The Change-Makers: stories that inspire

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.

Tren Entrichel

I started DJing, actually, last year fully. I have always been in music growing up. I’ve played the violin, guitar, and drums. The drums were taken away as quickly as a kid. Obvious reasons why my parents did not like that. I have always been fortunate to be around music and DJs. Read more>>

Jade Place

We started Hillside Farmacy with a simple but deeply personal vision: to create a place that honored the history of our neighborhood while bringing people together over thoughtful, locally sourced food. Back in 2011, we signed the lease on a building on East 11th Street that had once been a beloved drugstore that closed in the 70’s. Read more>>

Jan Seides

I arrived in Austin in late 1971 from New York City, thinking I’d be leaving pretty quickly to go on to San Francisco. I only came because I met people from here in NYC who talked about it as if it was paradise, so I thought I’d stop and see paradise before I went to the Coast. Read more>>

Jordan and Devin Cosart

My wife and I both started our careers in accounting, but over time we realized we wanted to build something of our own- something that would allow us to create meaningful experiences for others. That vision led us to Canyon Lake, where we purchased the property that would eventually become The Preserve at Canyon Lake. Read more>>

Makenzie Mowat

I grew up in Austin, and my family is still located here. I grew up playing sports and felt like my identity was wrapped up in being an athlete, so when I went to college, I felt very out of sorts, navigating stress and anxiety. Read more>>

SJ Mokrycki

Color has never just been something I see, it’s something I feel. It’s my language, my lens, and my earliest form of self-expression. That pull toward color, light, and composition, the ability to communicate without saying a word, led me into design, branding, and project management, where I spent years helping businesses bring their ideas to life and scale toward something greater. Read more>>

Monika Kulcsar

I am a Hungarian American living in Texas for nine years and in United States for 19 years. I have a beautiful family, 19 years married to my husband, we have two daughters ages 14 and 15. Growing up in Hungary. I was always interested in different arts and there’s a child I was always creating something. Read more>>

Chanita Greene

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating. Some of my earliest memories are of drawing, painting, and turning ordinary things into something new. I still laugh when I think about getting in trouble for drawing on my clothes as a kid. Looking back, I guess those were some of my very first canvases. Read more>>

Amanda Hendrix

I’ve always loved writing and, like many millennials, I started a blog way back in the early 2010’s as a creative outlet. I had just moved into my first apartment with my then-fiance (now husband) and I wanted to document the process of making it ours. I loved the community and culture around blogging, and I never gave it up. Read more>>

Sarah Welch

I’m the cofounder of Playhouse Books, an independent children’s book publisher devoted to stories that invite curiosity, imagination, and deep emotional play. We believe books are a kind of playhouse children can enter, explore, and return to again and again, finding something new each time. Read more>>

Port of Monks

Port of Monks (P.o.M.) started off as a 2-piece with just bass (Ray Treviño) and drums (Chris Nelson). Chris & I met while playing rhythm in a different band and we both knew within 30 seconds of jamming with each other that we needed to form our own band. Read more>>

Jonah Welch

I started making visual art and writing poetry when I was 18. It was a critical (read: life-saving) habit that helped me make sense of coming out and beginning to live openly as a trans person at a time when the subject was still relatively underground. Read more>>

Drayke Jacobs

I struggled with major depression from my teenage years until I was about 26 years old. During that time, I worked all kinds of jobs, including janitorial work, warehouse jobs, and driving commercial trucks. I hated where I was in life, but I didn’t have the motivation to change it. Everything shifted after my daughter was born. Read more>>

Renuka Jayasinghe

Renuka Jayasinghe started performing as a freelance saxophonist in Austin in 2020. That’s how she met her bandmates in the local music scene. Combining the drums and guitar of Glass Bandit with the bass and keys of Allisen & the Wy’s Guys, Renuka formed a supergroup that is now called RENU, after the nickname she was given by her family. Read more>>

Dennis Walker

I started a podcast interviewing mushroom entrepreneurs in 2020 during the Pandemic — within a few episodes, people from all over the world started reaching out to me wanting to share their mushroom entrepreneurship journey. Read more>>

