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 rising stars from the Woodlands and surrounding areas below.
Seun Arise
The woman I am today stands tall – resilient, strong, radiating confidence and courage. But my journey here wasn’t always paved with sunshine. For many years, I was brought low. Beneath the weight of hopelessness, fear, pain, and loss, I felt myself sinking. Under the burden of insecurity, guilt, failure, shame, and defeat, I struggled to rise. Yet, despite being down, I refused to remain there. I stand here today, a phoenix rising from the ashes of grief. January 30th, 2017. Read More>>
Dominique Williams
I am the President and Founder of the Houston Lady Nets which originated from the Houston Nets, a youth basketball program offered by DreamWhere®, a 501 (C)(3) non-profit organization. The Houston Nets began in 2006 in a park with 8 boys, with the intent to empower them through sports, education, and experiences by creating a positive outlet to pursue their passion. Read More>>
George Paredes
Along this path, I realized that the more people I can help, the smaller my problems become because, somehow, my problems are solved by helping them with theirs. Main focus in my real estate business is foreclosures, distressed properties, and properties that are on market with little to no equity. I also love helping newer investors get their first deals by sharing my knowledge with them and seeing if we could close the deal together. Read More>>
Tara Cook
I have seen the industry’s fluidity and rode the waves that brought me to open my own ultrasound clinic. It’s definitely a dream come true for me and my family (hubby and two boys) during what I believe is perfect timing amid all the high deductibles and high insurance premiums we are all faced with. Read More>>
Heidi Smith
Originally from Louisiana and drawing experience from influences of my time living in New York & California, when I moved to South Texas three years ago, I was confident that I could bring a unique sense of style to the market. Always seeking creative outlets and drawn to architecture and design, it was the gut renovation of our home in Laguna Beach that spurred my desire to be a part of the home design industry. Once I found the perfect location in The Woodlands to share my passion, Flamingo Rodeo Interiors was born. Read More>>
Chris Doyle
I started my clothing brand in 2021. This came about through my video editing journey, where I called myself “The Kid EDTR,” a name that I look back on now as a little stupid, but it helped form the name for my clothing brand, which was started as an extension of “The Kid EDTR”. Read More>>
Kristi Winfree
In 2014, I decided to get my real estate license and become a real estate agent. However, I kind of always felt like being an agent wasn’t necessarily the right path for me, but I was going to try and see if I liked it. When I got into the business, I discovered I really loved Real Estate, but being an agent wasn’t what I really enjoyed doing; it was helping other agents that brought me joy. Read More>>
Dr. Gracie Reyes-McDonald
I am originally from a small town in East Texas, the daughter of Mexican immigrants. My mother tongue is Spanish, and I learned English in school. I had wonderful teachers who identified me as being a gifted learner and pushed me to do well academically. When I was in the 5th grade or so, I decided that I wanted to be a psychologist because I would see the adults around me making obviously bad (to me) decisions, and I did not understand why that was. Read More>>
Alex Lumpee and Shea Richter
Gold+Grace began in 2022 when we, Shea and Alex, embarked on this journey with no idea if it would work. Initially, just the two of us, our team has since expanded to include 7 additional members. Since we started, we’ve hosted nearly 300 pop-up events and over 60 private parties. Expanding into Houston marked a significant milestone for us as did the launch of our online jewelry line. Read More>>
Massiel Diez and Jamie Elrod
Fast forward to today, Flipping the Barrel (FTB) is a thriving community and platform dedicated to just that. We offer a variety of resources to help individuals navigate their oil and energy careers. Check out our website on Flippingthebarrel.com to learn more about what we do. Read More>>
Elizabeth Goldsmith
In 2018, I was struggling to find the right educational fit for my child with autism and began to ask myself, if I could take him anywhere in the world where he could be empowered to truly reach his full potential, where would that be? What would that look like? That led me to Els for Autism in Florida. Read More>>
Megan Fields
The story behind Axel Creations ARC is not the typical story. It started as a simple yet complicated one focused on just doing something for the best of my son and family. It grew into what it is now after I found a love of helping individuals create unique, personalized, and bespoke items for their loved ones and home decor – at times, spending hours going over the smallest details to make a design exactly what a client envisioned, but couldn’t quite explain. Read More>>
Christi Brown
Judah Brown Project is a non-profit (501c3) organization that was created in 2016, after the drowning death of my son, 3-year-old Judah Levi Brown. When he drowned, I was not aware that drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages 1-4 years old. I didn’t know it would only take 30 seconds for a young child to drown and I didn’t know that drowning is completely silent. I was not taught this by pediatricians, educators, or anyone else I came across that might help me learn about the safety of my children. Read More>>
Taylor Morgan
I got started as an actress when I was a teenager in my middle school program at Centerville High School. From there I was bullied out of the program, but I never really lost my passion for acting. I started to dive deep into learning the craft and the techniques of becoming a good actress. Read More>>
Simon Gonzales
When I was 8 years old, I was put into the CPS. My great-aunt took me and my brothers in. We lived with her for 4 years. She had such a passion for cooking. My best childhood memories were smelling and eating her delicious food. I would see the love and time she put into cooking. So, she pretty much set the tone on my expectations of food. Always had to have flavor. I think this is where I got my passion for food. Read More>>
Marquitta Johnson
In 2014, in Houston, Texas, I launched my first venture—an online women’s clothing brand called House of Divahs Boutique—right out of the trunk of my car in Houston. This bold step marked the beginning of a journey that would see the brand flourish into a six-figure business. By early 2019, I had expanded into my first brick-and-mortar location, having self-taught the intricacies of social media marketing, sales, email marketing, branding, and merchandising. Read More>>
Toni Cramond
My interest in real estate started in 2003. I was laid off from my job in corporate America and was trying to decide what to do next. I was also a single mom of two young children and decided to pursue a career in education due to the schedule and stability. During my career in education, I taught 1st-3rd grades, became an intervention specialist, and earned my principal’s certification. Read More>>
Krystal Guidry
My story is like many people or women. Been hurt, depressed, suicidal, abuse, miscarriage, low self-esteem but I have over came and if I can do it, I know you can. I always had the vision of being a mentor and building a movement for women, but it came to reality when I lost my mother in 2019 and how my sisterhood of friends where there for me to uplift me, encourage me, support me, and prayed for me when I couldn’t pray for myself. So, after my miscarriage, I birth Sisterhood of Praying Women for Queens. Read More>>
Kinley Weber
During my first semester of high school, I took a photojournalism class as one of my electives. I was told by my teacher that I needed a DSLR camera. At the time, I had no idea what that was or how to use one. But my parents generously bought me an affordable Canon DSLR camera so I could meet the class requirements and learn a few things. Read More>>
Katerina Vengoechea
Back in high school, I took a psychology course, and I instantly loved it. At the same time, my own family dynamics were undergoing some massive transitions, and I started seeing a therapist for the first time. I remember being so against it at first. You know, the whole “rebellious teen” thing. However, as soon as I walked out of my first session, I remember feeling so heard and seen. Read More>>
Aracely Lopez
I started as a young wife and mommy of two baby girls at the age of 21; when I started my lash career, my girls were 1 and 2 years of age. I wanted to create lash sets as a way of getting back to my old self; I felt as I was achieving my goal as a mother, but seeing my husband thrive in his business, I felt as I had slowly lost who I was, we choose to get married before I even graduated high school and start a family right after. I didn’t get to experience anything more; I didn’t have any friends or anyone to talk to, so I felt as if this would be a way to help me communicate and gain skills for my growth. Read More>>
