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.
Daniela Rincon
Right after high school, I found out I was pregnant with my son. At the time, I always knew I wanted to do something in science—I just wasn’t sure if that meant becoming a chemical engineer or majoring in microbiology. I was determined to make it work, so I worked full-time while attending the University of Houston-Downtown. Read more>>
Craig Carter
I launched my art career through diligent practice in drawing and refining my painting skills, complemented by participation in numerous art exhibitions. Read more>>
Ron Throop
I began an expressionist career as an autobiographical writer, revering the American masters Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and Henry Miller. The latter would paint whenever the writing blocked his freedom. I too found this to be very helpful. When I write, I am tight. When I paint, I am light. Painting is never frustrating. However, writing is a lot like bricklaying. Read more>>
Lourdes Masson
My name is Lourdes, and I’m the founder of Tenacious Lourdes Consulting Group, a boutique consulting firm based in Katy, Texas. I’m also a bilingual paralegal and mobile notary, and I’ve spent years helping attorneys, business owners, and individuals navigate legal, operational, and business matters. Read more>>
Shawna Temple
I was born and raised in Texas, the daughter of a Baptist pastor and counselor. Faith and service were the language of my house before I could name them as that. I went to Baylor for undergrad and started out studying religion. During that time I met a group of Turkish friends. I set out to introduce them to Christianity. Read more>>
Adriana Soto
My journey into jewelry making began more than 20 years ago with a simple gift. One summer, my daughter came home after visiting her grandparents in El Paso carrying a jewelry-making kit my mom had sent with her. My mom has always loved collecting craft supplies, so she thought it would be something fun for us to do together. Read more>>
José Luis Velasco
I’m a first-generation Mexican American, born and raised in Riverside, California. Growing up, I was always drawn to creativity and inspired by the worlds of music, cuisine, culture, architecture, and travel. Those experiences shaped the way I see design and continue to influence everything I create today. Read more>>
Michael-Ashley, Ebuka Oguejiofor
My journey started as a model when I’ll always disrupt the job of creative director on any set that I came to. I come to a photographer ready with a moodboard and full editorial production deck for production. Read more>>
Suzette Mouchaty
.The nuts and bolts answer to how I became a professional artist is that I followed a path through local non-profit and public institutions. I started by taking night and weekend classes at Art League and then the Glassell Studio School at the MFAH. Five years later I had a portfolio that got me into the graduate program at the UH School of Art. Read more>>
Jared Polak
Several months into our family’s two years of world travel, I found myself at the bottom of an ancient tomb in Luxor, Egypt. If you’ve never climbed down into one, it’s a dark, difficult descent — and at the bottom it’s pitch black, it smells a little, there’s no cell signal, and you feel completely cut off from the world. Read more>>
Naomi Edwards
I’ve always believed that our experiences shape who we become. Growing up, I experienced adversity and personal trauma that wasn’t always visible to those around me. From the outside, my life looked like it had all the right pieces, but there were challenges I carried quietly. Read more>>
Mia Friday
I grew up watching professional wrestling all my life with my dad. My favorite wrestler growing up was always John Cena! When I was 10 years old, my dad took me to Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas, TX. The moment that I watched Sasha Banks walk down that stage ramp is the moment I decided I wanted to wrestle for the rest of my life. Read more>>
Elomé Akpagnonite
I was born in Lomé, Togo, West Africa, and some of my happiest memories are rooted there. When I think about home, I think about the warmth of family, spending time with my cousins, the energy of the markets, the laughter that naturally filled our gatherings, and the incredible food that always brought everyone together. To this day, authentic Togolese cuisine is still my favorite. Read more>>
Jonique Whaley
I’m originally from Bakersfield, California, and about three years ago I made one of the biggest decisions of my life — I packed up everything, shipped my car, bought a one-way ticket, and moved to Houston without having my life completely figured out. I just knew I wanted more for myself and felt like there was something bigger waiting for me. Read more>>
Nadasha Egans
I began my career as a hairstylist nearly a decade ago. As a junior in high school, while everyone around me was planning for college, I realized my path would look different. I had already fallen in love with hairstyling, spending afternoons doing my classmates’ hair and perfecting my own. Read more>>
Haneen Larach
I’ve always believed my love for fashion was inherited. Some of my earliest memories are of watching my mum effortlessly style her favorite Gucci sunglasses with the coolest 90s outfits. There was something so timeless about the way she dressed. It wasn’t just fashion, it was confidence, creativity, and self-expression. Looking back, that’s where it all began for me. Read more>>
Marissa Little
Growing up I never had a career choice that lasted long. There was a year of wanting to be an author, a year of wanting to be a history teacher, even a year of wanting to become a biomedical engineer. It honestly took me a long time to realize being a hairstylist was something I might enjoy. Read more>>
Merri Pruitt
We are Merri Pruitt and Jimmy Littleton, a wife and husband, and the owners of the decorative painting company, Pruitt-Littleton Decorative Artists. Our business is located in the Heights neighborhood, a quaint older neighborhood in Houston. I met Jimmy Littleton in 1985 in New Orleans. He was a neighbor, formerly a graphic artist, and had started his own painting business. Read more>>
ANDRE AMARAL
I grew up in Brasil and moved to Houston with my family in 1998. Went to UH-Clear Lake and it was there that I decided to try painting with printer inks I salvaged from empty cartridges. I was also part of an artist collective called the Montrose Art Society, organizing monthly art shows. Read more>>
Aniya Booker
