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 California’s Central Coast.
Soojin (Paxy) Park
I was born and raised in South Korea, and I’ve been studying and creating music since I was 15 years old. Music has always been a huge part of my life — I studied vocals and spent years developing myself as an artist and songwriter. About five years ago, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue more opportunities in music. Read more>>
Emil Luxemburg
Emil Luxembourg is a violinist, violist, conductor, music educator, arranger, and music producer. I was born in Moldova into a musical family: my father, Arkady Luxemburg, is a well-known composer and pianist; my sister is a pianist; only my mother was not a musician—she worked in the field of economics. Read more>>
Tyler Skinner
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to people and their stories. Looking back, my mom reminds me that I was always the one standing in front of a room—whether it was giving presentations in school, speaking at leadership conferences in college, or finding any excuse to bring people together. Read more>>
Oluwasindara Opaleye
My journey to creating Lavender Liberty started on October 20th, 2020. Nigeria witnessed one of its largest coordinated protests against police brutality, codenamed EndSARS. However, an order from high personnel from the former presidential administration at the time, led by Muhammadu Buhari, led military tanks operated by military personnel to roll into the protest site and open fire, massacring over 60 people. Read more>>
Erinn Wilson
The idea for Bill & Bernies Baking Co. started during the Covid19 pandemic when I was locked up at home and wanted to cheer up family and friends with some homemade baked goods. Each time I sent some treats to my loved ones I kept hearing the same thing: ‘You really should sell these’. What grew from there was something I couldn’t have imagined. Read more>>
Ariana Lovato
I founded Honeycomb Interior Design in 2016 with the mission to create spaces that are both functional and beautiful, to support the very full lives of my clients. As an Iranian-American woman in a male-dominated industry, I overcame numerous challenges to build my successful studio. Read more>>
Toribio Moreyra
Worked for the company, company went bankrup in 2021 due to covid. I bought it and moved to the US to run it. Moved the company from LA to SD, and reinvented the company. New website, new branding, new business model. Basically we just sold the same product and that was it. Read more>>
Jacki Dantzler
I am a veterinarian, trained in Scotland. I started off as a general practice vet for several years. I practiced in California and Texas across a total of 5 different hospitals from fully corporate to small scale privately owned clinics. No matter where I worked, appointments were always short and protocols were to be followed. Read more>>
Christopher Smith
After graduating from California State University, Sacramento in 2014 with a degree in accounting, I began my career as an auditor, following earlier experience working for the State of California. I spent about a year and a half with a local accounting firm before realizing that, while the work was valuable, it wasn’t the path I wanted to pursue long term. Read more>>
Melanie Lybrand
I’ve always loved houses. My grandfather restored an 1800’s home back in the 1970’s when I was a little girl. I should have known that this was in my blood, but it took me until my late 30’s to figure it out. Read more>>
Stephanie Killen
My journey started when I was in my early 20’s. I had been put on an antibiotic for acne and my healthcare provider never told me to come off of it. Over a year later, I started to develop GI symptoms. I went to see my mother’s friend, who was a former RN turned holistic practitioner. Read more>>
Danielle Consolo
I grew up in a creative household. My mom is an artist, and some of my favorite memories are watching her find beautiful, resourceful ways to decorate our home. She encouraged my creativity from an early age, even letting me design my own bedroom, which sparked a lifelong love of interior design. Read more>>
Liam Lewis
Stepwise Band started as a socially distanced Jam in the 2020’s. Liam Lewis and Olivia Breidenthal quickly realized the potential of their musical chemistry and got to work putting fiddle tunes and folk songs together as prepared sets. Read more>>
Nicole Cline
After 13 years in luxury hospitality across LA and Orange County I decided to start my blog and Instagram in 2013. Read more>>
Nicholas Trofimuk
A native son of New Jersey, Nicholas Trofimuk fell in love with the beauty of the rolling hills, forests and countryside at a very young age. He would sketch and paint all his life but after seeing a photographic exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, his love of photography was born. Read more>>
Brooke Gardner
I started Brunch 8 years ago after a glass of wine with some girlfriends and joking about how fun it would be to go to a spot that serves only Brunch all day long. Read more>>
Vickie Lobo Walton
