industry really started before I was old enough to understand what the entertainment industry even was. I began doing pageants as a baby, and from there my mom started introducing me to modeling, acting, dancing, and eventually social media. Read more>>

Islam El-Hoseiny

My story has never really followed a straight line. I’m an Egyptian-American entrepreneur and designer, born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Jersey City. From an early age, I was drawn to creativity, design, culture, and the idea of building something that could leave a real impact. Read more>>

Kristen Almirez

I began my photography journey, like anyone would starting with high school, have taken an art class and have since fallen in love with it that I transitioned from art to photography and opened my eyes to more opportunity, starting with film and slowly transitioning into digital all while learning and using Photoshop. Read more>>

Andress Monique Williams

I’ve always considered myself a creative at heart. I’m originally from Brooklyn, New York, and my journey began in the entertainment industry as an actress. Over the years, I’ve been blessed to work in film, television and theater, but my story has never been about staying in just one lane. After relocating to Georgia, I continued pursuing my passion for entertainment while also embracing entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Tamara Clark

My story has been shaped by rebuilding—more than once. I lost my mother when I was 17, and by 19, I was raising two sons. At 24, I moved from South Central Los Angeles to Atlanta, determined to create a different life for my family. The road was far from easy. Read more>>

Keith Big Keef Jackson

Growing up, I didn’t even know being a comedian was a real thing I could become. I was an only child, but I came from a big extended family. My grandmother and her sister were the matriarchs of the family, so there was always somebody around, always something going on, and definitely always somebody to laugh with and make laugh. Read more>>

Leah & Oscar Garrison & Rojas Hernandez

PeachLine Mobile Detailing started with a simple goal: to build a local business that people could genuinely trust. We’re husband and wife, and until recently, we both worked as senior software engineers. Leah also has a degree in marketing, while Oscar grew up helping his parents with their landscaping & cleaning business. Read more>>

Miles Mendelson

My wife and I are avid recyclers. Years ago, we became very frustrated when DeKalb County stopped recycling glass. We would take our glass up to Dekalb facilities for recycling, but it was messy and a hassle. We decided that we wanted to help the community easily recycle household glass because glass is essentially 99.9% recyclable. Read more>>

Partrounar Bryant-James

I was born and raised in Savannah. My mother, Georgia, was a Sunday school teacher, and youth mentor with the voice of an angel. She raised my sister, Sonia and I, to love God, care for others, focus on being leaders and not followers, and work hard, but enjoy life. Read more>>

Nelson Kusagah

I’ve always wanted to be a sports photographer but just didn’t know how and where to start from until I met my big brother Derick Agbodza popularly known as Genius Shot It. It hasn’t been easy but we’ve etched our names in the books of sports photography in Africa. Read more>>

Toni Dixon, MBA

My journey has been shaped by faith, resilience, and a deep belief that difficult experiences can be transformed into meaningful service. I am an Atlanta native, a mother of four, and a nonprofit development professional with nearly 20 years of experience in fundraising, grant writing, nonprofit management, program development, marketing, and strategic planning. Read more>>

DiNera Michel

I am originally from Spring Valley, NY – born and raised. I grew up a little rough around the edges lol. I used to fight a lot and was just always angry. In a crazy turn of events, that slowed down some once I was 15 and my best friend, Michael Aristhene, was killed. Read more>>

Jasmine (Nicole wordz) Mitchell

I’ve always had creativity in me, even before I understood it. My aunt tells me that when I was a kid, I would make beats with my mouth. I also grew up singing in the choir, and I used to write music when I was younger. At one point, I even wanted to be a singer. Read more>>

Doralis Allen

Went from reading novels all day, to poetry, to writing poetry, wanting my own short story and poetry book, minored in Creative Writing in undergraduate, junior year was re-introduced to poetry and began rapping filling joining a performing arts club at SUNY Albany Read more>>

Lauren Youngblood

I am born and raised in New Orleans but moved to NYC in 2015. I had hopes of chasing a dream because I wanted to work at a record label ever since I was a teen. I loved music, hip hop and r&b culture, and sung quite often in church and wherever else was available. Read more>>

