The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below.
aireuss
I’m simply just a kid from North Memphis. My entire life I’ve always loved music and basketball just like a lot of other kids. The more I grew and developed, I started reading more, and listening to music all the time. Read more>>
Brent Moorer Gaskins
Yes. I was laid off in 2015 and made a decision to follow my heart, My head had already used ‘The 1st 48’ years, now it was my Heart’s turn. I applied to a casting call on Facebook and ended up getting booked by Tammy Smith Casting for ‘Sputnik 1’ which you may now as ‘Captain America 3: The Civil War’. Read more>>
Christi Silbaugh
Our story began with a simple but urgent question: what if the things Grenada throws away could become the foundation for something beautiful, useful, and life-changing? Upcycle Grenada started as a vision shared by myself and my partner, Charles Murray Booysen, to create a self-sustainable community built from recycled and repurposed materials. Read more>>
Casey Cooper
I started where a lot of people start — with more vision than capital, and the refusal to wait for permission. I’m a first-generation millionaire, a licensed general contractor, and a Black woman who decided early that I wasn’t going to build one lane and stay in it. So I didn’t. Read more>>
Craig Brown
Back in 2009, a few of us found ourselves talking about something we all loved—singing. We enjoyed performing, but we also wanted something more than just another music group. We wanted a place where friendships mattered, where people could grow as singers, and where having fun was just as important as hitting the right notes. So we started RSVP Chorus. Read more>>
Adrienne Albertine Cohen
Sports and staying active has always been a fixture and happy place throughout my life. I found Pilates in my early 20’s at a studio in Memphis, Core Collective Broad, where I went through training and quickly fell in love with the method. Read more>>
Bxrbie Wxrld
My name is Kyla Plummer, but in the social media world, I go by Bxrbie Wxrld. What started as a journey toward self-love and genuine connection has grown into a platform that impacts people both online and offline around the world. As a young girl, I struggled with very low self-esteem. Read more>>
Akeida Effinger
I started my journey as an esthetician in 2017, 6 months after i gave birth to my son. Initially i went to school for makeup, until i realized that was only a percentage of my scope. That was the toughest season for me. I struggled like crazy. Balancing school, being a full time mom, trying to maintain bills and all. It was hard!! Read more>>
Tamera D. Watkins Earle
Some people discover their purpose in a single moment. Others find it through a journey of growth, healing, and service. For Me, the creation of Relax4You Massage was born from a passion for helping others reconnect with themselves, find balance, and experience the healing power of touch. Growing up, I always possessed a nurturing spirit. Read more>>
Cat and Nick Peña
Wonder Cowork Create started in 2018 with a simple idea: creative people in Memphis deserved a workspace built with them in mind. Founded by artists Nick Peña and Cat Peña alongside a third founding partner, Wonder CC began inside an empty warehouse space in Memphis’ Edge District with more vision than polish. Read more>>
Carolyn Michael-Banks
A Tour of Possibilities (ATOP) is an African American historical and cultural sightseeing tour of Memphis, TN. I was the General Manager of a large national sightseeing company in 1989 and made a choice to include African American history in the scripts of tours in Washington, D.C., Savannah, GA, and Philadelphia, PA. Read more>>
Kelsey Dye
I grew up in northeast Arkansas and have always been creative, but for most of my adult life creativity took a back seat to work, family, and building a career. I currently work full-time in retail management, and for years photography and storytelling were simply things I enjoyed rather than something I considered pursuing professionally. Read more>>
Immanuel Morris
There is a beautiful intersection between Mental Health and faith and sometimes we need a tour guide to help walk that intersection. Immanuel Morris is a dynamic leader, thought leader, industry pace setter, and advocate for mental wellness, faith integration, and community empowerment. Read more>>
Brian Deeker
My career in web development goes back about 15 years, and like a lot of people who came up in this field, I spent most of that time building things for other people. I worked across fintech, enterprise services, and eventually landed senior .NET developer roles where I was shipping production code on platforms serving millions of users. Read more>>
