The heart of our mission at VoyageHouston is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our city. In the recent weeks we’ve had the privilege to connect with some of the Houston’s finest artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with our city’s incredibly deep talent pool. Check out Neartowns’s rising stars below.
Patricia Gras
I became a journalist/video producer/reporter in 1988. I worked for Telemundo and eventually after a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University in NYC, I moved back to Houston to work for Houston PBS (now public media) Throughout my career I have had my own production company doing freelance work. Read more>>
Franco Albarran
When I was 2 years old, my family emigrated from Mexico City to Houston, and in the mid 90’s we became proud US Citizens. I’m the youngest child of 10 siblings and the only one to attend college and earn a college degree. Read more>>
Bill Blackmon, Chris Brundrett
What began as an acquaintance as winemakers in the Hill Country became a collaboration between Bill and Chris, focusing on a shared winemaking philosophy. As the word ‘winegrowers’ implies, they agree that great wines are not made but grown. Read more>>
Stephanie Hill
They all were volunteers at the shelter for several years and saw a need for a rescue group that focused on pregnant and nursing mothers along with puppies under the age of 6 months old. This was due to the high exposure to parvo and distemper in the shelter at that time and knowing the babies were the most at risk due to low immune systems. Read more>>
Andreea Mut
I was born in Bistrita, a small town in Romania’s historical province of Transylvania. Just in case you are wondering, no, I am not a vampire. I moved to the US in 2009, after finishing my studies at the Gheorghe Dima Academy of Music in Cluj-Napoca, and I have lived in Texas ever since. Read more>>
Marcela Gaviria, Michelle Mendelejis
Michelle and I have been friends for 10 years, we always wanted to do something together, besides being full time moms. But we did not have a clue of what we wanted to do. We had in common that we both liked everything about parties, big celebrations, decorations, crafts, or anything that need it our creativity. Read more>>
Quinton Brown
I started drawing when I was about 5 years old. I would draw things like my favorite cartoon characters, super heroes, you know just small simple things to me at least. It was at the point where I would sneak and draw family members and friends of the family without them knowing and showing them afterwards when everyone started to take notice of my talent, and encouraged me to keep pursuing it. Read more>>
Maria De Jesus Berry
Maria De Jesus Berry (formerly Chapa) began her modeling career at age sixteen after graduating at Page Parkes Center of Modeling in 1996. She went on to sign with several National and International modeling agencies. Her modeling works have been published internationally for a little over a decade. Read more>>
Patricia Flaherty Pagan
I’ve always considered myself to be a talkative introvert who enjoys writing and reading about tenacious women. I grew up near Boston. Go Sox! After earning my MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, I founded feminist publisher Spider Road Press, here in Houston, and established the annual Spider’s Web Flash Fiction Prize. Read more>>
Brooke Blackshear
Writing for me has always been a form of therapy. It’s my preferred method of communication especially when vulnerability is required. For the past ten years I found myself surviving many heartbreaks and struggles by writing out my thoughts and telling my story. Read more>>
Julie Koch
I got involved with the start up of Elegant Additions quite by accident. I had absolutely no knowledge of plumbing or hardware design or technical notes. I happened to have worked for a company selling advertising, and I could sell. But the owner of that company took the money and ran as they say (seriously to the islands). Read more>>
Jenny Vargas-Ha
Jenny’s journey into the holistic world began when she suffered from debilitating migraines. Consulting numerous western medicine doctors, their only solution was pharmaceuticals, so she decided to seek a natural route. She was initially scared of needles, and skeptical, however she was so desperate for help. Read more>>
