The heart of our mission at VoyageMIA 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 South Florida’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 inspiring stories from South Broward below.
Ron B. Wilson
After spending the past 15 years founding and working with some of the best and busiest wedding photography studios in the U.S. and photographing over 500 weddings around the globe, Ron B. Wilson has reconnected with his true passions: travel, men’s street style, and fine-art photography. So starting “Art, Style, Flow”, (http://www.artstyleflow.com) a travel inspiration blog and online magazine featuring his photography, was a natural process and has been a work in progress for the past 20 years. Read more>>
Ian and Sonovia Harmon
With backgrounds in photography and event planning, husband and wife team, venture into creating their own lane in the photo booth industry. Lights, Camera, Shoot Booth is a pop-up photo booth providing guests with a live photo shoot experience! Complete with a professional photographer, studio back-drop and lighting set-up, unlimited digital photos and social media sharing; the Booth’s photographer captures the moments in photo shoot style, ensuring each guest is treated like a star, and ready for their close-up. It’s been an interesting road. Read more>>
Mary Luz Rodriguez Alvarez
Living Sculpture Sanctuary (“Sanctuary”) is a hidden gem, a retreat from the hustle of South Florida. Built by hand as the fruition of its owners’ dreams, gentle water falls, bonsai and koi ponds emerge from its lush setting in centuries old live oak trees. The Sanctuary is family owned and managed by the husband and wife team of Mary Luz Rodriguez Alvarez and Robert J. McKee. Read more>>
Kalai Ramu
I started getting into photography as a serious hobby when I turned 40, my husband got me a DSLR! I was living in Hong Kong at that time and wanted to take good pictures of my kids at their sporting events. After having done a short course that introduced me to various aspects of photography, I started to realize that it was a real passion as I was thinking about it all the time. Read more>>
Kelsey De Santis
I was born and raised in Southern California. Joined the United States Marine Corps when I was 18. Worked as both a K-9 Dog Handler for Presidents Bush/Obama, and as a Martial Arts Instructor Trainer. Many people know me as that Marine who took Justin Timberlake to the Marine Corps Ball in 2011, and also that I have a passion for MMA. After my active military service, my other half Jake Milkovich (also a Marine veteran) and I moved to South Florida to finish school and train with American Top Team. Read more>>
Terry Kaufman
Burt Kaufman, my father, and two other co-founders of IMACS, Edward Martin and Iain Ferguson, taught from 1983-1993 in a Broward County Public Schools gifted math program for grades 6-12 known as Project MEGSSS. When a statewide budget crisis forced the elimination of that program, MEGSSS parents urged these teachers to find a way to keep teaching the curriculum. I joined with my father and his colleagues to open the first IMACS in July 1993 with just 37 students in Plantation. Read more>>
Dominic Orlich
Grandparents, Parents, Uncles all owned restaurants before and after I was born. Food and service are in my DNA. I grew up 10 miles outside of Chicago in a city called East Chicago Indiana. I quit school at age 16 and graduated with a GED. I started working in my parent’s kitchen at 14 yrs. old and became chef at 18 yrs. old. “The Greenhouse” was a 100 seat continental restaurant. At age 22 I went to The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. and graduated in 1984. Read more>>
Eric Naierman
I was born in Staten Island, a New York City borough. I attended Brooklyn College with a Biology major, knowing that I wanted to be involved in Healthcare. During my first summer semester, I got a job as an Orthodontics assistant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I quickly fell in love with dentistry, specifically how it brought art and science together. I went on to receive my DDS degree from Columbia University in New York. Read more>>
Larry and Shelley Isakowitz
Smart Move was founded on the ideals of flexibility and five-star customer service. These core principles have helped us become one of the most respected rental housing companies in South Florida. We have grown a solid client base and list of properties in Fort Lauderdale since our founding in 1992. Over 100,000 guests and clients have seen first-hand why we’re the premier agency in South Florida for property management, crew housing, short-term rentals, and real estate. Read more>>
Matt Denson
The hospitality industry is something I just stumbled into while looking for a job to help with college. I found out that the rewards of the industry and the guest service skills I have were a great fit. One of the biggest joys for me is when guests choose my hotel and I help them come up with a great vacation and memories they cherish for years. Over 25 years, I have served at a few hotels, mainly the “big box” chain hotels. Read more>>
Elaine Minionis and Rodolfo Vanmarcke
Everything started back in our country of origin, Venezuela, where we both were professional photographers from different realms: Elaine was into documentary photography and filmmaking and Rodolfo was into artistic and commercial. Once we migrated to the US, The Lunch Box was born as two individual businesses that shared the same perspective. Back in 2010 we opened a contemporary photography gallery in Wynwood (The Lunch Box Gallery), and simultaneously we launched our commercial studio (The Lunch Box Studio). Read more>>
Joel Palau
As a child there was always something about witnessing beautiful movement, something captivating that has always drawn me in, something that made me want to experience it for myself. It’s incredible to see what a person is capable of when their body and their mind are working as one. I wondered why it is that not everyone can move like a dancer or an acrobat. Through daily movement, martial arts and play I began to develop a strong sense of connection between my mind and my body. Read more>>