My name is Aniya Booker. I am a certified birth and postpartum doula. From a young age, I felt drawn to supporting families during birth as a midwife, only I did not know the path to take to do so. Because of this, I was gently mentored by a midwife who encouraged me to pursue doula certification along the way. Read more>>
Virginia Alvarado
I have lived in Houston my entire life. I have been married for 17 years, and my husband and I have three children. They are truly the reason I got into real estate. In 2016, my husband and I purchased our first home. We really did not know much about the home buying process. Read more>>
Betsy Austin
I began Tres Bien Antiques in 2013 inspired by my up bringing with French immigrant grandparents and a home filled with beautiful European Antiques.Some of my earliest memories are tied to pieces that carried history , craftsmanship, and stories from another time and place. What began as a love for traveling to Paris and the South of France slowly grew into something deeper. Read more>>
Patrick McGrath Muñiz
I was born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico, and that split has shaped everything since. I grew up between languages, between the island and the mainland, between the Catholic imagery of my childhood and the American consumer culture coming through the TV. Read more>>
Tansholpan Barney
Mig & Tan LLC was created from a passion for helping people express themselves through creativity and movement. We started by offering small art and fitness classes with the goal of creating a welcoming space where people of all ages and skill levels could learn, grow, and have fun. Read more>>
Gil Rosas
Once upon a time in 2014, I unenrolled from college after my first semester because I felt lost in life. I had scholarship money I did not want to waste and was technically a junior-level student at the bright age of 18. I had no ideas but all the pressure. Read more>>
Brandon Forward
You know how some people say, ‘I’ve been doing this all my life’? Well, in my case, I’ve literally been practicing since before I could walk. When I was about six months old, my dad was attending Texas Southern University and teaching art part-time at the YMCA. Whenever he couldn’t find a babysitter, he’d bring me along. Read more>>
Angelique Gifford
Stylish Floral Design Co. officially started in 2023. This is a rebrand from the floral and decor design business I started in 2016. This company represents new beginnings and elevation. In life, we start many things, but you have to know when it is time to make a shift. Read more>>
Reginald Antonio Forest
I’m Reginald Antonio Forest, a poet, author, and creative living in McKinney, Texas. My poetry books were each born out of hidden pain and secrets I carried for years, but it didn’t end there. Writing became my outlet, my healing space, and the place where I began turning silence into truth and pain into purpose. Read more>>
Zehra Talib
My journey has never been a straight line—it’s been a beautiful intersection of purpose, strategy, creativity, and faith. For over a decade, I worked in behavioral science and international development, leading programs on youth empowerment, human rights, and global health. Along the way, I supported global convenings and coordinated experiences with presidents, world leaders, and changemakers. Read more>>
Dee Brinson
I never imagined that my career would begin in a preschool classroom. Before I was a hairstylist and barber, I was a preschool teacher at a privately owned school. Every morning, I found myself doing the little girls’ hair before class, simply because I loved making them feel confident and cared for. Read more>>
Kiki-Khani Lauderdale
I am a Survivor. As a Published Author/ writer/ illustrator/ Singer and Song Writer. I told my story in a unique way in a dramatic stage-play. I had to relive my horrific experience in my book (You can’t hear hummingbirds Vol 1). Read more>>
Brenna Lermon
Long before I ever stood before a judge, I was a little girl growing up in the small Texas Panhandle town of Borger with an unlikely hero: Ben Matlock. While most people watched the show *Matlock* for the mystery, I watched for something deeper. I saw someone who used knowledge, conviction, and courage to stand up for people who could not stand up for themselves. Read more>>
Alondra Garza
I am the face behind Alondra Garza CEM Realty LLC. I am a first-generation Latina, raised by a single mother who came to the United States at just 20 years old, leaving behind her parents, siblings, and everything she had ever known in search of a better future. Growing up, I learned responsibility at an early age. Read more>>
Linda Thorsen Bond
Voyage By Linda Thorsen Bond The Rev. Chris Roque is what you call a foamer. And he’s not alone. When Roque (Ro-key) hears a train coming down the tracks, he rushes out of the Railway Museum to see it. Then he stands by the tracks and reverently watches the train blast through San Angelo. Read more>>
Amy Mendoza
My adventure into Made with Love HTX all started in 2020 with the birth of my youngest child during one of the largest pandemics. With the complications of getting COVID during my pregnancy I opted to work from home which ended up being a real challenge since I was used to always working in the office. Read more>>
Matthew Oberpriller
I always wanted to do something in Art, to draw all day would be the dream. After years of different jobs, late night shifts, temp agencies, odd jobs I was tired of it. Don’t mind work but why if ya don’t have to. I went back to school and years later I was an Art Director at a print shop. Read more>>
Lindsey Lee
I’ve been in industry for over 26 years now and have always taken the position of wanting to be the most advanced clinician I could be. I am a firm believer that continual lifelong learning is what is going to improve the dental profession and our delivery of care. Over the years I noticed it became more challenging to acquire high-quality education. Read more>>
TOYREALE White
My name is Toyreale white , I am from Houston Texas . I started dancing when I was 2 years old . I joined many teams , shows , classes and more . Overall working and staying consistent for me where I am today . Keeping word , and choosing my gigs wisely. Not every gig tha comes to you is a good one . Read more>>
Alex Makeeva
People often think I started a bakery because I love baking. The truth is, I started it because I love making people happy, and over the years I’ve realized that a great dessert is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to do that. Read more>>
