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 Houston.
Akayla Joseph
I didn’t choose teaching; teaching chose me.Growing up, I always entertained the idea of becoming a teacher. I loved playing school and would beg my neighbors to come over so I could use them as my students in my pretend classroom. Read more>>
Raghu Athre 
Hi. My name is Raghu Athre. I am a facial plastic surgeon here in Houston Texas. I started my journey in MUmbai, India. I was born in Mumbai – ‘called Bombay at the time.’ My parents moved frequently through the middle East when I was young, and I finally moved to Houston, Texas. Read more>>
Monica Horton 
I was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, and I’m the proud mother of two grown children. I grew up playing sports, so fitness and being active have really been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Professionally, I became a nurse in 2002, so I’ve now spent more than 20 years in nursing. Read more>>
Andrea Miranda 
I’m a theatre director, playwright, actor, and poet working between Costa Rica and the United States. My relationship with theatre began when I was very young. I remember my grandmother putting theatre productions on television for me to watch with her in bed, and I was fascinated by them. As a child, I was always memorizing texts and creating little worlds of my own. Read more>>
Sean Palmer 
I graduated from Abilene Christian University in 1996 and went straight into ministry. Four years later I went back to school for an MDiv, and my theological education has been spread across three schools since: Abilene Christian, Fuller Seminary, and Austin Presbyterian. Three traditions, three sets of assumptions, three very different rooms. Read more>>
Victor Hernandez Valdovinos 
### My Story My story begins in Mexico City, where I learned the true meaning of family, hard work, and gratitude. Growing up, I helped my parents with their food business. At the time, I didn’t fully understand how much those experiences would shape my life. Read more>>
Sean McDonald 
My journey has been anything but traditional. Before becoming an entrepreneur, I served five years in the U.S. Army, including a 13-month deployment to Afghanistan. That experience shaped a lot of who I am today, my discipline, resilience, and willingness to keep moving forward even when the path wasn’t completely clear. Read more>>
Alex Robertson
I started out in college when I began working for the schools marketing team taking photos of different events around campus. I fell in love with the process of capturing a single moment in time that would live on even after I’m gone. Once I got good at it, I began branching out and got into portrait photography. Read more>>
Amy Nichole Curtis 
I started the way many young performers do, kid’s choir, talent shows, and church plays. I had always dreamed about being some sort of actress/singer/dancer and my family KNEW it. They were always incredibly supportive of my pursuit of it all. Read more>>
Gretchen Jean and The TSU Sensations
History of the TSU Sensations Dance Program Tigress Sensations Dancin’ to the Beat The legacy of the Texas Southern University (TSU) Sensations dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the university’s dance traditions were represented by groups known as the Tiger Dolls and the Tiger Paws. Read more>>
Miah Washington
I’m Miah Washington, an educator, a woman of faith, and someone who is still becoming the person God has called me to be. I was raised in Ennis, Texas, in a family where faith, service, and leadership were a major part of my upbringing. My parents, Pastor Booker T. Read more>>
Janay Lavon 
I’ve always been someone who loved creating, teaching, and helping people bring ideas to life, but I didn’t initially know that those things would eventually become such a big part of my entrepreneurial journey. A major turning point came in 2019 when I published my first book and became an author. Read more>>
Paty Lorena Solórzano 
I was born in Morelia, a beautiful colonial city in the Mexican state of Michoacán, characterized by it’s colonial architecture of pink cantera stone, avocados, and the Oyamel forest where the Monarch Butterflies migrate to every winter. My mother tells a story of when I was a baby—that I would squirm around as if something was itching my body. Read more>>
Daniela Vera 
Ten years ago, I arrived in the United States carrying many fears and uncertainties. Over time, those fears turned into dreams, and step by step, I began giving them shape and purpose. My journey has been built through hard work, learning, and the willingness to start wherever I needed to start. Read more>>
Andrew Whit (The Happening) 
Well, The Happening didn’t come out of no where. Houston has a long history of performance art getting weird in unexpected places. Artists here have spent decades blurring the boundaries between music, theater, movement, installation, and things that don’t really need a category. The Happening is lucky to be part of that lineage. Read more>>
Austin Allan 
I actually got my start in consumer products with a beverage brand called Tio Gazpacho — built it, got backing from General Mills and chef José Andrés, and sold it in 2019. Right after that, I started noticing adult desserts trending internationally, and nothing like it existed in the U.S. Read more>>
Tierra Kirts 
A major turning point in my story began after I moved to Houston. I was in a new city where I did not yet have friends or a support system. It was just God and me. What initially felt like isolation became a season of discovery because, without my support system and other distractions around me, I had the space to see myself more clearly. Read more>>
Json Mondesir 
The first time I remember making music was with my little sister. I must have been about six or eight years old, somewhere around there. We were just putting things together and having fun, making songs about food or something like that. Read more>>
Alayah Nicole Cortez 
My story really started in Milwaukee, where I was born and raised. Eventually, my mom made the decision for us to relocate to Houston because I was going through a lot mentally and emotionally, and we both felt like I needed a fresh start and a different environment. Read more>>
Zuzy Martin 
I didn’t start out thinking I would become a filmmaker at all, but storytelling was always a part of my life. I grew up in New Jersey, just a few miles from New York City, in a place where so many of the people around me were first-generation Americans. I was surrounded by different languages, accents, foods, traditions, and stories. Read more>>
Viviana Camarillo 
