It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from in and around Dallas.
Kat Watson
I was born and raised in the Arlington, TX area. Until 2022, I never would have considered myself an artist. But becoming disabled through Covid forced me to try new things that I could do while sitting down. I tried a few embroidery kits and immediately knew I had found my passion. Read more>>
Jessica Deskewies
I was born January 23 1997 in Memphis, TN. I spent 15 years there in local community theatre training under Julie Freeman, Kathy Caradine and Bob Westbrook entertainment, competitive cheerleadering, playing cello and on a competitive hip hop dance team. I was 15 when my father passed. My mom and I decided to relocate to Dallas, TX where I graduated from Coram Deo Academy. Read more>>
Oscar Almaraz
I was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, and for the past seven years, I have called North Texas home. My professional journey has taken several unexpected turns and has ultimately connected two places that are now very important parts of my story. Read more>>
Amy Sabel
My career has been circuitous. I started out working for a talent agent at United Talent Agency named Tracey Jacobs who was absolutely brilliant. She taught me everything I know about being a great agent, managing talent and being a strong negotiator. She promoted me off of her desk giving me the opportunity to work with really big talent. Read more>>
Angeline Gullotto
I’m Angeline, Louisiana-born, Dallas based, globally inspired, and perpetually chasing the thrill of the perfect find. Welcome to my world—where bold meets beautiful, and every piece has a past. I hunt down vintage, antiques, and mid-century icons from Europe and the States, curated with a careful eye and a love for color, texture, and soul. I specialize in clothing, jewelry and unique home accessories. Read more>>
Cherri Shah
My journey started after two pregnancies and three kids. I was on my own health and fitness journey, not only for myself, but also because I wanted to be healthier and stronger for my children. I knew I needed to find a workout that would actually work for me—something effective, but also something I could realistically fit into my busy schedule. Read more>>
Isata Sannoh
My name is Isata Sannoh, I was born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone. My family immigrated to the United States when I was seven years old. Shortly after arriving, we became one of the many families affected by Hurricane Katrina, an experience that taught me about perseverance and resilience at an early age. Read more>>
Marciel Whitehurst
I began photography in 2023 as a hobby while transitioning out of the military, but it quickly became a way to bring together many parts of my life. Sports have always played a major role in my story. I competed from childhood through college, coached for four years, and worked in college athletics for five years. Read more>>
Kerin Levy
My love for skin care all started when I was 19, I had an experience at an Estee Lauder counter with a sales associate who really knew her craft. However, my first professional facial was in Atlanta, Ga. a few years later. My esthetician opened my eyes to what skin care was really about. Read more>>
Dulce Angeles
I’m originally from Mexico City, where I began my professional career working for large corporations in the IT industry. After several years in the corporate world, I completed my MBA and moved to Texas. My journey then took a very different turn. Read more>>
Duchè Bradley
Powerful speaker, coach, and life transformer who blends raw lived experience, street knowledge, and spiritual insight to inspire audiences with lessons on overcoming trauma, anger, addiction, violence, and hopelessness through faith and personal responsibility. Read more>>
Holly Huson
I started as the Executive Director of Hope Center in November 2025. This has been an incredible 10 months at Hope Center. I still can’t believe this is my job! Little did I know that God has been preparing me for this type of ministry for a long time. Read more>>
Emmanuel Lewis
Advocacy Advocacy for disabled Helping others I Karaoke Writer Interested in advocacy for heart health of folks and legal rights of folks I lost all of my skin color Former Dallas County Sheriff employee developed a heart condition working at the Dallas Sheriff Department Read more>>
Subhas Angara
United Hearts began with a simple observation. I kept seeing TikTok videos showing Dunkin’ throwing away their unsold donuts at the end of the day. It made me wonder: if this was happening at just one business, imagine how many other restaurants and bakeries were throwing away perfectly good food every day? Read more>>
Rio Thomas