Rebecca Bennett

Rebecca Bennett is a contemporary abstract oil painter originally from New Jersey, with a dynamic body of work that has captivated audiences across the country. Bennett’s paintings are characterized by their vibrant colors, soft brushstrokes, and layered application that create a sense of depth and movement. Read more>>

Jensen Truly

My story is a mix of different cultures and a very personal turning point. I was born in Connecticut but spent the first ten years of my life raised in Guadalajara and the artistic town of Ajijic, Mexico. When I was 11, my family moved to Austin, Texas, which has been home ever since. Read more>>

Caroline Robert

I’ve had a camera in my hand for as long as I can remember, but photography became much more than a hobby when I was studying for my Bachelor of Fine Arts. I fell in love with the idea that a photograph could make someone feel something years after it was taken. I photographed my first wedding nearly two decades ago and was immediately hooked. Read more>>

Angela Montijo

I’m Angela Montijo, LCSW, a relational facilitator, educator, and founder of With Care Collective. My work has always lived at the intersection of education, care, identity, and systems. I’m a first-generation Latine from Inglewood, California, raised by a single immigrant mother and shaped by public schools, immigration, incarceration, and the many informal networks of care that help people survive when institutions fall short. Read more>>

Erin Donahue Tice

I spent 12 years in corporate public relations at agencies in Chicago and New York, helping brands tell compelling stories and connect with their audiences. I absolutely loved that work, but everything changed after my second son was born in 2018. I picked up a paintbrush for the first time at 34 as a creative outlet during nap times and late nights. Read more>>

Keayanna Anderson

I was born and raised in Austin, Texas, with deep roots in the city and surrounding area. I share my love for food, culture, experiences, and travel through my platform Keay Explores, and have been creating content as a passion since 2017 under various usernames. I have always been a documenter and a storyteller. Read more>>

Rebecka Trevino

I have been modeling on and off most of my life but really got into the vintage/ pinup side of it in 2013. My husband had sustained a brain injury and amnesia and his doctor wanted him to stay social. We were living in Atlanta so I started taking him to car shows. Read more>>

Tiffany Sun

The best parts of my life so far weren’t planned. They unfolded in ways I didn’t expect. There’s beauty in the unplanned, and when I look at my journey, that’s the thread connecting everything. At one point, I realized I was doing everything “right” on paper, but still unsure of the direction I actually wanted to take. Read more>>

Joshua Gomez

My name is Joshua Ray Gomez. I go by Dj J-Goodiez or just Goodiez. I am prior service and a US Army Veteran with the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kansas. I got out of the army in 2011 and when I moved back home I would go see my cousin & best friend who was djing in downtown Austin then. Read more>>

Chas Moore

My story has never been a straight line. I grew up in Houston and experienced loss, instability, and the criminal legal system at a young age. By 17, I had become a convicted felon, a label that society often treats as the end of someone’s story. For me, it became the beginning of a different one. Read more>>

Victor Quinteros Marquina

The Foundation: Athletic Excellence and Top Modeling The root of my career lies in absolute physical discipline and athletic precision. Before stepping onto the runway, I competed at the highest levels as an aerobics champion. The relentless training, timing, and focus required to win titles in competitive aerobics set the standard for my work ethic. Read more>>

Daniella Perez

I got started 12 years ago. I moved to Austin from South TX to attend cosmetology school and immediately fell in love with the city and started my career right away. I was 16 years old when I moved to Austin, started cosmo school at 17 and instantly knew the beauty industry was the field I wanted to be in.  Read more>>

Rhea Rose

As a child I was super creative. I was sewing, drawing, building, writing and performing plays, etc. Nonetheless I was determined to be a doctor. I graduated high school with a full scholarship to study medicine. At the same time I found out I was pregnant and I decided to be a stay-at-home mom instead. Read more>>

Jarin Humphrey

When I was a little kid, I made up songs about everything, and that’s part of how I would entertain myself. Read more>>

Tyra Booker

My story started as young girl spending hours in her childhood bathroom trying to perfect new natural haircare styles. At the time, I wasn’t aware of how far a simple 2 hour session in the bathroom would take me to having over 70,000 supporters in total across all platforms. Read more>>

