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.
VEthel Patterson
My journey deepened in 2006. When my mother, our family caregiver, Mrs. Ethel Patterson, suffered a major stroke that left her without the use of her left side and in need of 24-hour total care. As one of her primary caregivers, I began to learn the true meaning of caregiving. In 2008, I wrote the name Care Angels on a piece of paper and placed it in my Bible. I knew then that it would one day become the name of my non-profit dedicated to honoring, celebrating, and bringing self-care awareness to family caregivers. Read more>>
Milton Memphis Howery
’m Milton Howery III, but most people know me as Milton Memphis. I’m a native Memphian, and for the past 16 years I’ve built my career around storytelling, creativity, and strengthening the community that raised me. I started in entertainment back in 2007, working in radio at Bott Radio Network and later producing the Mike and Mandy Morning Show on WRVR 104.5FM. Read more>>
Constance Sholar Cherry
Sure! My journey really started in the classroom. I spent over six years as a toddler teacher, and I absolutely loved it. Those years gave me a deep understanding of child development and showed me just how much early childhood education can shape a child’s future. In 2007, I decided to take a leap of faith and open Creative Home Academy. Read more>>
Topeka Singleton
Singleton Consultants, LLC is a professional consulting firm founded by Drs. Jacques D. Singleton and Topeka Small Singleton. With over 40 years of combined experience in public education, higher education, social work, and instructional leadership, we specialize in practical, high-impact solutions that help educators and institutions grow, thrive, and lead. Read more>>
Scot and Michelle Cowan
We’re Scot and Michelle Cowan. We’ve lived on these five acres north of Millington for over twenty years, raised our kids here and one day turned the old corrugated garage into an open-air grafting shed. That’s how Spirit Hill Maple Nursery started. Read more>>
Chris and Karin Conlee
Chris and I met in a grocery store in Memphis. We joke that love was ignited at Kroger, where the flower and the bread aisles intersect. Chris’s family owned a food distribution company, so he had worked delivering bread and cakes to grocery stores and restaurants since he was a child. Read more>>
Ashleigh Porter
The Franchise Playa AP, started in high school. I was just a girl in a tv production class, and I had a bunch of equipment to play with. I say play, because when I first started this I was genuinely playing and experimenting with equipment. I was also learning basic journalism and I began to grow into it becoming the camera girl around school. Read more>>
Chef Guy Sockrider
Chef Guy Sockrider’s culinary journey began more than four decades ago, shaped early on by classical training in France under the legendary Roger Vergé at Le Moulin de Mougins. That formative experience instilled in him a deep respect for technique, creativity, and the belief that good food is a foundation to true happiness—a philosophy that has guided every step of his career. Read more>>
Monique Clark
My two sons that are on the spectrum were the driving power behind my platform Authentic Empowerment. The goal and vision behind it what to help parents notice the signs of autism early on and how to implement early interventions Read more>>
TMack
I started producing and recording myself in high school learning as I went. I had a foundation in music from taking violin and saxophone classes in school, participating in the band in middle school. I was able to develop a solid foundation on recording and mixing due to my uncle David Payne allowing me to use his recording studio in Whitehaven. Read more>>
Nykkia Sellers
I started my healthcare journey over 20 years ago. Over the last ten years, I have specialized in diabetes management. I never truly desired to own my own practice. However, I saw there was a great need for specialized diabetes care in the area. In 2022, I opened Diabetes Care & Wellness to increase access to care and to improve healthcare outcomes. Read more>>
Jean Andrus
My husband and I moved downtown in 2009. After being retired a few years we wanted to do something to contribute to the South Main neighborhood. We both love books. We celebrated 12years in October. Read more>>
Adrienne Walton
My story really begins with seeing the gaps in healthcare. During my years as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner, I constantly met patients who were struggling to access care — people who couldn’t get off work, didn’t have transportation, were intimidated by long wait times, or simply felt overlooked in traditional healthcare settings. Read more>>
Cristle Sims
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I began creatively expressing my dreams and visions artistically at the tender age of eight. I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in the Orange Mound community, and raised in Los Angeles County, California. Growing up in a creative environment and in creative schools, I was involved in competitive cheer, dance, choir, and theatre. At age nine, I became a youth member of an A.M.E. Read more>>
Zachary Heath Stamper
My journey into this work is rooted in both lived experience and a deep belief that no one should ever feel abandoned in a moment of need. I come from a background of residential construction and nonprofit collaboration, and for many years I built homes and communities in a more traditional sense. Read more>>
Ralf Golden
My journey into entrepreneurship didn’t start with a business plan, investors, or a big idea—it started in high school with snacks and drinks. While most students were focused on what they could spend money on, I was focused on how to make it. Read more>>
AUSTIN MILAM
My story started at the University of Memphis while working towards my degree in Exercise Science. My health and fitness had become the top priority of my life. While on the U of M cheer team, I dealt with a series of minor injuries that could be overcame with proper training and recovering. Read more>>
