It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Dallas.
Nicole Adams
I started Kingdom Kids Academy in June 2005. My CHILDCARE started in my home and it was an opportunity for me to raise my two small children and educate them and prepare them for preschool while educating other preschoolers and toddlers. Read more>>
Mary Miller
I am a 30-plus-year educator, principal, teacher, and professor. Part of my tenure as a principal was in the Dallas County Juvenile Justice Center. There, I saw that students needed more than academic needs met: they also needed Social-Emotional, Cultural, and Economic needs met. Read more>>
Krista Deveaux
My journey into real estate didn’t start as a lifelong dream. It actually started with a conversation at home. Before real estate, I was working in corporate America as a Head of Finance, overseeing finance, HR, and accounting. I had built a career in strategy and leadership, and from the outside, everything looked stable and successful. Read more>>
Clarissa Najera
I started my coffee business back in July 2025, and it came from a very personal place, my grandma. She played such a big role in my life and was the one who introduced me to so many of the flavors and traditions from Mexico that I grew up loving. After she passed, I wanted to find a way to keep her memory alive. Read more>>
Jolianna Jones
After graduating college in 2023, I had no clear direction for my career, but I always knew I wanted to start my own business. Fitness had already been a huge part of my life for five years at that point, and I had considered getting my personal training certification. Post-grad, I decided to fully commit to that path. Read more>>
Lisa H
I’ve been posting food content for over five years, but when I first started it was only photos. My friends would joke that the phone eats first, and honestly, they weren’t wrong. I’ve always loved trying new restaurants around Dallas, and it kind of became my thing to document those experiences, but I stayed completely behind the camera. Read more>>
Adrian Quintanar
I have been working with ceramics for over 25 years. My journey began sculpting teeth out of porcelain in a dental laboratory. That chapter lasted 12 years until I was able to return to college and pursue a fine arts degree. It was there that I took my first studio ceramic class and immediately fell in love with making pottery on the potter’s wheel. Read more>>
CHRISTIANA REDEAUX
I started in social work, focusing on behavioral health and care transitions in a hospital setting, supporting patients as they moved from inpatient care back into the community. Early on, I saw how often people were ready to engage in care but struggled to stay connected once they left structured settings. That stuck with me and shaped how I approach my work. Read more>>
Elton Renfrow
I started out skating as a child when my father bought my first skateboard at the age of 14/15 it was a alien workshop deck sighed by rob dyrdek i would skate to school do little tricks outside the house with friends then years later in our neighborhood skate park “Chisholm trail skate park” Read more>>
Jodi Nicholson
I didn’t plan to start a counseling practice during a global pandemic. After nearly 15 years in the field, I expected my career to continue along a steady, familiar path. But when the world changed, so did the needs of the people around me. In those early months, I saw a surge of anxiety, isolation, and uncertainty. Read more>>
Sharon Jones-Scaife
My journey into children’s literature started from a very personal place. In 2015, after losing my husband to lung cancer, I was searching for a way to help my grandchildren deal with their grief. I couldn’t find a book that reflected what they were feeling—or what we were going through as a family—so I decided to create one myself. Read more>>
Tania Ohrn
Our journey to opening Perspire Sauna Studio West McKinney started about two years ago- completely by chance. What began as a simple visit to a now competitor for relaxation quickly turned into something more when I fell in love with how I felt after each session. Read more>>
Morning Person
Morning Person sat in the back of my head for about a year before I actually did anything with it. I made it official in May 2025, so it’s still really new. I don’t come from the coffee industry, which has honestly helped. Read more>>
Adam Morse
I’ve been in the financial services space for 15 years, most of it spent in the wealth management industry. I chose that path because I was always fascinated by money – how people acquired it and what they did with it when they got it. I grew up in a relatively humble environment. Read more>>
Ruben Ortegon
8 years ago, when I was just 13-years-old, I uploaded my first ever video to YouTube. A simple, low quality video of me showcasing a Minecraft texture pack I had made inside some online photo editor. Read more>>
Lindsey Beasley