Knock Knock Angels was founded on the belief that everyone deserves dignity, hope, and a fresh start. What began as helping individuals and families with furniture and household essentials grew into a nonprofit dedicated to supporting veterans, seniors, families transitioning out of homelessness, and others facing hardship. By connecting generous donors with those in need, we’ve been able to restore not just homes, but hope. Read more>>
Cathy Carey
My art career really began long before I knew what an artist was. As a child growing up outside Washington, D.C., I drew in spilled flour and coffee grounds on the kitchen floor and built forts with moss gardens in the woods along the Potomac River. Read more>>
Halicia Loren
I’ve always been incredibly fortunate to have parents who encouraged creativity. They never tried to steer me toward what they thought was the “safe” path, they simply supported whatever I was passionate about. Looking back, that freedom shaped the way I approach my career today. Growing up, I wanted to do everything. Read more>>
Kate Silverman
I’ve always been drawn to helping people regain function after injury. That passion led me to become an occupational therapist specializing in the upper extremity, and eventually a Certified Hand Therapist—a designation that requires years of specialized clinical experience, thousands of hours treating complex upper-extremity conditions, and passing a rigorous board certification exam. Read more>>
Antonio Magana
We opened up in May of 2019, just before COVID. I always wanted to open up a restaurant, ever since I worked as a sales consultant for restaurants.in the food industry. As I consulted clients, I saw opportunities that clients would sometimes neglect. Read more>>
Patty Purpur de Vries
The thread running through my life has always been a fascination with human potential: What helps people become stronger, healthier, and more fully themselves? I grew up in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where sports became my first classroom. Athletics taught me discipline, resilience, and the extraordinary capacity of the mind and body to change through practice. Read more>>
Kevin Navarro
Wood Grain Junkie was founded in 2021 by my husband, Kevin, who has always had a passion for woodworking and creating tools that solve real problems in the shop. Like many makers, he often found himself wishing certain products existed, so instead of waiting for someone else to make them, he designed them himself. Read more>>
Jessica DeCastro
Hi, I’m Jessica, owner of Curves Santa Cruz, and I’m excited to share a little about my journey. My Curves story began in 2018 when I joined Curves as an employee in Paradise, California. At the time, I was simply looking for a job to help support my family. Read more>>
Monica Lowe
Growing up, nutrition was always a part of my life. My dad was a competitive bodybuilder from the age of 14, so I practically grew up in a bodybuilding gym. By the time I was three years old, I was spending time there, surrounded by people who were incredibly disciplined about what they ate and how they trained. Read more>>
Tommy Medeiros
I started California Mobile Kitchens after recognizing a need that was often overlooked. Through my experience in the food service industry and disaster response, I saw firsthand how schools, hospitals, restaurants, senior living communities, and government agencies struggled to keep serving meals during kitchen renovations, emergencies, or unexpected equipment failures. Read more>>
Michael Notte
My career has been anything but traditional. Before entering the insurance industry, I spent 16 years as a heavy metal singer and guitarist, touring, performing, and learning valuable lessons about discipline, resilience, teamwork, and connecting with people. Read more>>
Jesse DeCarlo
I feel incredibly lucky that I get to make music all the time and claim it as my job. The career I’ve arrived at is split half and half between performing as a guitar and bass player and working in the studio for other artists as a producer and recording engineer. Read more>>
Mireya Gomez-Contreras
I am a first generation Xicana who grew up picking different crops with my parents. We are originally from Colima and Jalisco Mexico. When I was growing up I didn’t know I’d end up happily in the agriculture industry, and much less in the more ORGANIC branch. The story of how I got here is more common than you might think. Read more>>
Christine Forsyth
I was raised in Carpinteria, CA before putting down roots in the Santa Ynez Valley, where along with my husband raised our four children and built a thirty-year career in local hospitality — twenty-six of those years spent successfully steering the Ballard Inn & Gathering Table. My next chapter began, fittingly, at a party. Read more>>
Robin Kent
After I retired, I took a number of volunteer positions with different organizations. One of my volunteer positions was at Purrmaid Cafe & Adoption Center, which was owned by my friend Nikki Ruhl. I worked with Nicky for close to a year, and when she decided to relocate, my husband and I made the decision to take over permit. Read more>>
Ahrianna Navarrete
The first time I considered massage therapy as a career, I was around five years old. A friend complained about her shoulder hurting, and I knew just the trick! After massaging her, she felt better and told me that’s what I should do when I grew up. I remember just how excited and proud I felt when she said that. Read more>>