I have been interested in photography and videography since I was in high school. I was involved with yearbook and Newspaper. I actually tried to start a photography business right out of high school but my first and only camera broke. I wasn’t able to replace it, so I didn’t pick up a camera again until I graduated from college. Read more>>
Toun Fadugba 
My story is deeply rooted in faith, purpose, and a desire to see women become all that God created them to be. I am an ordained pastor and Bible teacher, a wife and mother of three sons, and an engineer and IT leader with more than 30 years of professional experience. Read more>>
Lela Smith
My story didn’t start with a college degree, a perfect career plan, or even a clear picture of where I wanted to end up. In 2009, right out of high school, I went straight into the medical field. I didn’t go to college—I went to work. Read more>>
Chantel Randle 
I am originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, born and raised. I started Poetry in theater when I was 13, but always took breaks from it. Actually, when I left Minnesota in 2024 I had no real desire of doing Poetry outside and just being for fun. Read more>>
Savannah Andrianatos 
I worked for a company for 13 years and worked my way up to managing multiple locations. Unfortunately, the company struggled to keep its doors open due to inflation. We all lost our jobs abruptly. I was SO lost and scared. This job was literally all I knew. Read more>>
Tiara Johnson 
I remember being a child with big dreams of becoming a Registered Nurse. Growing up on the Northside of Houston, Texas, in the Greenspoint area, I came from humble beginnings that shaped who I am today. My mother was one of my greatest influences. Read more>>
Olya Kwiecien 
My name is Olya Kwiecien. I’m a female truck driver and the owner of a small trucking company. Right now, my fleet consists of just one truck, but I hope to grow the business and expand my fleet in the future. I was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. Read more>>
Karla Ibanez 
I’ve been doing hair since the early 2000s, and over the years, my love for hair grew into something much bigger. What started as a passion for creating beautiful hairstyles eventually became a desire to create a space where people could feel comfortable, seen, and free to be themselves. Read more>>
Ebony Powell 
Creativity and storytelling have always been a part of my life. I started as a theater kid. My first role was Mary Poppins in the first grade and I remained heavily involved in theater throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Read more>>
Alan Majors
Hailing from Milwaukee, WI and being raised between Rochester, NY and Cleveland, OH, I was exposed to a lot of different perspectives and culture and it helped shape my creative outlook. I pulled inspiration from every region and culture which helped shape me into an eclectic entertainer a wide range of fans and exposure on both a domestic and international fronts. Read more>>
sarah piel
My journey with ARTS Downtown GTX began through my work at The Grand 1894 Opera House, where I spent 14 years as Director of Education and Resource Development. Read more>>
Estephany Galvan 
When life unexpectedly changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself without a job and uncertain about what came next. What felt like one of the most difficult moments of my life ultimately became the beginning of something extraordinary. Read more>>
Bridney McBride 
In just one year, Daley Precision Labs has grown into a trusted Houston resource for compassionate healthcare and community empowerment. I founded the laboratory based off more than 13 years of healthcare experience and personal journey as a mother of a son with sickle cell disease. Read more>>
Rebekah Molander 
My story… well I guess in a way for me, that’s all I do is tell my story. I’m an artist, my story is painted across dozens of canvases, bits and piece of me, scattered in paint across dozens of canvases. Read more>>
Travis Prokop 
Originally from New Mexico, I began my career in Canyon/Amarillo, Texas, where I first worked on stage as a soloist with Lone Star Ballet and as dance captain for TEXAS: The Outdoor Musical. The ballet rigor of that performing foundation, alongside the big, populist musical theater, still shows up in the range of what I make now. Read more>>
Annie Muniz 
My journey into event planning began when I was 18 years old. My mother referred me to another mother who needed help planning, organizing, and creating her daughter’s Sweet 16 celebration. I poured my heart into making the event special, and seeing the joy it brought to the family sparked a passion that would shape my future. Read more>>
Cintel Glow 
I picked up a journal at eight years old, and that became my first safe place. My voice was stripped from me before I ever had the chance to use it in its fullest form. There were things I felt, things I experienced, things I desperately needed to say but I didn’t have the words, the language, or the freedom to articulate them out loud. Read more>>
Phyll Tha Prynce 
I used to be known as just a regular guy that was born and raised in Beaumont, Tx. I’m not going to go into my whole life story, so let’s make a long story short. I moved to Houston after graduation from high school in 2003 and got bored and stagnant, so I decided to move to Atlanta where I wanted to become a “personality”. Read more>>
Vivian Ip 
Tuesday Coaching supports high capacity, late diagnosed ADHD autistic professionals navigating burnout, while building confidence, communication skills, and career alignment. I’ve spent more than 20 years helping clients succeed: first as a talent agent and agency owner in commercial photography, then as a startup consultant across multiple industries, before moving into academia, tech, and now coaching for ADHD and autistic professionals. Read more>>
Julian Franceschi
I’ve been rapping since elementary school. I used to write rhymes in my journal, then go to school and rap them for my homeboys. They’d tell me, “Yeah, that’s hard,” and that encouragement made me want to keep going. By middle school, I started recording my music. At the time, I went by Hunter X2, and I was dropping music pretty consistently. Read more>>
Mandy Loeffler
My path to Saunawelt wasn’t a straight line. I studied engineering at Texas A&M Galveston and worked as an engineer before stepping away from my career to raise my two sons. Years later, as they were getting older, I began thinking seriously about what I wanted my next chapter to look like. The idea for Saunawelt grew out of travel. Read more>>
