Highlighting Local Gems

Over the past decade we have had the chance to learn about so many incredible folks from a wide range of industries and backgrounds and our highlighter series is designed to give us an opportunity to go deeper into their stories with to goal of understanding them, their thought process, how their values formed and the foundations of their stories.  Check out some incredible folks below – many of whom you may have read about already and a few new names as well.

Summer

If I were to lay down my name, my role, and all my possessions, what would remain is the essence of who I truly am—my soul, my light, my awareness. Stripped of titles and things, I am still presence, love, and consciousness. Read more>>

SiStar Mimi

Yes! The public me is the real me. Authenticity is my dominant frequency, my medicine and my biggest challenge. It is how I show others that it’s safe to be themselves. My spiritual journey taught me that authenticity is the high frequency next to the Most High. Operating in authenticity is non-negotiable for my work. I’m not your average spiritual advisor or healer. Read more>>

Renee Lowe

Whew! This is a huge but simple. It says that you need to become someone else. You have to change for whoever is in the room at the moment. That is called acting! If you are not an actor trying out for a role, what are you doing?! Be authentically you and the right team, opportunities and quite frankly, blessings will come your way. Read more>>

Duck Richards

The ABA League pays all of the team operation expenses Atlanta Aliens seek Strategic Investors to invest in their Georgia’s Top ABA Pro Basketball Team. Each season the Atlanta Aliens need strategic investors as it plans to grow it’s basketball presence across the continent. Read more>>

Adam Walls

As a Makeup Artist working in the film and television industry, I (and the broader community of film and TV workers) have been dealing with a rapidly changing job landscape. Shifting incentives, work stoppages / strikes and projects filming overseas has led to a sharp drop off in work. Read more>>

Jade Patton

What are the most proud of building that nobody sees is the fact that I took initiative of my path. I can still vividly remember as a 15-year-old at the time, hearing my peers being more concerned about who’s going to the dance with them. Read more>>

Tynia Dowdy

As A Haisrtylist in a fast growing business I am most proud to be able to Land on my feet. Being an Entrepenuer is not for the weak but I’m Godly Greatful to have the ability to Create. Going Through Losses, Betrayal, Sleepless Nights, Being Away from my kids while also dealing with Grief I wouldn’t change a thing. Read more>>

Emmy Wu

I feel what breaks peoples bonds is that the communication and trying to control every single thing about a person. We all come different. Cloths of life, yet, when we meet it should not be on the looks and money or job or what u drive it should be on the voice and mental state and heart space. Read more>>

Solodoloroze

I feel like dishonesty is the main thing that can easily break just about any bond…whether that bond was strong or not. Once you form a bond with someone it’s like a new form of trust that you just established with someone. Read more>>

Rica Tan

I think, what breaks the bonds between people is often a breakdown in trust and understanding. When communication falters, assumptions take over, or when people feel unheard, disrespected, or betrayed, those invisible threads that connect us start to fray. Sometimes, it’s fear or pride that gets in the way. Making it hard to be vulnerable or to admit when we’re wrong. Read more>>

Trae Morris

Suffering has been my greatest teacher because it forced me to lean on God in a way that success never could. Success feels good, but it doesn’t challenge your faith the same way trials do. Read more>>

Laray Dyer

Suffering has been my greatest teacher. Success didn’t teach me how to lose everything and still serve faithfully. It never taught me how to sit in silence or trust God when I had nothing to show for decades of hard work. In 2024, I lost my job, my house, and my car in the same season. Everything I thought was stable was shaken. Read more>>

Regina Harris

One big misconception about therapy is that it’s only for people with mental illness. In reality, therapy is a valuable space for navigating stress, major life transitions, and personal growth. It’s certainly about healing, but it’s also about building resilience and reconnecting with ourselves. Another common misunderstanding is the idea that therapists are there to solve your problems or tell you exactly what to do. Read more>>

Stephanie Mays

My business, S. Mays Designs focuses on helping business and organization owners to build their brand and develop successful websites. I believe that most people misunderstand the process and the value of proper branding and web development. Your brand is the face of your business and defines who you are, what you do, how you do it and who benefits from what you do. Read more>>

Ashley Leonard

A postpartum doula is there to support the whole family as you adjust to life with a new baby. I’m not a nanny or medical provider; instead, I’m here to nurture, guide, and provide evidence-based information so you feel confident in your new role. Read more>>

Trey Lawson

For me now a normal day is waking up getting the kids ready for school dropping them off then from there immediately into meetings zoom calls while in route to the gym work out run a few games of basketball head back home shower and off to the studio is the only for sure things that I’d do everything else in between is like extra stuff that may come up you know Read more>>

Christina Bingham

This one makes me laugh. I’ve been on a deep spiritual journey, really my whole life. When you see the world the way that I do, people deeply misunderstand you. They want you to fit into their polarized version of reality. ‘Left vs Right, Black vs White, Good vs Evil’. Read more>>

Valentine Ebunilo

What people will most misunderstand about my legacy is my relationship with my culture. Some will say I’m too critical of Igbo culture, or that I don’t respect my elders. The truth is, I don’t hate my culture—I love it so much I dare not sit back and watch it crash. I’m critical because I know the greatness that lives within it. Read more>>

Nekki B.