Amber Dobbs

Cobalt Strings was founded 15 years ago out of a love of music, a passion for performing, and an obsession with showing the world that strings instruments aren’t boring. For many people, when they thing of string instruments like violin and cello, they just think of classical music. But these instruments are wildly more versatile than the average person realizes. Read more>>

Caroline Sherrer

My maternal grandmother and one of my uncles are both artists, so creativity has been part of my life from a very young age. I was always making something as a child—friendship bracelets, playhouses out of cardboard boxes, drawings, paintings, and all kinds of crafts. Read more>>

Reque Blackmon

I started in the music industry when I was 17 years old, my dad was in the Commodores and my mom sung in the choir. I guess you can say I was raised in music all my life. Read more>>

Sylvie Bien-Aimé

My journey began in Montreal in the early 2000s, when a young Sylvie discovered a pull toward beauty and fashion. In 2000, I started formal training in professional makeup at Edith Serei Academy, then went on to earn a DEC in Fashion Design at LaSalle College — a combination that sharpened both my technical skill and my eye for composition. Read more>>

Henah Velez

I’m the writer behind Departure, a free weekly newsletter focused around travel for women. You may know my voice from my time on The Money with Katie Show, or my writing from essays on The Good Trade. After graduating with a dual degree in Psychology and Communications, I pursued a Master’s Degree in Social Entrepreneurship and spent about 10 years in the social impact space. Read more>>

Jamario Davis

My first time ever picking up a makeup brush was in 2016. 💄 I was working at the Glam by Flor Roberts kiosk inside Haywood Mall in Greenville, South Carolina. Once I learned the technique, something in me knew I wanted to learn MORE. I wanted to perfect my craft, develop my own style, and see just how far this gift could take me. Read more>>

Kathy Moore

At the heart of my business is a deeply personal story—one that fuels my commitment to service, compassion, and advocacy. In April 2024, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. In an instant, I became more than her daughter—I became her caregiver, advocate, and support system. Read more>>

Carlton Jones

I always been a writer. In high school I wrote two books and also a one act play. As I got older I never stopped writing. During the pandemic I decided to go full force in writing Poetry which I call Cometry which is poetry and comedy put together. After going viral on Tik Tok and Instagram I was encouraged to get on stage. Read more>>

Chantelle Tiller

I would describe myself as both a bargain shopper and a content creator who loves finding amazing deals and sharing them with others. Bargain shopping is more than just saving money for me—it’s something I genuinely enjoy. I love the thrill of discovering great products, stylish finds, and everyday essentials at prices that make you feel like you truly scored a win. Read more>>

Daniel Villalta

I began my career unemployed, searching for a job, and I seized an opportunity with a dental tourism company that helps U.S. patients access affordable, high-quality dental care abroad. Over time, I became the most experienced coordinator in the industry, assisting nearly 15,000 patients and generating over $13 million in clinic bookings. Read more>>

Ashlee Elease

Hi, my name is Ashlee Elease. Who I am today came from having audacity and years of perseverance to align with my inner artist. I grew up in East New York, Brooklyn, in a house full of family—my parents, my big brother, my grandmother, and my uncles. Read more>>

Jhamarcus Pharaoh, Ph.D.

Education has always been a major part of my story. Growing up, my mom often told me that “school was my ticket out.” My ticket out of the hood, specifically. Plus, bringing home good grades wasn’t optional in our house, haha. Read more>>

Damon Winston

I picked up my first camera when I was in middle school. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about becoming a photographer or filmmaker. I was just taking pictures of flowers. I also used to work at a doggy daycare, and I would take pictures of the dogs there. Those were all on my iPhone. Read more>>

Daniel Hodson

Before SickSet Media existed, Dan was in a band. Like most people who spend their college years on stages and in van seats, it wasn’t really about the music alone. It was about the community. Rock and metal don’t just attract fans, they build families. Read more>>