My journey to entrepreneurship started with a desperate need. I was in my early thirties. I had just birthed my second child and felt like my body was falling apart. I’d been diagnosed with a chronic illness at 19 and spent over a decade searching for something — anything — that could actually break through my symptoms. Read more>>
Dieudra Calhoun
My name is Dr. Dieudra Calhoun and my story began in Jackson, Mississippi. Growing up as the oldest child and grandchild, I naturally stepped into the role of nurturer. It wasn’t something that was assigned to me, it was simply who I was. Read more>>
Fnd Records
Family N Determination (FND) is more than just a label—it’s a movement rooted in loyalty, resilience, and purpose. While officially established in 2024, FND was founded in 2022 in Dallas, Texas, built from the ground up by CEOs Jordan Cooper and Eduardo Torres with a vision bigger than music. Read more>>
Josette Phipps
My journey has been rooted in purpose, resilience, and a passion for helping others feel confident in who they are. I started Josettè María LLC with the vision of creating more than just a beauty brand I wanted to build something that empowers people through self-care, wellness, and confidence. Since my last feature in 2022, my journey has evolved in ways I’m truly proud of. Read more>>
Michelle Martin
My path into this work really started with a deep desire to help people feel less alone in what they’ve been through. I’ve always been someone who pays attention to what’s happening beneath the surface, both emotionally and relationally, that naturally led me toward the counseling field. Read more>>
Rodney Litchenberg
We began building an experimental test pilot rental cabin around 2018 and finally committed to the land lording concept about 2020. After experiencing actual income, it became clear that we should attempt to duplicate the process, and we have been working to scale ever since. We have 4 units at our primary location and 1 complete at our second location with another in process. Read more>>
Tracey Dispensa
Every story deserves to be an adventure.’ This is the philosophy that drives Tracey Dispensa. After decades spent behind the scenes of Hollywood’s most beloved blockbusters, Tracey realized that the ‘cinematic magic’ usually reserved for feature films should be accessible to every brand and every audience. Read more>>
Brazos Creative
Brazos Creative is a community music studio in Coppell, Texas built on the belief that the arts can shape not only musicians, but confident and capable people. Through group and private music lessons in piano, guitar, voice, ukulele, and more, Brazos Creative helps students develop strong musical foundations while also building important life skills like discipline and perseverance. Read more>>
Britney Downey
At 19 years old I started working for a local tanning salon in my hometown. I found a new love and appreciation for customer service ,building relationships & learning serving, and sales. After six months I was fully trained to do custom spray tanning. I managed a lead role for the salon and helped hire staff , train and build sales. Read more>>
Mariam Ali Ghouri
My story really began when I realized my genuine love for teaching. Even back in high school, I was tutoring peers and younger students, and it never felt like work, it felt like my natural element. Read more>>
Dora Chu
I did not set out trying to become a speaker. I was trying to figure out what planet I belonged on and to understand the voice in my own head. I grew up in a strict, traditionally dysfunctional Asian family, where you did not really express feelings. You organized them, suppressed them, and got excellent grades. Read more>>
Dr. Rosie Sandoval
The National Best Practices Conference (NBPC) was co-founded by Dr. Richard Gomez Jr. and myself in response to a critical need in education, to truly transform teaching and learning through research-based best instructional practices. Throughout our work with educators, we saw a consistent gap: while some teachers were receiving training, many were not. Read more>>
Bill Saulsberry
. I didn’t start Mustard Seed Personal Car Service with a business plan spread across a conference table or some lifelong dream of becoming an entrepreneur. It started in a much more personal place—at a time of change, uncertainty, and the quiet hope that something better was possible. After separating from the U.S. Read more>>
Charles Weimer
I started Central Dallas Notary because I’ve always had a strong interest in working in the legal field, even before pursuing a legal career. At the same time, I wanted to be more engaged with my community and provide a service that people genuinely rely on. Read more>>
Dr. Justin Warcup
I’m the son of a dentist and spent my entire childhood swearing I would never follow in my father’s footsteps. Yet here I am. I was accepted into dental school and, in the very first week, proudly announced I would never become a pediatric dentist. Then something unexpected happened, I fell completely in love with the specialty. Read more>>
