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.
Will Perrone 
Ethan Becker and I had actually started a business together before Alyra. It was a small business that ran for about a year, and around December and January it came to an end. That one stung a little, but neither of us was ready to stop. We took some time off, talked through a lot of ideas, and kept landing on the same thing. Read more>>
Susan Marco
The journey has been interesting, for sure! I grew up (until the age of 14) in a suburb of Chicago, then moving to the Jersey Shore. Life was relatively normal, even though I had a very low self-esteem and was a late bloomer. After high school, I was quite aimless, not sure who I wanted to be, or how to get there. Read more>>
Michelle Nikolic 
I am the owner of ReRoot Yoga in Toms River , NJ. I opened the wellness studio 4 years ago to connect with the community but more so to introduce the many benefits of yoga to the wonderful people in our community. Yoga saved me mentally. I was in an awful marriage a very long time ago, over 25 years ago. Read more>>
Megan Boyle 
The dream of owning a boutique started long before Destination Asbury opened it’s doors. Growing up some of my favorite memories were spent shopping with my mom, Tracey, and my grandmother, Annie. While we loved supporting small, locally owned businesses, we often struggled to find a boutique that offered something for all three generations, both in style and price point. Read more>>
Cassidy Colgan 
Hi I am Cass! I am a sign painter and muralist based in South Jersey. My husband and I work as a team under the name Casscabell. My artist name has been Casscabell for some years now—a play on cascabel, the Spanish word for rattlesnake. It encompasses my spicy, swirly decorative style and gives a nod to the year of the snake. Read more>>
Michael Crismali 
I’ve worn many hats throughout my life, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the titles we carry rarely tell the whole story of who we are. I was born and raised on Staten Island, New York, and for much of my adult life, I followed a path that probably looked fairly conventional from the outside. Read more>>
Román Baca 
I started dancing because of a friend in high school. She was a ballerina, and after I saw her perform, I wanted to know what that kind of discipline felt like. I trained at a little studio in a strip mall in New Mexico, then at the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory in Connecticut, and I danced as a professional for a few years. Read more>>
Jackie Letkowski
I grew up in Northern NJ, and when I started speaking, my parents thought I was on the spectrum because I only spoke by mimicking lines from Looney Tunes. After seeing a child therapist, the diagnosis was: “She just REALLY likes cartoons.” From there, my passion for film and television only grew. Read more>>
Christina Stanley 
I was always interested in portrait photography. From a young age I was drawn to the works of Diane Arbus, Mick Rock, Danny Clinch and Bob Gruen. They are photographers that have very different styles but all of them excellent at capturing the human essence in its purest form. Read more>>
Luisa Rivera 
My name is Luisa Rivera, and I am the founder of Bodas by Luisa Rivera in New Jersey. My background in customer service and hospitality helped me develop the communication and organizational skills I now bring to weddings and special events. As a wedding officiant and master of ceremonies, I work closely with couples to make their celebrations personal, meaningful, and well organized. Read more>>
Steven Cuoco 
Throughout my journey, I’ve learned that success is not about fitting into someone else’s definition of who you should be. It’s about having the courage to be authentic, staying adaptable, and turning obstacles into opportunities. Read more>>
Dee Cinque 
Originally from the old steel town of Ambridge, PA (about 15 miles from Pittsburgh), I moved to New Jersey in 1996 after just one interview in NYC. I look back at that crazy decision to leave everything I knew with everything I had – $1,200 and $30K in student loans – and wonder what in the world I was thinking. Read more>>
Colleen Meacock 
My path as an author, co-founder of the Live Like Meacs Foundation, and medium began following the passing of my son, Henry, “Meacs,” at age 19, when I heard him say, “Gimmi, it was my time.”
