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.
Marla Manes
Long before my passion for photography became part of my identity, I was a little girl who kept stealing her parents’ camera. I took pictures of my siblings, our travels, and most often, the sunsets that would reflect on the lake in our backyard. I grew up valuing photos as memories, understanding very young that moments captured in time are something very precious to me. Read more>>
Peachi Williams
I’ve always been a writer and creative – it’s just something I do. I was the semi-quiet kid growing up because I was so much younger than my peers. I kept a book close by and excelled in school, especially in English, so it’s not surprising that I’m using those same skills today. I come from a family of educators and professionals, so I learned from an early age what that looked like. Read more>>
Anneliese Heron
I never considered myself to be the “pretty “girl. While everyone else was flourishing, I felt I was languishing. I was the nerd, the brace face, four eyes and the one who had a tad more meat on her than the other girls, which meant I was the fat friend. It took me years to become confident, slowly chipping away the things society deemed ugly. I went from brace face to a nice smile, four eyes to pretty eyes and due to extracurricular activities. Read more>>
Chakirah White
I am a makeup artist and mother of three. When I started doing makeup about six years ago, I could not afford the high-end products that I desired, so I started making a few of my own skin and beauty products. When I started to use these products on clients and friends, the response I received was so positive. I knew that this is something that would make me happy. I wanted to be able to provide natural and affordable skincare and beauty products. Read more>>
Natalia Reeves
My name is Natty, and I call South Florida home. I have been an athlete most of my life, I ran track, cheered, danced, and I even dabbled in flag football. During my sophomore year, in high school, weight training was incorporated in our workouts to prepare us for track season. Unknowingly, Coach Bell and his militant training routine would forever change my outlook on strength training. In due time, I noticed that I really enjoyed challenging my body and pushing it to the limit with various strength training exercises. Read more>>
Malika Harvey
I am a 20-year-old entrepreneur. Hair is something that I’ve always had a passion forever since I was a little girl. Growing up, I knew that I wanted to become my own boss and do what I loved. I started MalliBeauHair the winter after I graduated from high school in 2018. I had a terrible experience with hair that I purchased from a hair company. Not only was the hair extremely expensive, but the hair was not good. Read more>>
Jennifer Sullivan
I’ve always been passionate about writing, though I guess I didn’t always realize to what extent. In my earlier days, it would manifest in the form of funny mom blogs or Facebook rants so long that they’d make you want to die, but eventually, I decided to harness that energy and turn it into a product. Read more>>
LaQuanda Kaisley
For years I have wanted to have a T-Shirt line. Not necessarily customs shirts but a line of T-Shirts that offered inspirational quotes. I talked about it with my husband for years and that was the problem because I was only talking for so long. I finally decided to go for it and printed a quote on a T-Shirt to sell. The first quote I printed was, “I was created by the creator to be creative,” and while I had great support from family and friends, it didn’t sell. Read more>>
Lena Newson
I’m Lena and I’ll start by saying that I am an advocate and survivor of sexual assault. I became a Poet, actress and all that I am through my trials and tribulations. I believe that we are the true masters of our life, what you do will come back to you and meditation is EVERYTHING! Lol. I am one of the creators of Pure Khemia (Means Alchemy in Egyptian), a product care line that specializes in self-care, skin and beauty. I am an actress, poet and curator. Read more>>
Tory Vega
Thirteen years old was the very first time I picked up a makeup brush. I was playing in my aunt’s makeup in her bathroom, getting ready for a banquet. It was definitely the start of something amazing. In 2015 I was given a five year prison sentence. I was in a really dark place and knew that I wanted more than what I was giving my kids and myself, and during my incarceration, I wrote the vision. The ENTIRE blueprint of my dreams. God gave me a 2nd chance, without me having to compromise who I am or what I stood for. Read more>>
Suki Kinyana H. Lei
I love to always start from the beginning, I am a Brooklyn born Native and the streets of New York was always my inspiration and outlet for my fashion career. You see, in New York, it is like a certain code and initiation to always dress fresh. In the City, you have so much variety and essence of people from many different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. You seem to meet people from places around the world you never heard of. Everyone is chasing that New York Hustle. While looking amazing doing it. Read more>>
John Sory
In March 2018, I joined Vohra Wound Physicians as President after nearly 25 years of hands-on experience in healthcare management. Part of my role at Vohra Wound physicians is to manage Vohra’s core operations and key strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Vohra, I helped lead the University of Miami Health System (UHealth) as the Chief Executive for UHealth Regional Alliance, where I used to oversee affiliations and expansion, health plan relationships, and new reimbursement models. Read more>>
Omar Colom
I honestly wanted to just give back to the community, and I was trying to figure out how I could do that, and out of that idea, I started realizing the constant need for education and just training in general as a way to give back to the people that helped me move up in my career. Personally, I always learned from the leads when working and I continued to learn constantly from reading and researching what others recommended and that was the part that I wanted. Read more>>
Jordan Parkins
My name is Jordan Parkins, I’m 24 years old and I’m one of the hottest R&B artist residing in Miami, Florida. Originally from the island of Jamaica, my family relocated to Florida at the age of eight years old. I recently signed a record deal with Echelon Records and released my hit single “Welcome To The Party.” I like to refer to myself as “The Ladies Hype man” I make music for the ladies and I will continue to hype the beautiful women God has blessed us with. Read more>>
