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.
Mikayla Stilwell
My Journey Into Cosmetology My journey into cosmetology began back in 2017 when I enrolled at Federico Beauty Institute. Originally, I went to school with the intention of becoming a barber. Somehow, I ended up in the cosmetology program instead—and looking back, I am so grateful that I did. Read more>>
Romina Mendoza
My journey into wine began through gastronomy. I studied Culinary Arts in Mexico and became fascinated by the way wine connects agriculture, culture, and hospitality. I later worked in wine distribution, where representing wines from lesser-known countries shaped my focus on origin, identity, and the people behind each bottle. Education gradually became the center of my work. Read more>>
Lillian Rachel
At a point where my options were wide open, and I was seeking a career that would both challenge me and most importantly be fun, Audiobook Narration suddenly became an option that shone like a beacon! It was not something I had considered before, but jumped in fully committed. Read more>>
Michelle Wales
My name is Michelle Wales, and I grew up in Southeast San Diego, Encanto to be exact. I am one of five siblings, but I grew up in the home with my parents and my twin sister. At one point, we shared a two-bedroom home with 21 other people. Life was crowded, complicated, and there was always something going on. Read more>>
Elizabeth Cesena
Elizabeth — SDLuxuryBar Hi, I’m Elizabeth! I’m a San Diego Latina native and have been in the beauty industry for over seven years. My journey started behind the front desk at a beauty academy, where I quickly fell in love with the beauty world and knew I wanted to create something of my own. Read more>>
Jeff Dobbs
So there I was, digging with an excavator, on a job site and dug up a box turtle. I brought him home and got him hydrated and fed. But he wanted more…as in a friend. i looked up a local turtle rescue and made an appointment to find him a friend. While visiting the sanctuary, I informed the owner that he was ‘living my dream’. Read more>>
Rameses Setekh
Free Thought Revolution began as a response to the murder of George Floyd and the reactions from all the different people and cultures. We saw folks acknowledge Black Lives Matter and also disparage the meme and wanted to address. So, we sat down and began having the hard, conversations that needed to & still need to be held. Read more>>
Lucy Yates
My path to entrepreneurship wasn’t planned. I spent 17 years in corporate banking, mostly in business development and client relations. On paper, it was a long way from photo booths. In reality, it was some of the best training I could have asked for. Read more>>
Patricia Curi
Patricia Flowers & Events began in Brazil, where my passion for flowers and event design first took shape. After moving to California, I continued developing my work and created Patricia Flowers & Events in Carlsbad, bringing together my Brazilian roots with the California aesthetic and lifestyle that inspired me. Read more>>
Dr. Jansel Perez
Hi, I’m Dr. Jansel Perez, owner of Dorado Animal Hospital & Surgical Center in Oceanside, California. If you’re in the area, come meet me and bring your pet along! My story with animals started early. I was born in Manzanillo, Cuba, and later moved with my family to Puerto Rico, where I grew up and discovered my lifelong love for animals. Read more>>
Francisco barba
WE ARRIVE TO USA AT 1997 FROM SCRATCH, FROM CERO , WE START LIVING AT 2 CAR GARAGE ( ADU ) START WORKING LIKE DISHWASHER , AFTER I WORKING AT CONSTRUCTION ( INSTALL FIRE SPRINKLERS AT COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS ) , AFTER 3 YEARS I START WORKING LIKE A DRAFTSMAN WITH EARL WEEB ENGINEERING FOR MANY YEARS, AND FROM 2003 TO NOW I CREATE MY OWN FIRM FOR RESIDENTIAL , COMMERCIAL AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN PLANS. Read more>>
Tyrell Furtado
I always loved to cook for as long as I can remember. I started working in restaurants back in 2010 starting off as a dishwasher and made my way up throughout the years in different kitchens. Fastforward to 2020 when Covid hit I decided to start cooking at home for friends and family when restaurants started shutting down. Read more>>
Winston Bodkin
My story with CASITA really started by seeing the same problem over and over again. Homeowners wanted to build ADUs, but the process was often confusing and fragmented. They were dealing with designers, engineers, permitting departments, contractors and consultants, yet there was rarely one team looking at the entire project from the homeowner’s perspective. Read more>>
Emaree Nickerson-Wright
My Life changed for the best after my 4-day labor experience with my now 4-year old daughter, Yomi Ni’Ari Léon. Growing up, I went through many different experiences that affected me soul deep, leading to trauma, anxiety and PTSD that plagued My Mind, Heart, Soul & Spirit. I have always yearned to be a mother. Read more>>
Micah Ruiz
I think I’ve always been a creative person. I’ve always been drawn to art, but I never really planned on being an artist. I certainly never had it in mind that I would start a business for my art. When I think back to how I got here, it’s really been a slow gradual process. I started posting my art publicly in high school. Read more>>
Anthony Onevathana
I’ve always appreciated the artistic side of being behind a camera. I love the intention behind every photo or video and how each one can capture a memory, a feeling, or a story happening in a single moment. That started back in high school when I first got to mess around with a Canon T2i that belonged to a friend. Read more>>
Asante Bates
I am a young, Black creative trying to find my path in the entertainment industry. I truly believe in the phrase, “You learn something new every day,” because there is so much to learn about the world. At Fisk University, I majored in Elective Studies and minored in Film. Read more>>
Brody Parksua
