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 the Valley.
Azita Ariane Azarpira
I studied education and we’re helping teenagers with emotional and educational disabilities. Then I made a career change in 1987 and enrolled at Ottis Parsons School of design specializing in the Art of Millinery. . I started with selling to boutiques on Melrose in Los Angeles , then got a show room in California mart and attended trade shows in NewYork . Read more>>
KEYANNA SAWYER-JONES
I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, by a single mother who worked long nursing shifts to provide for my sister and me. My dad was incarcerated for most of my life, so early on I learned what resilience really meant. Read more>>
Anchor and Bloom
Anchor and Bloom Doula Agency is the collaboration of two experienced Doulas and a Labor and Delivery Nurse. We are a trifecta of experience, support and a deep dedication to helping birthing families. We see a need for Doulas to have a strong layer of education and hands on support. We have a passion for helping families through pregnancy and postpartum. Read more>>
Dietmar Kohl
then went out and started assisting proffesionals and learning from them about Business and decided to do Fashionphotography Portrait work on the commercial side ..i did a lot of Work and still do then got married/divorced then got married again here in L.A. and stayed till my wife passed away and thats how i ended up still here in the town of Toluca Lake .. Break on Through the other side is my kind of Mind the Doors brought me here to this town.. Read more>>
Justin May
I was born to two loving, blue collar parents from the Midwest and was raised in a small farming community outside of St. Louis, Missouri. From a young age I always had a camera in my hand, taking photos and videos of anything and everything I could find. Read more>>
Chris Morales
My first word was “ball,” and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of my life. I grew up surrounded by sports — tee ball, soccer, basketball, football — you name it, I played it. Competing and being part of a team became part of who I was. My first word was “ball,” and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of my life. I grew up surrounded by sports — tee ball, soccer, basketball, football — you name it, I played it. Competing and being part of a team became part of who I was. Read more>>
Virginia Carnesale
My journey into the corporate side of retail began shortly after completing my MBA at the University of Southern California in 2003. That summer, I accepted a position at Gap Inc, which set the stage for a 20+ year retail career with brands such as Nike, Gilt, Saks Off 5th, bebe and Jaanuu in roles ranging from strategic planning to buying, marketing and creative leadership. Read more>>
Bambi Corso-Steinmeyer
I’ve been journaling my dreams since I was fifteen, long before I knew they’d become the compass for my life’s work. What began as curiosity evolved into a deep devotion to the inner world — a place where emotion, intuition, and imagery reveal our soul’s truth. Read more>>
Jodi Bonassi
I have exhibited for over 3 decades. The urge to tell stories through drawing and painting began early. I grew up in a small house in L.A. and we had this blank wall in the living room. My father had hired an artist to paint a mural. I was almost 7 at the time and was completely swept away. Read more>>
Spencer/FREDDY
I am a singer/songwriter. I also teach hot yoga and meditation. I have been singing since I was a little girl. Probably 4 or 5. I started my professional career in music at 20 years old and have been going after it ever since. The pressure of the industry took a huge toll on my self worth to be honest. Read more>>
Chris Poulson
Chris Poulson is an accomplished musician from Burbank, California, whose career demonstrates both talent and resolve. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s with Rock Kills Kid, which secured deals with Fearless Records and later Reprise Records in 2005. The band was acclaimed for its electrifying performances and extensive U.S. tours, offering Chris a stage to shine as both drummer and vocalist. Read more>>
Daniel Lamplugh
As a kid, I always wanted to be a longshoreman, so I moved to LA originally thinking I could get work at the port of Long Beach. However, within the first few months of living here, I found out I had a genetic disorder which makes me highly allergic to sea salt (because of the microbes). Read more>>
Desiree Stevens
Hey Everybody-y-y! Desiree Stevens here, Vocalist & Founder of Heavens Rose Productions, an entertainment company. I started singing as a very young girl. My mother shares a story that, when my identical twin sister and I were three years old, we both spontaneously broke out in song, hitting the same note at the exact same time. I’ve been singing ever since! Read more>>
Jamie Lyons
I never had any intent to work in the entertainment industry. I knew I loved to perform, write, and act but, growing up in a Florida retirement town, it seemed like such an unrealistic dream. I went to college with the much more reasonable goal of working in law and reformative criminal justice. Read more>>
L. Stephanie Tait
I feel like mine is a typical story of someone in the arts. My true talent is saying yes to wildly different opportunities, so when I’m told no, I’m able to pivot as quickly as other people decide to give up and sit down. Read more>>
Milo Shearer
I grew up in the theater, from a very young age witnessing and taking part in the circus of storytelling. Make-believe was a constant in my world and I got to see its beauty and the community that nurtures it as a way of life. Read more>>
Pamela Sidharta
I was born in Indonesia and moved to California when I was three years old. I grew up in Northridge with three older sisters, who all have a knack for the arts. And my family has always been around me. When I was about 11 years old, I went back to Indo with my mom and one of my sisters. Read more>>
Benny Burns
I grew up in LA, and as far back I remember I have always loved daydreaming and performing. One of my oldest memories is of me singing karaoke on a cruise ship when I was around 2 years old! When I was in High School, my favorite subject was history until I took my first film class as an elective. Read more>>
Jessica Anderson Crocker
My journey has been a fusion of art, beauty, and spirituality. I started my career as a professional makeup artist in film and television, which led me to work with some incredible artists and even earn an Emmy Award. But over the years I began to feel a deeper calling, to explore the connection between outer beauty and inner essence. Read more>>