My name is Rio Thomas. I’m a recording artist from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Music has always been a part of my life. My grandfather was a saxophonist and my dad is a bassist. My dad introduced me to music at a young age, and I began playing instruments, with time I developed a love for hip-hop and writing and began learning the craft. Read more>>
Adriana López
My interest in photography was born thanks to my family. From a very young age, a cousin who was a photographer sparked my curiosity for this art, sharing his knowledge with me and even giving me my first cameras. While studying Fine Arts at the Central University of Venezuela, I chose the course Introduction to Photography, a decision that would shape my professional path. Read more>>
Zachary Wilson
If I had to describe my story, I’d say it was handcrafted—woven together by God. I don’t have a textbook explanation for how I got here; I only know that even throughout the most traumatic, shifting seasons of my life, God had His hand on my back. I’m a Dallas Suburb guy at heart. Read more>>
Monica Stewart
I’m originally from Guatemala. I moved to the US when I married my amazing husband in 2023. At the time, I wasn’t working so for my birthday my sister sent me tools to work with clay so I wouldn’t die of boredom. I fell in love with it, which was surprising since I didn’t even like to play with Play-Doh when I was little haha. Read more>>
Jordan Evans
The Grazing Grove actually started long before I ever imagined owning a restaurant. I started creating grazing tables for parties just for fun. Some really great friends saw something in it before I did and encouraged me to turn it into a catering company. And when I say encouraged, I mean they seriously pushed me! Read more>>
Kiondra Johnson
My story started after graduating from cosmetology school in 2017. I’m originally from Amarillo, Texas, and moved to Frisco, TX when I was 18, so the DFW area has been home for most of my adult life. I spent two years doing hair before realizing it wasn’t the path for me, so I decided to learn lash extensions. Read more>>
Shawn A
My life hasn’t been a straight line, but every chapter has built directly into the next. I’m originally from Macon, Georgia and if you know anything about Macon, you know it’s not a huge place, but it carries a massive cultural impact as the birthplace of legends like Little Richard and Otis Redding. Read more>>
Alecia Danielle
My story starts in healthcare, not in entrepreneurship. I spent years building expertise in coding compliance and risk adjustment — earning certifications, taking on more responsibility, being promoted again and again into leadership. But every promotion revealed the same gap: nobody had taught me how to actually lead. The technical skills got me in the room. Read more>>
Savva Zingas
My journey into the insurance industry was definitely not something I had planned. Before insurance, I was managing a restaurant in Southlake while raising a family and attending school full-time for engineering. Life was busy, to say the least. I was balancing long hours in the restaurant industry, classes, and the responsibilities that came with being a husband and father. Read more>>
Camille Tagle
I started my career as an eveningwear designer, where I saw firsthand how much perfectly usable fabric was being discarded throughout the design and development process. It was frustrating to see beautiful, high-quality materials treated as waste simply because they were leftover or no longer needed. Read more>>
Duda Penteado
Duda Penteado’s trajectory spans nearly three decades between Brazil and the United States, where he has built a distinguished career as a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, educator, and cultural visionary. Known as an “Artivist,” he has expanded his practice beyond galleries and museums into public art, filmmaking, education, community dialogue, and social impact. Read more>>
Shirah Ray-Herbert
My story really began in 2006 when I opened David Lee’s, a boutique named in honor of my father, David Lee Ray. What started as a love for fashion became something much bigger than I could have imagined. Read more>>
Violet Coots
After 40 years in the insurance business, God called me to leave that career and become a Christian life coach. But my own journey of inner healing actually began more than 30 years ago. Over the years, God has continued to reveal and heal different places in my life. Read more>>
Sandra Vanatko
The first thing yoga gave me was sleep. I was traveling in India in 2007 when I first fell in love with the practice, and not long after, I moved to San Diego, where I found my teacher, a brilliant instructor from Kerala trained in the Sivananda tradition. Read more>>
Avery Foster McWilliams
