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.
Sheri Woolsey
I started by tossing seeds into the ground and seeing what would grow. I followed what the seed packets told me, paid attention to what thrived and what struggled, and that’s where the experimentation began. It was curiosity first… Then straight *obsession*. Read more>>
Stephen Putonti
All three businesses focus on family law – divorce and child custody cases -from different perspectives. My specialty is cutting through red tape and handling opposing attorneys who make cases more complicated and more expensive than they need to be, and doing so with full client knowledge and participation. Read more>>
Brooke Lenard
Our story starts in 2013. I was working in property management in Austin Tx doing a townhome complex renovation and conversion to sales units. My Husband Shane was working in the glass industry as a glazier. During our sales the windows kept getting flagged by the inspector for seal failure (fogged glass). Read more>>
Alicia Rubio
Mariachi Chicana is composed of highly accomplished, all-female Mexican-American musicians, each with 10 to 34 years of professional experience in mariachi and a wide range of musical genres. The ensemble is proudly bilingual and highly educated, with most members having completed university-level music studies and extensive professional training. Read more>>
Maria Hull
My path into law and nonprofit work has really been shaped by a mix of personal experience, community influence, and a desire to create stability for families. I grew up seeing how much legal and financial decisions can impact generations of a family. That awareness pushed me toward a career where I could help people navigate some of the most important moments of their lives. Read more>>
Todd Griffin
I started Veteran Lawn Care & Landscaping in 2014 after serving in the U.S. Army and being deployed overseas during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. When I came home, I knew I wanted to build something for myself and my family while staying connected to work I had always enjoyed. Read more>>
Haven Tibbetts
Melanie and I actually met 18 years ago at our daughters’ ballet class. She was the cool mom and I wanted to be her friend. We couldn’t be more different, which is exactly why this works. She’s the creative one behind the chair. I’m the operations nerd who likes spreadsheets and systems. Read more>>
Sarah Davis Qudduws Ware
Sarah Davis and Qudduws Ware are the husband-and-wife founders of Crisp & Chew, a bakery dedicated to giving the humble oatmeal cookie the spotlight it deserves. What began as Sarah’s quest to perfect an oatmeal cookie recipe—after Qudduws struggled to find a truly great one locally—quickly turned into something bigger. Read more>>
Mike Mench
Rebirth Martial Arts began last June due to an unfortunate need for children’s self-defense due to the modern threats they may encounter, and the lack of quality, realistic self-defense training that also helped them become better humans. From day one, our goal has been to make self-defense accessible to all, no matter age or ability, which is why we teach all ages 3+. Read more>>
Kevin Overton-Hadnot
My story really began in East Austin, off Springdale and MLK, where I grew up. That community shaped me early on and taught me the value of relationships, resilience, and looking out for one another. Those experiences helped form my belief that community support and connection can change lives. My journey into mental health counseling eventually came full circle. Read more>>
Stephanie Dmytryk
I was born and raised in France, where pastries are an important part of everyday life and culture. Growing up, I developed a fascination with baking—not just for the flavors and beauty, but for the science behind it. I loved the precision and chemistry involved in turning simple ingredients into something delicate and refined. Read more>>
Janet Hobbs
I have roots in the design and construction world. My grandfather built houses in an area called ‘Usonia’ north of NYC, some of them directly for Frank Lloyd Wright, others for people who had studied under Wright. Our family slide shows included pictures of houses being framed up in the woods. That may have planted the first seed. Read more>>
Lauren Lee
I’m Lauren, the founder of VITA Well Pilates Studio. I started this studio because I truly believe movement can transform your life. I found Pilates at one of my lowest moments, and it completely changed my life. Immediately, I knew that I wanted to share Pilates with as many people as possible! Read more>>
Sandy Carlson
I have spent more than 30 years in the Senior Healthcare Industry and have been blessed with a career helping seniors and their families through the most difficult times in their lives. It has afforded me the opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people and to serve others. Read more>>
Matt Ryan
My career in fitness began in April of 2019 when I started Heavy Mettle Fitness and started personal training with clients in Austin. However, my experience in the fitness industry started several years earlier as I fell in love with the sport of bodybuilding while I was a sophomore in college. Read more>>
Adrian Maldonado
A slice of a 4×4 post, a $200 laser, and a little encouragement from my wife, along with support from family, close friends, and neighbors who have become like family, sparked what would become an unexpected passion. I had been experimenting with woodworking and started making coasters from pieces of a 4×4 post. Read more>>
Susan Peters