Michele Tannen
I am the daughter of a Jewish, mentally ill mother who, at five years old, escaped to the United States from Berlin, Germany with her family. It was 1939, and the US had very strict quotas on admitting Jewish immigrants and no refugee policy. Read more>>
Jermaine L Williams
Do you ever look back and wonder how you became what you’ve become now? For me, it was other people showing me the potential that they saw in me. I’m a performer in music and comedy, with a background in acting, standup, improv and filmmaking. Read more>>
Chelsea Heyward
Muse Tips began as a personal exploration through artistry and entrepreneurship. I’ve quietly always been an artist and deeply curious about the inner workings of business. But for a long time, I didn’t know where to make those two worlds make sense in my life. My full-time job is as an athletic director, and I am also an adjunct professor at two separate universities. Read more>>
Aryaman Mehrotra
I started Hostelsnearme out of personal struggle. During my college years, I faced what so many students do — the endless search for a decent, affordable hostel that actually felt like home. I still remember walking through unfamiliar streets, checking one place after another, only to find poor conditions or unclear pricing. Read more>>
RAQUEL M RHODES
I started my business in 2010 after being burned out from working in retail, thinking that it would get me closer to being a fashion editor or understanding the fashion business ,however I was wrong. I got tired of seeing people fight over Mass produced merchandise , so I set out to create my own wearable art. Read more>>
Carlee Malemute
I was born and raised in a remote Alaskan Native village of 500, with no roads in or out, and where the only way to get there is to take an 8-seater plane, so no surprise, I grew up loving stories of fantastical worlds full of things I would never experience — dragons, superpowers, and high schools with 4000 students. Read more>>
Joe Rivadeneira
I started out assisting in the casting department at ABC Television, working on shows like Modern Family and Revenge. That experience gave me such a great foundation and I got to see how stories come to life through people. But after a while, I realized I wanted a little more creative freedom to develop shows that really resonated with my life and experiences. Read more>>
Sophie Fahnenstich
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My journey into the world of babies began long before I ever became a mother myself. Some of my earliest memories are of waiting for my dad — who was a neonatologist at the time — surrounded by caring nurses tending to tiny newborns. As a four-year-old, being in that environment felt not only special but deeply important. Read more>>
Ilai Segal
I began my journey nearly 30 years ago, practicing classic European facials designed mainly to pamper and relax. Very early on, I realized that the skin is a living, intelligent organ, a complex system that demands precision rather than routine. Each face tells a different story, and no two skins should ever be treated the same. Read more>>
Ashley Erikson
I actually started my marketing company out of necessity more than a dream. Back in college, I was studying biology and wanted to be a zoologist. But life had other plans. My then-boyfriend (now husband of 18 years) and I found out we were expecting our first son, and I had just turned 21. Overnight, my priorities completely shifted. Read more>>
Shervin Ilbeig
Shervin Ilbeig – Founder of Dragons MMA For more than two decades, Shervin Ilbeig has been a driving force in shaping the martial arts community of the San Fernando Valley. As the founder of Dragons Mixed Martial Arts, Shervin built the school from humble beginnings into a respected training center known for its discipline, heart, and deep sense of community. Read more>>
Daniel McNamara
It all started when I picked up my first guitar at the age of 10, a red Squier Stratocaster. It was 2001, my mom couldn’t afford a guitar for my birthday that year, but for Christmas, the whole family pitched in and bought one for me. I instantly fell in love with the chase of expressing myself through sound. Read more>>
Dana PIneda
Before the pandemic, I worked for a clothing company as a sales rep, with my primary focus on the live event space, including concerts and festivals. In my free time, I worked as an indoor cycle instructor, initially as a side hustle, but with aspirations of opening my own studio one day. In 2020, I lost my sales rep job due to the pandemic. Read more>>
Matt Bartona
My earliest memory of my grandfather was him building homes. I would visit the work site with my Dad who would also help him. As a young kid it fascinated me how the simple wood framing of a house would be the basis something a family would later live in. Read more>>
Caress Reeves
Growing up I was always fascinated with animation. I drew and wrote my own stories all of the time, and was delighted by the idea I could do that for a real job as an adult. The route I took to get where I am now is unusual for someone with a job in the animation industry. Read more>>
Mark O’Brien
I grew up in Newfoundland. It’s a small province in Canada, in which there is a very strong artistic community. I began doing theater right out of high school, and then transitioned to short films and then a mini-series and then features. Before long, I got an agent and moved to Toronto and continued acting there for six or seven years. Read more>>
Shani Amiel
As a young girl I always loved to take care of my skin, waxed myself and did make up on myself for hours. I started shaping my friends eyebrows when I got to Junior High School, I asked my girlfriends to grow their brows out so I can reshape them according to their face shape. Read more>>
Ruthie Garibay
When live music shut down during the pandemic, we started to explore midi sounds. As our music evolved from mostly analogue to now including midi, we still haven’t figured out how to perform them in a live setting. It’s hard trying to convince people to join your band these days without be backed by a label or a trust fund. So, if you know anyone, please let us know Read more>>
Panchito Ramirez
Throughout high school, I was determined to achieve my dream of playing college soccer and becoming a professional soccer player. However, my dreams of playing collegiate soccer and playing professionally were put at risk! During my senior year of high school, I broke my fibula, dislocated my ankle, and tore several ligaments. I had to get a plate and 10 screws, putting an end to my high school career. I was devastated, but it only made me more resilient! Read more>>