I understand deeply that healing is not just physical—it’s spiritual, emotional, and mental too. Most people think self-care is just about the surface, but true restoration happens when you align your inner well-being with how you care for yourself outwardly. That’s why I treat hair care the way I do—it’s a space where people can release, be renewed, and reconnect with their true self. Read more>>

Gabrielle Rogers

Growing up, I had an IEP in school and was labeled as “special.” At the time, that label felt limiting — as if it defined what I couldn’t do instead of what I was capable of. For years, I carried the weight of being underestimated, of people assuming my path would be small because I learned differently. Read more>>

Nadine Duncan

The fear that has held me back the most is the fear of embarrassment. A lot of people would say failure, but I don’t actually mind failing—I’ve always been willing to try again. What really frightens me is the idea of getting it wrong in public and being judged for it. Most recently, that’s shown up in how I approach sponsorships. Read more>>

Kristina Johnson

I’ve carried two big wounds: losing my dad in 2020 and my twin brother in 2022, and battling alcohol abuse. For years I numbed the pain, but in 2023 I chose sobriety. That decision changed everything. Healing hasn’t been a straight line — it’s been therapy, faith, routines, and pouring myself into baking and community. Read more>>

Jada Johnson

Something that’s been bringing me joy outside of work is actually “living” as crazy as it sounds it’s just that , living in the moment, making memories , smiling , laughing , spending quality time with the ones I love the most , it’s no better feeling Read more>>

Carieo carl crenshaw

The story I hope people tell about me is one of a person who never stopped evolving. Read more>>

Nina Sattler

The relationship that most shaped how I see myself is the one I have with my mother. Being raised by a strong, independent, and successful woman who seemed capable of doing it all gave me the confidence to believe I could do the same. I watched her rise above challenges and build a life through determination and resilience. Read more>>

Tory Keit

Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue.’ The truths that run deepest are often the ones we live but rarely speak. For me, there are several that guide everything I do, yet I seldom put them into words because they feel too fundamental, almost too sacred to explain. First: Everyone is one story away from healing. Read more>>

Mignonna Bradshaw

My earliest memory of feeling powerful came during one of the most uncertain seasons of my life. I had just lost my job at a CPA firm. I was a mom with two young children in elementary school, and I remember sitting there thinking, “What now?” It felt like everything was falling apart but, it was actually the moment everything began to fall into place. Read more>>

Chris Noel

The thing I will regret not doing is fully telling the stories that matter most—the bold, daring, and unconventional narratives that scare me but have the power to connect, inspire, and leave a lasting impact. I would regret staying safe, only creating work that feels predictable, and not using 1154 Studios to help brands and people tell their truest, most authentic stories. Read more>>

Jodie Smith

I am committed to being a fisher of men. I want to bring people back to God and I strive to do that through my company The Heart Helper. Our podcast, books, and insurance agency move from a place inspired by the spirit and not the flesh. Read more>>

Katie Thompson

A moment that really shaped how I saw the world came right after graduate school. I had gone from four years of college straight into two and a half years of grad school (I really do love school), and then immediately into my first corporate job. Read more>>

Joshua Eernisse

I was hanging out with a good buddy in the industry, and we started discussing the appeal industry. What he eventually said changed my outlook on how I want to run my business. He said, ‘I just want to make cool shit.’ My main goal going forward is to make cool, high-quality merch for people Read more>>

Cheryl Bridges

For me, integrity is most important. Intelligence and energy are valuable, but without integrity they lack a foundation. Integrity is about living in alignment with who you say you are—your words, your values, your promises. It’s the thread that holds everything else together. Read more>>

Gregg Erwin

While all of those things are important in the business that I’m in, the most important to me as a person, is integrity. I am, and always have been, a man of integrity, and honor. In my opinion there is nothing worse than lying, cheating, or stealing. Read more>>

Theresa Tha SONGBIRD

I am most at peace in three places. First, on stage. There’s something about being up in front of the people that makes me feel connected to everyone in the audience, connected to my ancestors, and connected to my highest myself. Second, in my work studio. Read more>>

kaysha peace

My father saw my ambition and work ethic and put me in situations to level up. especially being the eldest of four, being in charge and making good decisions. also, being the example to the others i never took lightly. he taught me at a young age to defend my character and speak up for myself. Read more>>

Chad Shearer

Without a question, that would have to be Caren, who instilled in me a confidence I never knew existed. She was already a media fixture in our home base of Atlanta, with a column in the Sunday Paper, a weekly radio segment on 99X, and a constant in the pages of magazines and on TV, before I really got to know her. Read more>>

Dub Bulloh

I would have to say I learned the most about work from my dad. He was an entrepreneur my whole life. To watch him go to work everyday of the year, for years really had a profound impact on me. I even worked with him during my adolescent years. Read more>>

Foster Carson

Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that. This is a great question. I’ve always had a very good sense of who I am, and who I wanted to be. I was absolutely born with ‘the audacity,’ so to speak. I came out the gate telling people who I was. I’ve never allowed the world to tell me who I had to be. Read more>>