Highlighting Local Gems

Over the past decade we have had the chance to learn about so many incredible folks from a wide range of industries and backgrounds and our highlighter series is designed to give us an opportunity to go deeper into their stories with to goal of understanding them, their thought process, how their values formed and the foundations of their stories. Check out some incredible folks below – many of whom you may have read about already and a few new names as well.

Jan Griggs

My granddaughter is 6 years old and loves arts and crafts. Read more >>>

Breanna Stone

I have felt recently extremely proud of my app being launched!! An idea I had last year turned to learning to code which resulted in a live app on the Apple App Store in April! In just 3 months, there has been 600 downloads from people who genuinely LOVE the app. Read more >>>

Jill McMahon

The public version of me is most definitely the real Jill Larsen McMahon. I have never hidden that I feel like a 14 year old in the 50 year olds body. I live with a youthful mindset, but feel with the wisdom of an elders heart. I am loud, and silly, yet powerfully passionate. Read more >>>

Pam Miller-Fitzgibbons

I like to think so, but if I’m being honest… maybe not. What I mean by this is that I’ve been told that I tend to keep a lot of the struggles that I go through in my life private. Read more >>>

Noelle Townsley

Yes. More than once. Not so much ready to completely throw in the towel, but fear of not succeeding or making it. 2020 was quite the year for thinking it was time to re-think my career. Opening and closing a beautiful wedding venue just this past year has been a sad chapter for me. Read more >>>

Jacob San Luis

There has been plenty of times throughout my career where I almost gave up, and I believe that the feeling stays with people longer than they would like to admit. In my line of work it isn’t easy being a commission only gig: you eat what you kill. Read more >>>

Bryant Eugene Vazquez

My industry? I guess that would be the ‘art world’ or the ‘music world’? Where do I start? Um, ‘talent is cheap,’ ‘everyone is an artist,’ we’re all ‘creatives,’ which I have to say I abhor that term. There are people born with what can be defined as ‘natural talent,’ but even they have to put in the time. The hours. The discipline. Read more >>>

Lisa Garrett

Lately, I’ve become more confident in speaking my truth. While we’re often taught to gather information from the outside world, that’s never come naturally to me. I’ve always trusted my soul—my intuition—because when we connect to that, we connect to something much greater than ourselves. This inner guidance is what leads my life. Read more >>>

Lawrence Hearn

Resilience and self reliance. What doesn’t kill us (etc). I am the product of my struggles and hardships. I welcome them now, because I know they only make me stronger and build themselves into the every evolving complexity of my character. My Mother used to say ‘Just remember, they can’t eat you.’ Read more >>>

Kristina Donnay

Suffering has taught me what success never could, how to grow. Failure is uncomfortable, but it’s where the real transformation happens. Success shows us what’s working. Failure shows us where we need to improve. I don’t view failure as a bad thing, but as an invitation to get better. Some lessons are harder than others, but they’re all necessary. Read more >>>

Ally Veldstra

I don’t think I believed I could be so successful in so many areas of life as a child. I now know, that’s not true. I’ve found success in my relationships, friendships, work, and being a mom. It’s not always easy, but it can be rewarding. I think younger me would be very proud to see where “we” are at now. Read more >>>

Justin Verner

As a child, I believed you had to surrender to bullies. But I’ve seen too many bullies crumble to believe that anymore. Read more >>>

Johnny Black

A Belgian Malinois Shepherd named Blackie Bruno Sparky Junior Foxxy D. Dogg (The Doggonaut) is awaiting for me to stop brushing my teeth, fuss with my notoriously long, messy hair, slip on my jogging gear and shoes and bolt out into the new day on our morning rounds through our Ahwatukee neighborhood. Read more >>>

Nolan McKelvey

This is my creative time. I tend to get up very early and I often have song ideas immediately upon waking. If I don’t force myself to write them down, they seem to go away, So, I force myself to capture the moment. There is a lucidity that cherish in these early morning hours. Read more >>>

Amit Upadhye

I love gardening, photography, drumming, sketching, practice Yoga/meditation. I have always derived strength from such activities that calm the agitation of the mind, centers and composes me during tumultuous times. I also like to mountain bike, hike, and read outside of work to keep myself inspired through dispassionate observation of inner and outer. Read more >>>

Ashley Joseph

Watching Saturday morning cartoons on YouTube from the 90’s with the original commercials and my boyfriend although he can get dragged in my art projects sometimes, but I think he enjoys it! <br> Read more >>>

Levon Ravenell

March 1st, 2009, was my 18th birthday. I was almost killed in a head-on collision in Charleston, SC. It gave me this surreal understanding of life, death, and my purpose for being here. It taught me that you are not promised tomorrow and that at any moment, you can be taken away. Read more >>>

Skai Harbor

Integrity, for sure. You can fake the energy, you can fake intelligence, but I don’t think you can fake integrity. You either got it or you don’t. Read more >>>

Stephanie Todd-Blain

The moment that I realized all/everyone’s story matters. Even mine. Read more >>>