We started The Portal Search in 2020 with a simple goal: create virtual worlds and experiences that bring people together. What began with VR grew naturally. Years of building taught us Unity, Blender, game systems, web development and how people actually interact inside digital spaces. That curiosity eventually led us into AI and onchain technology, where we’re exploring digital ownership, tokenization and intelligent agents. Read more>>
Yo Younger
I started acting at the age of 15. Studied extensively at Richland College in Dallas, Texas, and with many private acting instructors. I was very active in the Theater/Film community in Dallas and moved to California in 2002 to pursue my dream even more.. I lived briefly in Los Angeles, but found it much easier to live in the desert. Read more>>
Melinda Puhó
My story began in a picturesque Transylvanian city nestled among the majestic Carpathian Mountains, pine forests, sparkling lakes, and rivers. Its old Latin name was Rivulus Dominarum, the “River of the Lady.” Baia Mare later became an important mining city, known for its gold and special minerals, as well as an artists’ colony that pioneered plein-air painting and helped shape the 20th-century art scene. Read more>>
Marielle Vizcarra
I guess it all started by discovering that I enjoyed writing. I have never been really good at voicing what I am feeling through spoken words, so I took refuge in the notes app of my phone when I was younger. Read more>>
Jaron Williams
Part of how I got into training has to do with my love of movement: sports, exercise, and dance were all big parts of my life. But more important was I always had a desire to help people in some way. Read more>>
Melody Sharp
I worked for magazines in Los Angeles and then, when I moved to Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College, local chambers of commerce and ultimately for a nutritional supplement company doing marketing. I quit my day job and opened my Website Design service 20 years ago, to focus on local small businesses and nonprofits. Read more>>
Michelle Bradley
My journey into breathwork began long before I ever knew I would become a breathwork instructor. My career has been rooted in helping people feel better and believe in what is possible for their health and well-being. As an exercise physiologist and health coach, I spent years teaching people about movement, nutrition, healthy lifestyle habits, and the importance of taking care of their bodies. Read more>>
Alissa Boyer
I moved from Minnesota to Southern California in my early twenties. Fresh out of college, I’d landed a dream internship opportunity at a retailer in Orange County, CA and moved with three weeks notice. It was a whirlwind of a time in my life, marked with new experiences, new friends, and… a lot of stress. Read more>>
Jessica Petersen
Skill Haven Learning was born out of a shared belief that students learn best when they have the right support, guidance, and personal connection. We saw a need for academic support that was not only high quality, but also personalized, flexible, and centered around the individual student. Read more>>
Jaime Nancarrow
I’ve loved fashion for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Santa Barbara, I was the girl cutting up Vogue magazine, putting outfits together, and always finding a way to make fashion part of my life. Read more>>
Dynasty Hamilton
From Door-to-Door Sales to Building Tax Leaders Nationwide My journey into the tax industry started in 2022, at a time when I wasn’t financially literate or responsible with money. Read more>>
Florence Catania
I was born and raised mostly in France, spent a few years living in England, and eventually made my way to the Bay Area 27 years ago. Life has taken me through its share of unexpected turns, but each chapter has shaped where I am today… I eventually settled on the Monterey Peninsula, a place that truly feels like home. Read more>>
tanika patel
I started creating content years ago as a way to share the things I genuinely loved—beauty, lifestyle, local businesses, and my life in Santa Cruz. I’ve always been on the creative side and have worked in the beauty industry for many years, so creating and connecting with people online came pretty naturally to me. Read more>>
Kelsee Haluszka
My journey into fitness started long before I ever imagined it becoming my career. I originally fell in love with training for myself and eventually began training for women’s figure bodybuilding. I was fortunate to work with an incredible coach, Dave Esparza of 3D Training, who taught me so much about training, nutrition, discipline, consistency, and what our bodies are capable of. Read more>>
Jennalee Dahlen
My story really began long before Yōso had a name. I was a competitive swimmer for 18 years, which meant years of sun exposure and, eventually, significant sun damage to my skin. Later, I found myself in a high-stress corporate career as a buyer. Somewhere in the midst of that season, I began getting regular facials, initially because I wanted to change my skin. Read more>>
Darrah Robinson
I was raised in the diverse art culture of San Francisco where I worked in fine art museums and attended an arts focused public high school in the city called Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. I continued my education at UC Santa Barbara at the College of Creative Studies where I worked closely with two professors throughout my education. Read more>>
Kristi Troyna
Kristi was the typical horse crazy kid, who began to be fully immersed in horses at age 12. It was then that she got her first horse and began volunteering and spending all of her spare time at a therapy riding program. Read more>>
Nani
Growing up in Vallejo, CA as a Black girl with social anxiety I was often a loner who bullies targeted, society often treated me like an outcast because they couldn’t figure me out, when I was younger I used to hate not being able to understand where I fit in in society. Read more>>
Giovanna Salas
We are born with all the gifts… Be fearless. On my journey, I have faced many challenges. I have learned that the size of the challenge doesn’t matter. We have the power to continue on our way, along our path. Sometimes it’s extremely hard, especially if you’re trying to follow your dreams. Read more>>