Prior to 2012, I traveled internationally for my job. In nearly every country I visited, I encountered human trafficking. The first time was in Uganda. I met former child soldiers—once innocent boys playing in their villages—who had been forcibly taken by the Lord’s Resistance Army and made to commit horrific acts. I remember feeling intimidated at first. Read more>>
Nancy Ejuma
I grew up with an international lens, shaped by a family committed to global service and years of moving across cultures and continents. Learning to navigate different systems early on drew me toward public health, not as a clinician, but as someone focused on the systems behind care. Read more>>
Jenny DeMarco
Even before photography became my profession, I was always the family historian. I have always loved genealogy and history, and I was the person documenting family gatherings and preserving those memories. That instinct to document people and relationships has always been part of who I am. Because of that, I was naturally drawn to photography. Read more>>
Karen Loya
The story of Silvia’s Cleaning started when I quit my PhD program at UT Austin in 2024. I came to accept that research and academia were not career paths I wanted to pursue. I ended up completing my Masters degree, then took the next 8 months to look for a full-time job while working part-time gigs to support myself. Read more>>
Stacy Savage
I was born and raised in southeast Texas, just minutes from the Gulf Coast and the Texas–Louisiana border. This is an area often seen as the epicenter of oil and gas production in the U.S. My parents collectively spent more than 80 years working at local refineries, and even today, many of my extended family members are employed at those same facilities. Read more>>
Thomas Tamez
I grew up in a single-parent household, due to my estranged father, who battled addiction his entire life. Tragically, he never overcame his addictions as he was shot & killed while still in his 40’s. Read more>>
Brandon Beabout
My story with motorcycles began in 1982, when I was adopted into a family of true two wheel enthusiasts. Riding wasn’t just a hobby in our household, it was a way of life. My mom and dad had both started riding in the early 1970s, and their passion carried through the 70s, 80s, and into the early 90s. Read more>>
Kristina Cole
My family purchased the property around 3 years ago and it came pre-stocked with honey bees for the agricultural tax exemption. I thought beekeeping was such an exciting idea since I have always loved science and nature and could share this experience with my kids. Plus, I love honey! Read more>>
Dani Bell and Maritza Nessi
In 2020, like so many others, we found ourselves feeling overwhelmed and isolated. The world felt very quiet, and we desperately needed something to ground us. Naturally, my mind wandered back to my childhood in Venezuela. I could almost smell my mom’s kitchen. That incredible aroma of cookies being baked entirely from scratch. Read more>>
Cecilia Hogan
I didn’t grow up around gardens, in fact I never saw a single garden or farm growing produce in my youth. That changed in college when I noticed my neighbor had transformed the empty easement between our apartment buildings into a lush garden full of heirloom tomatoes, kale, and herbs. I was fascinated. Read more>>
Tyeschea West
Since I was young, I have loved drawing and taking photos, so receiving my college degree in graphic design seemed like the best way to make a living as an artist. After being laid off three different times at the start of my career, I decided to pursue a life as an artist on my own terms. Read more>>
Adam Everson
Where do I begin? I have been in sales, marketing, and business development for going on two decades. In that timeframe I have seen a massive disconnect and gaping void for small local businesses and nonprofits. Read more>>
Whitney Sutherland
My path to becoming a therapist grew out of both lived experience and a deep longing to understand the mystery of life and healing. I grew up in an abusive and unpredictable environment where secure attachment and emotional safety weren’t consistently available. As a child, I developed many strategies to hide from the overwhelming experience of being seen in a dangerous environment. Read more>>
Cory Ryan
I originally went to college for film and video production. When moving to Austin, I was a freelance videographer and ran a small format (8mm & 16mm) film festival called Flicker. After freelancing a few weddings, my eye turned towards capturing stills and all those special family moments that tugged on my heartstrings. Read more>>
Andrew Freeman
My name is Andrew Freeman and I’m an author and former journalist. Now I’m the founder of Freeman Creatives, a multimedia content venture where I help small businesses and brands tell their own stories. I’ve always been a storyteller. I learned how to read at a very early age and couldn’t put books down. Read more>>
Sean Miller
My wife and I had our first daughter in 2021. We were both working and it was difficult to find childcare for our daughter. I quit my job and opened a flooring store. My wife and I rotated days with our daughter until we were able to fully establish our store. Read more>>
Laura K. Wilson, PT, DPT, CST, LMT
My partner and I were part of the mass migration from Los Angeles in Spring of 2021. We had both lived in Austin before and the openness we experienced during a visit just three months earlier made us consider a move back. Read more>>
Jarrah Crotty Gaskins
My name is Debra Crotty the founder of Crotty Funeral Home and Cremation Services. I was a Cosmetologist and a single mother. I worked at JC Pennys in The Temple Mall and went across the street to enquire about doing hair at Sheffield Funeral Home. The director said that I should consider as a female and a hairstylist I should consider being a Funeral Director. Read more>>