I’ve always loved fashion and style. Growing up in Dallas, I followed the DFW influencers, I would save up to buy clothes I loved, worked at a women’s clothing boutique for my first job, and later completed fashion internships at Nordstrom. Fashion has always been one of those things that just felt like me. Read more>>
TOLUWALOPE Awodire
My journey started with a simple passion for hairstyling and a desire to create something of my own. What started as a skill I was learning gradually became a business and a brand I’m truly proud of, Honeyworldhairs. Along the way, I had to balance different parts of my life. Read more>>
Victor Almendariz
I was born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and came to the United States to play soccer. At the time, I never imagined that this country would eventually become my home. My plan was simple: come to the U.S., experience playing soccer overseas, and earn my degree in Finance. But, as life often does, my plans changed. Read more>>
Jasmine Reid
I was born with cystic HYGROMA and hemangioma where it’s tumors ( cyst ) in your neck and face area I was mute the first four years of my life I was taught sign language to communicate I have had at least 15 surgeries alone on my face and tongue area due to me having fetal cystic HYGROMA I was created with this disability so there’s no cure you can’t remove the cyst it will leave me paralyzed they do not stop growing it’s a very unpredictable condition you can go to the store come home and barely can speak a clear word it’s not easy I truly live day by day hour by hour I got where I am today after 25 surgeries n procedures I’m still alive I’m a disabled single mom of one it’s been so hard but I am blessed Read more>>
Andriana Dembitska
Hi everyone! My name is Andriana, and I’m a Personal Stylist based in Dallas. I’m originally from Ukraine, and I moved to the U.S. more than five years ago. Before moving to the U.S., I worked at a social media marketing agency, so I already had a strong creative background. But moving to a new country meant starting over in many ways. Read more>>
Amber Strauser
Amber Strauser is an accomplished entertainer with over 25 years of experience across various performance genres. She graduated from the prestigious Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas where she was a nationally recognized winner of the YoungArts program in Miami, Florida. Read more>>
Mayu Yamashita
Hello!! I’m Mayu Yamashita, a New York based dancer/actor/movement artist from Tokyo, Japan. I was inspired by musical films and eventually moved to New York for advanced training and to pursue a career as a performer. Read more>>
Jamila Brown
Raised by my father, I began my journey with hair during adolescence, caring for my own hair and my sister’s. I relied on the basics our mother taught me before the epidemic of the late 1980s took her from our household: shampooing, greasing the scalp, applying Pink Oil Moisturizer, styling bangs with the back left down, creating ponytails, and maybe adding a roller—or four. Read more>>
Jesse Molina
From the Stockyards of Fort Worth, I grew up without a real blueprint. I had to create my own. As a youngin’, I learned to constantly apply myself. Teaching myself trades, hustles, art, music, and everything in between. Every skill became another piece of the foundation I’m standing on today. Those experiences eventually put me in a position to do more than create. Read more>>
Noam David
My journey started when I stopped living for what I thought would be what everyone wanted. I grew up in a normal family, but a lot of my upbringing was rooted in the pressure of succeeding, making money, etc. Read more>>
Endia Dawkins
En The Becoming was born from my own becoming. For more than a decade, I built my life and career in the beauty industry as a licensed cosmetologist, educator, trainer and entrepreneur. Hair gave me an opportunity to serve people, build community, teach, create and help others see something in themselves that they may not have seen before. Read more>>
Carlos Sturrock
I’ve always worked in sales and customer service type roles, usually in fast-paced environments where I was constantly interacting with people. I’ve always enjoyed that part of it, building relationships, solving problems, and figuring out how to create a better experience for the people around me. In 2020, I got into the mortgage industry and started as a loan officer. Read more>>
Oaklyn-Jonas Galloway
My story is one of a true entertainer. From the first audition tape to the Disney at eight that I produced myself to making the cut for Making The Band 4 only to be released due to being underage. My five seasons as a professional dancer while raising a toddler, have made me dedicated to my craft in a different way. Read more>>
Sydney Dodson
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with lettering. I still have papers from 15 years ago covered in my attempts at different fonts and styles, even though I had no idea then what true calligraphy really was. In 2024, I discovered traditional calligraphy and was immediately captivated by it. Read more>>