Tonya Sewell-Lawton
I have always had a heart for people. I see their struggles and I don’t discard them — I try to help them build themselves. That’s the thread through everything I’ve done for 28 years. My first accounting job was payroll data entry through a temp agency at American Airlines. Nobody trained me. I paid attention, figured it out, and kept going. Read more>>
Jamil McCarthy
I am currently a graduating senior from TCU. I was a nutrition major going into sports nutrition, but I ended up changing my career path at the last minute. I went on a retreat with some friends and borrowed my friend’s camera to take pictures. Ever since then, I have completely fallen in love with photography. If anyone knows me, they know I love sports. Read more>>
Adam Ratliff
Adam has spent much of his career in the RV industry, building a reputation as a master-certified technician known for skill, honesty, and dedication to helping keep their RV’s road- ready. After years of working in the field and developing strong relationships within the industry, his path took an unexpected turn when he was involved in a motorcycle accident. Read more>>
Erika Sato
I was born with a rare (<1 per 10,000 babies) congenital anomaly called Binder’s Syndrome characterized by underdevelopment of the midface, specifically a flat nose and recessed upper jaw. In my teens I underwent my first surgery that included a rhinoplasty with a cartilage graft taken from my ear. This was my first glimpse into the world of Plastic Surgery. Read more>>
Whitney McGee
I was born and raised in the DFW area, and today I am a licensed psychologist based in Flower Mound, serving children, adolescents, and families throughout Dallas – Fort Worth. Growing up, I had various passions that at the time, seemed quite disparate. Read more>>
Kristen Dillard
Willow Bend Fitness Club was built on the idea that a gym could be something more intentional—something that blends high-level coaching, a strong sense of community, and a long-term approach to health. In December of 2019, Jake Harden acquired the club with a clear vision: to create an environment where people feel supported, guided, and connected. Read more>>
Jack Berry
Originally from St. Louis, MO, I moved to Lawrence KS to pursue a degree in marketing at the University of Kansas. Around my sophomore year, I found out about a new emerging club called KU Fashion and Business Organization. The club intersects fashion and the ability to help students make a strong, reliable, and healthy career in the industry. Read more>>
Rory Conner
For many years, I built a successful track record in retail and service operations, where I developed a high level of discipline and a systematic approach to complex tasks. While I excelled in managing details and ensuring operational excellence, I reached a point where I felt my professional growth had plateaued. Read more>>
Dean McCurry
Dean McCurry has been a full-time charitable auctioneer for 15 years. His journey began when he was asked to step in as a substitute Bingo caller for his kids’ school. Impressed by his skills, he was later asked to be the auctioneer for a gala event and the rest is history. After retiring from Western Digital in 2009, Dean made auctioneering his full-time passion. Read more>>
Mixaida Vanderwerf
I didn’t always know photography would become such an important part of my life… but looking back, I can see how every part of my story was quietly leading me here. Im originally from Venezuela, and during my early years of study, I was deeply drawn to storytelling. At one point, I even wanted to pursue war journalism. Read more>>
Youssef Souryal
My passion for photography started since I was in high school. Years later, when I stepped into a photo booth at a friends’ wedding, my passion for photography and love for business converged. I immediately initiated a conversation with Thomas from Happy Tiger Photobooth and to learn about the business. Read more>>
Dawson Blankinship
Event Modules was built out of a simple but critical gap we kept seeing in the field. Whether at large-scale events, disaster response sites, or remote operations, there was no fast, reliable infrastructure that could support real operations on demand. Traditional solutions like tents and temporary structures were not meeting the standard. Read more>>
Natalie Sofia
I started in 2016. I started using my iPhone 4 camera & then used my uncles camera. I will go to downtown with my best friend Stephanie & would take photos. In the past 10 years I have learned & failed. All of the failures & lessons developed me into the photographer I am, today. Read more>>
Fred Campos Sr
People knew I owned a pug, and I was often asked, “Do you know where I can rescue a pug?” ‘Rescue a pug?’ I immediately replied. ‘Why would a pug ever need rescuing?’ The idea felt strange, almost offensive. Pugs, with their funny faces and gentle natures, represented true companionship. Who could turn away such loyalty? Read more>>