Jessica Chavarria
It all began when I met Marcus. When I first met him, Marcus was young, ambitious, a small business owner, extremely charming. He owned a concrete company and was already deep in the construction world. I was fresh out of college, had just started my own events and marketing company, and was living a completely different lifestyle. Read more>>
Benjamin Haugh
Ben was born at home in a small rural town outside of Austin, Texas. He grew up in a deeply religious cult community where life was extremely strict, and resources were scarce. He was one of seven children, and his family lived in severe poverty for much of his childhood. Read more>>
Deme Badger
Moved to Hays County from Katy where I attended SWT and met my wife. Started with a production home builder in 1998 and founded Badger Custom Homes in 2005. We’ve been building in and around the Dripping Springs area while raising our three kids and being involved with the community. Read more>>
Cherri Maley
Growing up in DFW I loved helping plan things for my family; birthday parties, holidays, etc. Being a planner and host has always been a joy to me! I love taking a theme, a meaningful moment, or a holiday and bringing it to life in a way people will remember. Read more>>
Monica Jurado Kelly
It took me about five years after high school to figure out what I wanted to study in college. Right after graduating, I enrolled as a vocal music performance major because I loved being surrounded by music. But after three semesters, I realized I wasn’t ready for college and didn’t have a clear sense of what career I wanted. Read more>>
Tiffany Chapman
I grew up always loving photography. My grandfather was an avid picture-taker, many of my extended family were working artists, and I just had an instinct in me to always create. In high school, my dad gifted me an old Pentax film camera. Read more>>
Juan & Sergio Trujillo
Juan Trujillo: I graduated with a degree in economics from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota. Pre-pandemic, I was working in investment banking. I created a very secure predictable career path for myself. But as the years went by and I evaluated my work/life balance I realized I had missed out on so much. Read more>>
Emmie Knox, LMSW
My husband Louis and I opened Assisting Hands West Austin in October of 2016. We are both native Austinites and have deep roots in Central Texas. My professional background is in medical social work, working in skilled nursing, hospice, and crisis intervention. Read more>>
Jared Boyd
In 2015, 2 friends and I founded Odd Pop, a local handcrafted popsicle company born from our love for creativity and life’s simple pleasures. Starting in a garage, our mission was to offer a fresh, fun twist on frozen treats, using quality ingredients and bold flavors. Read more>>
Lindsay Herkert
Photography has been part of my life for a long time, but the reason I picked up a camera in the first place was actually very personal. My journey into photography began in 2009 when my first child was born. Read more>>
Holly Sill
I was 21 when I started in the industry at a counter service craft beer and wine bar. The tap wall was massive and constantly rotating, so the menu never felt stale and my palate was never bored. Read more>>
Allison Phillips
My husband David passed away in 2019, when our kids were 18, 15, 15, 15, and 11. An iron-man triathlete, ultra-distance runner, and the ultimate father and coach, the loss and grief hit our family hard, to say the least, and impacted our entire community. Read more>>
Katherine Smith
With a background in fine arts, I knew I was not going to be able to work a job that was not creatively stimulating. I had just finished a semester at college and was bored and directionless, so my mother suggested I go to cosmetology school. Read more>>
Norris and Luanna Cole
In 1994, we bought a home with a little land where our kids could play, explore, and simply be kids. Its unique antebellum charm stole our hearts, and it quickly became more than just a house—it became a place where memories were made. After a few years, friends kept telling us it would make a perfect wedding venue. Read more>>
Patricia Baldinucci
Our family, the Baldinucci family, has been in the pizza industry for over 40 years. Beginning in New York, Sal and Gabriel Baldinucci grew up in their parents pizza restaurant learning everything about making pizza and Italian dishes. Then Patricia, Sal’s wife and Sal raised their kids in their family pizza restaurant. Read more>>
Amanda Ponce
Amanda Ponce’s vision has evolved into two powerful missions that guide everything she does: delivering world-class service to clients while developing leaders who will serve the community for years to come.** Amanda believes real estate is one of the most powerful tools for families to change their financial future. Her commitment goes far beyond helping someone buy or sell a home. Read more>>
Hal Elrod
I grew up in a small town (Oakhurst, California), and I was pretty mediocre at just about everything. School, sports, popularity, you name it, I wasn’t exceptional at anything. That began to change when, at age 15, I made one of my dreams come true when I was hired by the local radio station to host my first weekly radio show. However, I still struggled with discipline in most areas of my life. Read more>>
Barrett Raven
I didn’t originally set out to build a real estate team or a media platform around helping people relocate to Austin. Like a lot of people, my path here was shaped more by relationships and opportunities than by a perfectly mapped-out plan. I’ve always been drawn to work that sits at the intersection of people, trust, and major life decisions. Read more>>
Pingback: Homepage