Baltimore’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.

DeChelle Harris

My design journey started in undergrad when during the course of my senior year, I realized I no longer wanted to attend medical school. Read more>>

Linda H. Bassert

After college, I had zigzagged my way into a Shop at Home position selling custom window treatments and other custom products at Montgomery Ward, before I left the field to have children. Read more>>

John Hall

Born and raised in England, I came to America to work at a summer camp in Southern MD (Camp St Charles) in the Summer of ‘99. Read more>>

Thomas Marable

The age of 8 or 9 years old is where I can clearly remember ongoing events better than I can at a younger ages, and because the years before 8 to 9 years of age was indeed complicated and require far more time and space than this interview could provide. Read more>>

Sheretha Moore

When the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, everything became quiet. The daily hustle paused. The constant noise faded. For the first time in a long time, I had no choice but to sit still. And in that stillness, I began to hear myself clearly. Read more>>

Ryan Greenberg

From Teacher to Real Estate Professional
Ryan Greenberg’s journey began with a passion for education. At 22, he launched his career as a physical education teacher while living in Baltimore City, dedicated to shaping young minds. But his drive to build something greater led him toward unexpected horizons. Read more>>

Tammy Proctor

Tammy Proctor had a vision and was driven to establish her own company. With an initial investment from her mother (Pamela Proctor), she was able to get her business off the ground and running full speed. In return, she made her mother a partner and they haven’t looked back. Read more>>

Kempton Urban

During my 20 years as a police officer, community members or organizations would often stop by the police station unrelated to needing official business. They would bring treats, food or drinks and often just leave a note thanking us for what we did. Sometimes, there would be too many treats, or not enough. Read more>>

Nancy Sequeiros

Hello, my name is Nancy Sequeiros, and I’m originally from Lima, Peru. My journey began in the food industry, where I worked as an assistant chef preparing salads. In 2006, I took a chance and started cleaning homes for my first client, visiting them every Friday after work. Read more>>

Alexandra Morán

My journey with Thriving Juntos (Spanglish for Thriving Together) really began during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, I was working within healthcare and saw firsthand how quickly things were changing—and how much communities needed clear, reliable information they could actually trust AND implement. Read more>>

Raza Rizvi

I have always been interested in business and find it fascinating to learn how different companies operate. Early on, I knew I wanted to build something that would allow me to work with a variety of businesses while also leveraging my technical background and growing my understanding of marketing. We started small, focusing on learning the fundamentals and working with just a handful of businesses. Read more>>

Tita Gashaw Beza

Before I ever stepped into a classroom, my passion was in the kitchen. I built my career in the food and beverage industry, where creativity, care, and attention to detail were part of my everyday life. I loved what I did—but I didn’t yet realize that my true calling was waiting for me somewhere else. Everything changed in 2013. Read more>>

Mike Wooten

When I was 18, I was delivering pizza and I found out my girlfriend was pregnant. My first thought was I need steady employment. I started as a general laborer on commercial job sites, after a few weeks one of the plumbing superintendents took notice of me and offered me a job. I’ve been doing it ever since. Read more>>

Cheryl Muse

For most of my life I have always enjoyed entertaining, hosting parties, holiday celebrations and other special events in my home. Christmas brunch for my family was held in my home for over 20 years. I love planning events, and for a period of time I did corporate event planning and owned and operated a wedding planning business. Read more>>

Ray Smith

During the pandemic, I decided to sit for my clinical license. I created a virtual zoom study group to prepare and when I obtained my license. With so much time available, I began the process of building a small private practice. Read more>>

Thomas Bishop

I got started in this space because of so many mentors who helped me along the way. I grew up poor in Arkansas, my dad was in prison. I joined the military to get away from the disfunction in my early life and in the military I got opportunities because of mentors who believed in me. Read more>>

Michael Dorsey

A big chapter in my story starts in September 2010, my first week of grad school at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Read more>>

Arkady Lapidus

We opened our distillery in March 2020 right as Covid was hitting. I originally got the idea on a military deployment researching how to make alcohol in a country that did not allow drinking. I never actually planned to make moonshine in my room, but it was a good distraction. Read more>>

Joseph Nazari

My journey into catering is rooted in both family and discipline. I grew up around the restaurant industry—my father owned a restaurant called Continental Kettle, where I was first exposed to the pace, precision, and passion that go into great food. Today, he serves as our head chef, bringing years of experience and a deep culinary foundation to everything we create. Read more>>

Sarah White

I started my restaurant career on a dare. Some friends went to work at a local restaurant opening up and I had no interest. They dared me to at least interview and see if I could get the job. I did, so I gave it a try and it changed my life. It was a sports bar of sorts. Read more>>

Whalen

I started a production company called Torasu Productions, LLC in 2006, with the primary focus on creating narrative films. We produced several films and a television pilot for a reality show. During the pandemic, and the subsequent shutdown, I pivoted to the publishing world and released 4 children’s books and a Twilight Zone-inspired novella. Read more>>

