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.
Dr. Erika Velez
My parents taught me the value of hard work and helped me cultivate the grit needed to pursue a doctorate degree. My unwavering desire to help others coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit, lead me to open my own private practice soon after graduation; I’ve been helping clients in my community ever since! Read more>>
Ruth (Rutamfi) Burotte
Anybody can draw or create a character, but what makes all the difference is the meaning behind. The main goal that I try to achieve when I illustrate is to convey a narrative. I like to develop stories, so even when I develop an illustration, I always put in subtle and tiny hints that flesh out my work, whether it would be either facial expression, texts or clothing. Read more>>
Clare Abrianna
Being so young and trying to figure myself out, I lacked confidence in camera and it discouraged me to pursue my dreams of being on YouTube. Years passed, and I started doing more research on blogging and started my first blog Sassy Poise. The feedback from my blogs was amazing which motivated me to keep writing and connecting with my readers through relatable stories. Read more>>
Elena Belden
After years of contemplation, soul-searching and hearing the all-too-often news reports of “another child died today in a house fire“… I decided the world deserved to know my son and to have the information that he didn’t have. And so, in 2018, Austin’s Fire Chiefs was born. Our mission is to teach what to do before “stop, drop and roll” through education and providing equipment for those in need. Read more>>
Jazmin Torrez
I always wanted to have my own business, when I was a little girl, I didn’t have money so I used to make lollipop and some empanadas so I can sell to my neighbors, I was always trying to sell something so I can have some money. Now, I am excited to have my own business and working to grow up. Read more>>
Derek Cash
Balancing a life; friends asking Derek to do their hair for free; clients trying to get squeezed in. In the early days, experts in the profession were not supportive in sharing their knowledge while giving Derek the advice to “fake it until you make it.” Derek’s philosophy and work ethic is to inspire his team daily as well as continuing to educate up and coming young stylists. Read more>>
Brian Demby
He discovered his passion for photography while searching for a creative outlet away from his turbulent career in music production. His approach to the art of photography is heavily influenced by past experiences. He spent the bulk of the 90s skateboarding and has been a music producer and mix engineer since 2004. Read more>>
Shani Edery and Natalie Avni
We are best friends. Over the years, we have gone to many events together and separately. For every event, we found ourselves dress shopping since we didn’t want to repeat the dresses that we wore. We would end up spending hundreds on dresses and a closet full of worn dresses that we were unwilling to repeat. Read more>>
James Duerkes
I began reflecting on experiences that have changed my life. I quickly placed more emphasis on certain principles and values over my pursuit in academia. I ended up temporarily leaving the University of Florida, studying Vietnamese, and moving 3,000 miles to Tacoma, Washington where I served among an underserved Vietnamese community. Read more>>
Tamika “Meeks” Mompremier
As someone who’s worked in tv production and news, I thought it would be a great new platform for me to get into another avenue in the industry. I have always wanted to try my hand at radio production but didn’t know where to begin. So, after about a year and some change of brainstorming, preparing and testing our podcast Drunk Words, Sober Thoughts (DWST) was launched January 31st, 2017. Read more>>