I don’t know if I could have faced life without knowing he was still with me, that we were still connected, and that the bond of love between us was still there. Read more>>
Brandon Tyler 
I’ve been an artist my entire life. Growing up in Newark, I was always drawing and making my own comic books and magazines, and by 12 I was rapping. Making people laugh is something I’ve been drawn to forever, from my family and friends to the people I grew up around and the shows I watched as a kid. Read more>>
Soo Jo 
Before founding Pokka Kids, I spent 10 years working as a mainstream children’s footwear designer in the New York City area. Throughout my career, I developed a deep understanding of the children’s product industry, gaining hands-on experience in design, product development, and manufacturing while traveling and doing business with partners across the United States, Asia, and Europe. Read more>>
Lil Miss Royal 
My journey as Lil Miss Royal began at the young age of 6, when I discovered my passion for music, rapping, and entertaining others. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to use my voice and creativity to inspire children and show them that they can achieve their dreams, no matter how young they are. Read more>>
Diypse Duman 
True Ascend is a sister-owned jewelry and accessories brand founded by sisters Diypse Duman and Bilana Uluengin, offering affordable luxury ready-to-wear jewelry alongside its signature Charm Bar, featuring hundreds of charm options for creating personalized pieces. With an eight-year age gap, the sisters bring different perspectives and experiences to the business. Read more>>
Cami Talbot 
Hi, my name is Cami Talbot, let me walk you through my story as a Pro Makeup Artist, Energy Worker, and Coach. My career began 15 years ago as a fellow colleague saw my potential and referred her contacts to me. Then, being only 22 years old, I had no clue what was ahead. Today I look back in awe at the years behind me. Read more>>
Yoorim Ko
I studied ceramics as an undergraduate in Seoul, and later moved to New York to pursue my MFA at the School of Visual Arts, where my practice shifted toward painting and drawing. I began working with unstretched canvas, colored pencil, oil pastel, and thread, and became interested in surfaces that could be folded, stitched, erased, or left physically unresolved. Read more>>
Guangmin Shen 
I’m Guangmin Shen, founder and director of Umami Playground Dance Inc., a New York City dance company bringing underground street and club dance into theatrical work. My dance journey began in China in 2009 with popping, hip-hop, and choreography. After moving to New York City in 2016, I immersed myself in House dance while continuing to explore breaking and contemporary movement. Read more>>
francesco Ferreri 
I am Chekos Art, an Italian street artist, muralist, and cultural organizer based in Lecce, Southern Italy. My journey began in the late 1990s through graffiti writing, driven by the energy of urban culture, lettering, and the idea of transforming public spaces into open-air galleries. Read more>>
Allison Altobelli 
Hi – so I pretty much dictated my life story to Chat GPT and it spat it out in this format. Everything is accurate, I checked it, but feel free to change the way it is written. It certainly does not need to be in first person or organized in the same fashion. Read more>>
Christiana Shannon 
I started my career in fitness as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor while pursuing my education in Nutrition and Food Science at Montclair State University. Through working with clients, I realized how much I loved not only helping people reach their fitness goals, but also building meaningful relationships and helping them develop confidence in themselves. Read more>>
DJ FREX 
I’m DJ Frex, also known as “The X Factor DJ,” representing Jersey and Philly. My journey started with a love for music and the energy it brings to people. I wanted to create those moments where the right song comes on and the whole room connects. Read more>>
Linda McCrary 
I have been working with students for 29 plus years. When I was 16 one of the teachers from the high that I attended asked me to work at her sports camp as a camp counselor. This is when I found out I was meant to teach and work with children. Read more>>
Tony Newbury 
Tony Newbury is an independent artist from New Jersey known for blending smooth vocals with soulful, sample-driven production into what Music Crowns called “…a unique blend of hip-hop, alternative and pop…” With over 2 million streams across all platforms, his music stays honest, reflective, and rooted in real experience, earning recognition from outlets across the industry. Read more>>
Claudia Shaughnessy 
parkrun is a free, community event where you can walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. parkrun is 5k and takes place every Saturday morning. parkrun is positive, welcoming and inclusive, there is no time limit and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along. It was started in the UK 20 years ago. Read more>>
Shawn Parisi 
I was a strength athlete in school to be a physical therapist and noticed how the rehab and fitness people needed was just regressed versions of training movements strength athletes in the powerlifting, strongman, and olympic weightlifting world. At the time there were very few of those types of gyms open to the public. So I created a space in 2017. Read more>>
Marla Kentos 
From Healthcare Administration to Three Edison Businesses: My Five-Year Journey If you had told me years ago that after more than two decades working in healthcare administration I would become the owner of three food-service businesses in Edison, New Jersey, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But today, that’s exactly where I find myself. Read more>>
Dr. Youstina Gerges 
Rise Above Physical Therapy was born from a simple belief: People deserve more than temporary relief. They deserve to understand why they’re experiencing symptoms in the first place. Throughout my career as a physical therapist, I met so many people who had spent years searching for answers. Read more>>
Kayla Apple 
I’ve always wanted to create planner products and start this business because I’ve always loved planners. A new year didn’t feel real unless I had a new planner for it. In 2022-2023, I was working a temp position at the food bank and started a part-time virtual assistant gig to make more money. Read more>>
SARAH CORONA 
My journey in the art world began in Europe, where I went to college and first developed a deeper understanding of art, culture, and the gallery world. After graduating, I had the opportunity to work with important galleries in Italy. Read more>>
Rahsona Elder
“I was just a kid from Paterson, NJ with a big heart and dreams. We started with two students in 1998. Last year we serviced close to 2,000 in multiple locations. Through out my career we serviced over 10K children and families. I am humbled. Grateful to God for the journey..” – Rahsona Elder (Smith), Founder Read more>>
Zeynep & Tara Khaleesi
My career has never followed one predictable path. Read more>>