April South
My love affair with makeup started at the tender age of 9 when I remember poking around my mom’s makeup bag and painting my face. I have always been drawn to applying makeup. I believe that everyone has certain gifts or talents and makeup artistry was something that always came naturally to me. Makeup artistry has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. Read more>>
Greg Nardi and Juan Carlos Galan
Greg began studying yoga and eastern healing arts in 1996 in his hometown of Parsippany N.J. He found Ashtanga Yoga in 1998 and it was recommended early on by his local teacher that he travel to Mysore, South India to find the guru and founder of the tradition, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. At 25 years old and having never left the country before, Greg boarded a plane for Mysore India with little more than a scrap of paper with Pattabhi Jois’s home address on it. Read more>>
Cary Wingard
I started at the age of 17 while assisting a professional Makeup Artist on a production gig where we were supposed to touch up some musicians as they were recording a music video, my friend at the time took me to her jobsite as an assistant and I was hooked, I knew then that I wanted to do this as a career! Two years later I was working 16-20 hrs. long production gigs and putting over 70 hrs. a week just doing makeup on Musicians, actors in Soapoperas, Models, Designers and random commercial work, at the age of 23 I transitioned into a retail career as a Beauty Specialist at Macy’s, I worked behind a Benefit counter for two years until I decided to begin my career as Freelance Makeup Artist for Cosmetic Companies such as Clarins, Nars, Smashbox, Laura Mercier, M.A.C., Lancôme, Bobbi Brown, Makeup Forever. Read more>>
Angela Armenakis
I created Bare Laser Center because I believe in beautifying women and men with painless and all-natural treatments. We specialize in Painless laser hair removal and painless Platelet Rich Plasma treatments for thinning hair, anti-aging face neck and hand treatments. We also are popular for our microneedling treatments to improve fine lines, discolorations, large pores, acne scars, fine lines, stretch marks, surgical scars. We recently added the eyelash lift, peels, eyebrow design. Read more>>
Autumn Markley
Autumn has been a licensed cosmetologist for over 10 years now. She perfects her skills through constant training courses at Vidal Sassoon academy. She also worked for one of the number one color companies Matrix, as an educator of the state of Florida, for over 4 years. Autumn is a Master colorist and stylist her true passion is specializing in hair extensions. She has over 12 years training with many of the major companies including; Great Lengths, Aqua and Hair Compound to name a few. Read more>>
Tracey Ryder
I worked in a sewing machine store for 6 years teaching and selling high end computerized sewing/embroidery machines. After selling some designer pillows I had made to a realtor, who went on and recommended me to her client that had just purchased a huge apartment on the ocean front in East Sunrise. After completing the first two windows in the main area, I went on and finished the entire apartment! That started it all! I was born in London in the United Kingdom, lived all over England came here in 1995. Started my custom workroom in 2004. Read more>>
Taylor Reilly
I grew up in New York in an Irish-Italian family where food and family was THE culture. My earliest memories growing up were in the kitchen on Long Island where my Great Grandmother Rose first generation from Italy used to roll out fresh pasta with a broomstick. Family dinner was everything- with as many as 20 of us stretching the table from the dining room to the living room as each course was served over several hours of laughter, arguments, and of course, eating. Read more>>
Jasmine Nolen
I was on maternity leave with my 3rd girl and began to watch HGTV- I fell in love with the show Fixer Upper. and became inspired by the farmhouse decor. Little by little began to change small home decor items and do as much as I could DIY (do it yourself) style since I was on a tight budget while not working. My husband’s 40th birthday was approaching and I wanted to buy him something he would enjoy but wasn’t able to buy something crazy like a boat or a motorcycle. Read more>>
Bianca Fernandez
I always loved business ventures and I am passionate for people, kids and the arts. I hold a degree in Psychology with a specialization in child psychology and have had extensive experience in Human Resources and Management. A proud mom of two young kids Noah and Sienna, I became involved with Muzart when Noah started the Budding Artists Program for babies and toddlers at age 2. Read more>>
Natalia Pappadia
I was born in Fort Myers, Florida. I moved to Venezuela at age 5 where I grew up. I graduated high school there and after that, I moved back to Florida to work on my Bachelor’s degree. In 2012, I graduated with a Bachelors in Public Communication with a minor in Sociology. I worked in a marketing firm while I was in college as well as working in a restaurant for extra cash. Being a small firm, I was able to learn a lot about bout all the different aspects of the business. I was always more interested in marketing and corporate events. Read more>>
Beatrice Zuluaga
I’ve been in the beauty/health industry for over 23 years (mainly cosmetic surgery/beauty/image consulting). The need for a Blow Dry Bar in South Broward was there. I for one was a customer in search of a great place for my Blow dry near me but never found one. I opened up a small but quickly successful Blow Dry Bar in 2013 but very rapidly ran out of space and when I saw an opportunity to take a space that opened in same plaza, I jumped on it! Now I had a nice open space that had once been a dreary consignment shop for years and had to redo everything. Read more>>