Kenneth Clay

I began my culinary career journey shortly after graduating high school, landing my first job on Capitol Hill. After completing culinary school, I became Executive Chef working at hotels and Restaurants throughout the Washington D.C. and Maryland region. I embarked on a career at Clyde’s Restaurant Group. Where I was able to showcase my culinary skills for 21 years. Read more>>

Matthew Tompkins

I’ve always felt inspired by the idea that our gifts are meant to be used to help people. From a young age, I was deeply impacted by seeing homelessness up close. I grew up behind a church that fed people experiencing homelessness every Thursday, and being exposed to that stayed with me. Read more>>

Joy Schreier

I grew up in Columbia, Maryland, and knew from an early age that I wanted to be a pianist. Some of my earliest musical memories are of running through the halls at Peabody during MSMTA competitions, attending school concerts performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and going to evening subscription concerts with my parents. Read more>>

Jordan Eberlein

Paperboys – originally Simon Cook Films – was founded in 2014 by Simon Cook. With a passion for filmmaking and a heart for giving couples the best possible client experience, he took a big swing – creating a fake wedding film and investing in some Wedding Wire Ads. He prayed that the leads would come in. They did! Read more>>

Alexandra Ryan

I got into real estate when I was 22 (now 31), and from the beginning I knew I didn’t want to treat it like a side job, I wanted to build it into financial independence and something long-term and scalable. I started out learning the fundamentals by working with buyers, understanding contracts, and getting really comfortable with the day-to-day of the business. Read more>>

Lauren Thompson

Through the years I have worn many hats – daughter, sister, friend, student, artist, wife, researcher, doula, teacher. The one that continues to impact my life the most is mother. Back in 2013, I was a young mom trying to keep my head above water. I was struggling with undiagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, suicidal ideation, and a prior experience of sexual violence. Read more>>

Styles By Faithh

I’ve had a passion for hair for as long as I can remember. I started playing in my mom’s hair as early as two years old, and growing up with a father who is a barber and salon owner, I was always in that environment. Being a true “salon baby,” I was constantly surrounded by beauty, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Read more>>

Lanna Ali-Hassan

I didn’t start out in design—I actually began my career in science. But I realized I was craving a more creative path, so I made the decision to go back to school and pursue interior design. That shift really set everything in motion. Upon graduation from design school, I started as an intern, gaining hands-on experience and learning the day-to-day realities of the industry. Read more>>

Kelly Reid

Like so many FIT4MOM franchisees around the country my story starts when I walked into a class for the first time. I was pregnant with my son and wanted to stay active and get in shape for labor and delivery. I started taking FIT4BABY classes (our prenatal workout) and it ended up being the best thing I did while I was pregnant. Read more>>

Sharon Streb

I’ve had a few different chapters before this. I was a nurse, then an interior designer, and I always knew I wanted to do something on my own. I just didn’t know what that would look like yet. After some big life changes, I read Eat Pray Love and decided to move to Italy. Read more>>

Esti Schonbrun

I have always been a big dreamer. Like, embarrassingly so. The kind of person who feels things in her body before she can explain them in words. And for most of my life, that got me in trouble. High standards. Unrealistic expectations. I heard it so many times it started to sound like a diagnosis. Read more>>

Emily Remillard

I always had a sense, even as a teenager, that I was interested in becoming a therapist or mental health counselor. Even when I was young, I was always fascinated by human beings – their unique personalities, their stories, their struggles, and what motivated them. Read more>>

Sharita Richardson

I’ve always worked with children from babysitting neighbors kids as an early teen, to being a summer camp counselor and now an educator of 15 years. My grandmother always told me I would be a teacher of some sort so I guess her prophecy was fulfilled. Once I got married and started a family, naturally birthdays and celebrations became a part of life. Read more>>

She-unO (Sheun Ogunsunlade)

Growing up in PG County Maryland to Nigerian parents, She-unO began penning raps for class presentations in about the fifth grade. Even through attaining multiple degrees and corporate jobs, he’s always held the same dream of using his voice for impact and seeing art as the perfect vehicle for achieving that. In 2017 he released his debut, official EP Invincible Summer. Read more>>

Ali Weisbrot, LICSW

I have 4 additional team members who are clinical social workers and psychologists. We are all Moms with both lived experience and clinical expertise. My team has the same passion, to support individuals and couples as they move through some of the most complex and identity-shifting seasons of life. Our goal is to help people feel less alone, more understood, and more connected – to themselves and to their village. Read more>>

The Orange Slices

We started as all great bands do–with a Craigslist ad. Most of us were newer to the music scene at the time, and didn’t have many expectations going in. We simply wanted to do what we loved and make music with like-minded people who vibed with the same styles. Read more>>