Martin Keene

Born and raised here in Austin Texas, I’ve seen the entertainment industry blossom both with comedy and music being able to create with both o decided to create a show to highlight the growth and potential of artist here in the city, Creating the Show “Beautiful Drunk Show” a late night Variety and interview based show. Read more>>

Brandon Mike

Every since I was young being an artist was encoded within my being. I looked at painting and sculpture as a method for expressing myself and my mind would conjure images of pieces waiting to be brought into manifestation. For me the journey as a professional artist and sculptor has been a gradual, yet consistent expansion into potentials and possibilities. Read more>>

Alexis Wampler

We started waco balloon co with a love of party planning. I’ve always enjoyed.a well planned out event or party! With the ideas of balloons over the last 6 years I’ve seen them evolve and we have definitely used that to our advantage in the industry Read more>>

Corlon Evans

I’m originally from Houston, Texas, so storytelling and culture have always been in the air I breathe. I attended Sam Houston State University and was the campus camera guy. Always recording, always shooting, always in the middle of whatever was happening. I’ve always had a love for history, for capturing moments that matter before they disappear. That instinct drove everything. And people noticed. Read more>>

Kathy Dupuy

I’ve always been drawn to building organizations that make a difference in people’s lives. I started my career in childcare staffing, founding Mom’s Best Friend in 1994. What began as a small business grew into one of the largest nanny agencies in Texas, and we eventually franchised into other cities. Read more>>

Luisa Duarte

I’ve always loved art, but I discovered my passion for tattooing a little over a year and a half ago. What started as something I simply wanted to learn quickly became so much more. Read more>>

Jared F. Rosenacker

As fate would have it, I stumbled upon glass while in college. A couple girls who lived down the hall from me sophomore year were art majors, and worked in glass. When they described it to me, it sounded crazy that they would let anyone do that! Read more>>

The Teeta

I started making music at 17 as a member of the Austin hip-hop collective Team Next. Like many independent artists, I began with very few resources, relying on consistency, community, and a commitment to improving my craft. Read more>>

Daniel Broxton

I’ve been dancing since I was 8 years old and professionally since I was 18 years old. I started teaching my first class in highschool and got my first professional choreography opportunity when I was 19. I’ve danced all over Austin and outside of austin and have created for many artists, many organizations, including my own companies New Genesis and Moving Achlemists. Read more>>

Guillermo Gonzalez jr

I got my start in 2014 while Job hunting, I came across a store I’ve never heard of before called Sephora . I was immediately mesmerized by the gigantic assortment of products, I was approached by a woman who started talking to me about the store, honestly I looked so out of place I might have looked a little suspicious. Read more>>

Yainara Diaz

I’m Yainara Diaz, 25 years old, originally from Cuba, and I moved to the United States when I was two years old. Looking back, I’ve always been a creative person. Even in middle school, my friends and I were constantly making YouTube challenge videos and coming up with fun content ideas. Read more>>

Brittany Wolfe

I was working as a graphic designer and was laid off in March 2020 when the pandemic hit. I used my newfound free time to explore my interest in woodworking. Building furniture for myself and friends quickly turned into building cabinets and I was asked by a few contractors that I knew to do some projects with them. Read more>>

Lisa O’Neill

I studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin with plans to go into the field. Magazine journalism – travel writing – was the dream. During that time, I also took a number of public relations courses and had a PR internship in Washington, D.C. that solidified my interest in PR versus journalism. Read more>>

Ormide Armstrong

I am excited to share the story behind the ‘Morning Fold,’ a new yoga prop born from a personal journey toward recovery. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, limited movement led me to experience debilitating lower back pain. While stretching and yoga were helpful, I found that bending forward without support was too painful. Read more>>

Uriel Guillen Aranda

My father granted me the opportunity to co-own the business with him due to my experience in sales and marketing. At first I was scared since it was out of my comfort zone but the love and respect for him motivated me to make the decision of joining him. Read more>>

Octavio Sosa

I was born in Mendoza, Argentina, where I had a happy childhood filled with soccer, friends, and long summer afternoons. Around the age of four, I discovered drawing almost by accident. My parents wouldn’t buy me the action figures I wanted, so I started drawing my own, cutting them out with scissors, and inventing stories for them. Read more>>