Summer Rose

My godfather, Tim, is an organic farmer and a true man of the land, salt of the earth. He taught me that I didn’t need to be successful in the traditional sense to be loved. He always encouraged me to give my best, no matter what I was doing. Read more >>>

Shaheen Siddiqui

My parents have most definitely been the ones to teach me the most about work. They moved to America over 50 years ago from India, knowing very little about this country or the culture. With minimal resources, they started a business that developed into a successful family business, which they had for 35 years. Read more >>>

Nacho Thorne 

Yeah, so first I want to give a big shout out to NabiNation. For those who don’t know NabiNation they are a Native American basketball league that provide opportunities for young Native American basketball players to play in a big basketball tournament to show off their skills. Read more >>>

Talisa Ordaz

Definitely. I’ve always done my best work before anyone was watching. Praise is nice, but it’s never been why I show up — it’s always been me putting in the work, trusting it would matter later. The truth is, some of the best work you’ll ever make happens when no one’s paying attention. Read more >>>

Dave Weisberg

Is the sun up!? Seriously, all the time. When I encounter something I’ve never done before, I try to look at it like an experiment. Good, bad or otherwise, we’re gonna get results. I do the best I can with the skills, knowledge and experience I have acquired along the way. Other than that, what more can we expect from ourselves. Read more >>>

Tamara Bickley

If I retire tomorrow, my loyal customers will miss my custom foundation! Since I launched my makeup line in 2015, I’ve created personalized makeup for several thousand clients/customers. These are customers for life. Read more >>>

joshua carro

The world without the internet. Read more >>>

Aaron Harris

Thank you for having me! I’m chasing the dream of becoming a Hollywood director, producer, writer, and cinematographer. My goal is to create my own films completely under my own budget in the future so I can bring my ideas to life and have full creative control with my projects I put out in the world. Read more >>>

Phil Madison

The loss of trust will always sow seeds of division and eventually break the bond that two people once had. Forgiveness is the ultimate act that can restore what once was broken. Read more >>>

Tessa Nicole 

That EVERYONE is an artist. I truly believe that every individual has the ability to create &amp; bring something new into this world… they just haven’t given themselves the freedom to try every medium &amp; experiment. All kids are little artists, that doesn’t just go away; we create our own barriers as we get older. Please go play &amp; create! You’ll thank me. Read more >>>

Koral Casillas

A normal day for us right now begins at our newly opened coffee shop, Strip Mall. We open during the week at 7am and on the weekends at 8am. Today we’ll start with our favorite drink of the moment, a pistachio latte and pair it with a ‘fun guy’ crepe from La Rue. This combo is the best way to start our day! Read more >>>

Mike Casten

That’s a tough question to answer, but the honest answer is the relationship with myself. I have done a lot of self-reflection in my lifetime, evaluating who I was and what my place in the world was supposed to be. I didn’t always like what I saw, but I always knew I could change. Read more >>>

Jan Stiles

My paternal grandmother. She shaped my conservative views about money and resources: ‘If you watch the pennies, the dollars take care of themselves’. Other resources should not be squandered either; reuse them whenever possible and donate to allow others to use them as well. Read more >>>

Michelle Robertson

One of the biggest turning points for me came from a senior girl I photographed years ago. After she saw her images, she whispered, “Wow, I really am pretty,” and then immediately looked embarrassed for saying it out loud. That moment hit me hard. Read more >>>

Trisha Gardner

1. Do the best you can with what you have been given. 2. Live life fully with no regrets. Read more >>>

Ann Morton

In kindergarten, we listened to Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf’. Each character was portrayed by the sound of a different instrument, which I found so fascinating, even at age 5. We were given one of the characters for which to invent and make a hand puppet. I got the ‘grandfather’, and the sense of accomplishment I felt in making that puppet still resonates today. Read more >>>

Amber Lovin

It’s really important to me to acknowledge the different cultures associated with silversmithing, particularly the Native American tribes whose land I get to call home – Arizona. Native Americans and silversmithing are a married pair, and cannot be separated. It’s imperative to me that I remain mindful of their cultural jewelry styles, embellishing, symbolism, and businesses. Read more >>>

Brice Sokolowski

Customers enjoy direct contact and interactions – a two-way conversation. They get excited about being part of the company they purchased from. Read more >>>

Athen Fisher

Almost everyone’s behaviors, thoughts, emotions make sense once I understand their story. We are all humans trying to imperfectly make our way through this life and intimate, close relationships seem to matter most to most people. More than money or success or anything else. Read more >>>

Tim G. Young

This is happening right now. I’ve played hundreds of shows in New York and now in Arizona. Right away, in both situations, I fell in with people who wanted me to sing and play.. It was a very busy time. I had steady gigs, meaning once a month, but once Covid hit, the scene changed. A number of my steady gigs evaporated. Read more >>>

Durrell Johnson

Superman. I’ve always admired the fact that he is inherently a good person and believes everyone has the capacity for good, they only lack the light to show them the way. This is something I see in myself often and try to be an example in the face of such an ugly world. Read more >>>