Alley Mane33
My name’s Alley Rap name Alleymane33 I’m a faith based artists rapping out of Dallas Texas. Grand Prairie to be exact. I’ve always been a huge fan of music. Music has always played a relevant role in my life. Read more>>
Michael Wyatt
Every time I walk into Full City Rooster, I’m reminded of how far this journey has taken us. Coffee roasting, art, music, and community all share the same space, just as I hoped they would. FULL CITY ROOSTER opened in The Cedars neighborhood in 2013. Read more>>
MAGDA DIA
So many years ago I was looking to connect with my kids and found art (first as a homeroom helper to my first grader and next as an activity with my teenager). In both cases I found a steady rhythm that only the creative process conjures. Read more>>
Mini Obhan Jhaveri
My journey with My_Inquisitive_Universe began from my love for fashion, styling, and connecting with people. I am an IT professional by career, but with the encouragement of Neetu Rishi, who introduced me to the world of fashion shows through her first show, FLY – First Love Yourself, I discovered a passion I never knew I had. Read more>>
Adrian Hernandez Anderson
My story really starts in the classroom. I’m an educator, researcher, and lifelong believer in the power of language and literacy. Read more>>
Rickey “Slikk Muzik” Offord
Rickey “Slikk Muzik” Offord is a four-time Grammy Award–winning producer and composer whose work has shaped gospel, hip-hop/r&b, pop and contemporary Christian music. A Dallas native, he left corporate America to pursue his calling in Hollywood, rising to become one of the industry’s most respected producers. In 2016, a routine surgery led to three cardiac arrests, leaving Offord in a coma for thirty-three days. Read more>>
Dederick Tubbs
I’m a full time employee at West Dallas Community School. Read more>>
Rachel Caprera
I ‘made my bones’ working the pastry and savory lines at Commander’s Palace, a high volume top 100 restaurant in the country. From there I accepted a pastry position at Restaurant August, working directly for Chef Kelly Fields. During my tenure at August, I helped create the pastry program at Willa Jean when it opened. Read more>>
Kirsten Madrid
I’m originally from California born and raised and decided to move to Texas for better opportunities and growth. It was hard to leave all my clients I build during the years and leaving all my family back in California. Decided to start fresh moving to Dallas with my husband and two beautiful daughters. I had to start from all over again building my clientele. Read more>>
Bobby Tarron
Hello, I’m Bobby Tarron. I’m a father and a filmmaker, 38 years of age. For 20 years I’ve been a professional tattoo artist, shop owner for 10 of those, and a guy who everybody knows as the guy who GIFD—or gets it f***ing done. At 30, I knew what I wanted to aspire to be—a filmmaker, in every sense of the word. Read more>>
Chaska Wilkinson
My real estate career began in June 2020, right in the middle of a year filled with uncertainty and change. A few months later, in September 2020, I was drawn to Monument Realty and joined the very first group of agents to go through their SEALS training program. The training was intense, challenging and exactly what I needed. Read more>>
Christina Cranshaw
I knew at an early age that I wanted to be a story-teller. Naturally, when I was younger, I was drawn to certain performers and vowed I’d join them. The likes of Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, and Charlie Chaplin were beacons to me. I gravitated to their stylization, and my love affair with acting began. Read more>>
Dajae Williams
My story has taken a few different turns, and honestly, I feel like I have so many areas where I can be creative\. But looking back, I realize each step was leading me to where I am now\. I started photography in 2019, but toward the end of 2020, I really began taking it seriously. Read more>>
Mack Swans
I’m Mack Swans, a hip-hop artist based in Shreveport, born in New Orleans. I started making music when I was 15 (2014) on my phone using GarageBand & transitioned to FL Studio at 16. Trying to make musical arrangements because I was in marching band in high school, I ended up learning how to make beats unintentionally & just started recording verses over them. Read more>>
Priyanka Bhatia
I’m Priyanka Bhatia, an arts curator hailing from Dehradun, India — a small town full of eccentrics, artists, and its own peculiar rhythms. I grew up indulging in many forms of art, eventually finding my way to filmmaking and, later, curation. Curation became a way for me to bring different artistic mediums into spaces where ideas can be experienced, rather than simply observed. Read more>>