Portraits of the Valley

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.

Seda Lair

Sixteen years ago, I moved to California from Seattle, Washington to purchase a small, family-owned dry cleaning business from a relative. It was a big life change—leaving behind my corporate career to become my own boss. Read more>>

Bianca Mariska

My story starts in the Netherlands, where my mom & I resided in an apartment together in a city called The Hague. I have fond memories of riding on the back of her bike with the wind rushing by giving my little body the feeling of flying, stopping by the bakery for bread & getting an extra one to feed the ducks on the way home. Read more>>

Jordan Murphy

For a long time I thought my story was about becoming an actor. It turns out it was really about something much bigger — learning how to rebuild a life, show up for my family, and ultimately help other people do the same. Read more>>

Howard Feldman

I opened my business in May 1984 and started off by offering a wide variety of pets and supplies. In the early 2010s, as interest shifted toward technology and entertainment, I saw a decrease in customers and made the decision to stop selling pets to specialize in holistic dog and cat nutrition. Read more>>

Rami Kalla

I started with a passion for filmmaking at the early age of 10 years old! My Father brought home a new VHS video camera and I spent countless hours learning how it worked. Then I started writing short stories and making films with my friends. Today I run a large production studio and I have had the luxury of working all over the world! Read more>>

Tish Hicks

Hi, I’m Tish Hicks! I’m originally from Chicago, and have been a thriving voiceover artist in Los Angeles for the past 30 years! I’ve been a voice of Subaru for the past 15 years and have voiced Citibank, GTA V, HP, and many other long running and well known campaigns. I’m also the founder and Master Sensei of The V.O. Read more>>

Phil St. Germain

I started Guitar Merchant in 1999. At the start Guitar Merchant was just a website. One year later we shared a space in a small store that sold vinyl. Read more>>

Eloisa

I’ve always had that mindset of wanting to build something of my own. Before Elisse, I explored different ideas like opening an internet café, and at one point I even ran a home bakery. I just didn’t know yet what it would turn into. Read more>>

Penelope Lopez-Contreras (L.C. for short)

My journey into event planning started long before I officially launched my business. For over a decade, I worked behind the scenes producing community and philanthropic events, learning how powerful well-planned gatherings can be in bringing people together. Read more>>

Daniel Butcher

Los Angeles Nannies began from a very human place: understanding how personal and high-stakes childcare really is. Finding the right person to care for your children is not the same as hiring for almost any other role. Families are inviting someone into their home, into their routines, and into some of the most important years of their children’s lives. Read more>>

Paula Jane Newman

Thank you for featuring Rise Up Comedy in the magazine. We’re truly delighted to gain more recognition as we continue to grow. Rise Up Comedy is part of Aware Meditation Inc., a registered nonprofit in California and the United States, active and in good standing. The idea was born during the pandemic, when we began hosting wellness‑focused comedy shows as fundraisers for the meditation nonprofit. Read more>>

Veronica Warner

In an industry where technology evolves faster than traditional education can keep up, Key Code Education was built to close the gap between learning and real-world media production. Key Code Education is my professional home after many years in media education and I’m proud of the work I’ve done to help build it. Read more>>

Stacey Dean Richard Ramage

Neptune Cleaning Company was founded in 2015 in Oxnard by Stacey Dean and Richard Ramage with a simple mission: to deliver reliable, high-quality cleaning services that bring peace of mind to busy homeowners and local businesses. Read more>>

Tiffany Jones

Tiffany Jones is a manufacturing and supply chain executive with over 25 years of experience in the personal care and beauty industry. As the founder of Tiffany Jones Consulting, she specializes in helping brands scale through strategic sourcing, operational efficiency, and end-to-end supply chain optimization. Read more>>

Janet Barnett

After graduating from Art Center College of Design, I started my professional career as a photographer shooting the rock scene in Los Angeles in the 80’s, the heyday of hair metal and MTV. Making these scruffy musicians look like supermodels was my goal! It was a fun and crazy time in L. A., and I’m so happy I got to experience it. Read more>>

Francesca Ortega

I didn’t originally set out to start a cleaning company. The idea came from a frustrating experience during my last year of college, when I was moving out of my apartment and needed to hire a professional cleaning service. I hired Molly Maid a well-known national company expecting a professional, guided experience — but what I received was the complete opposite. Read more>>

Kaye Nobleza Toranzo

My name is Kaye Nobleza Toranzo. I’m a board-certified Nurse Practitioner and a certified practitioner in functional medicine, and I’ve been in healthcare for over 15 years. I’m also the founder of Elova Integrative Health. I began my nursing career in the Philippines in 2010, and later moved to the United States in 2014, where I continued building my career in healthcare. Read more>>

Todd Hughlett

My journey to where I am today was anything but linear. I actually started my professional life as an engineer. After graduating from Virginia Tech, I spent five years working in the engineering field in the Washington D.C. area, right near where I grew up in Vienna, Virginia. As a hobby, I discovered a passion for storytelling through community theater. Read more>>

Caitlin Lamb

I am a self taught embroidery artist born and raised in Los Angeles. My journey into hand-stitched embroidery began as a form of artistic self-care, and provided me with a creative outlet where I could be present and stay grounded. I’ve always loved making art, but through embroidery, I was able to bring my ideas to life in exciting and unexpected ways. Read more>>

Garrett Brock

I started One Machine in 2016, which sounds more official than it really was. At the time, it was just me trying to figure out how to turn a camera into a career. I grew up in the Sacramento area, and around 2010 in high school I started an art club. Read more>>

Adrian Elizondo

I’m an actor/writer/producer, but I didn’t even start pursuing any of that until I’d already been living in LA for two years. I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a film degree and started behind the scenes as a production assistant—first on various film sets, then for a television production executive at Warner Bros., and eventually on the original George Lopez show. Read more>>

James Carr

was born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania, and from an early age I knew I wanted to experience something bigger. Being close to major cities like New York and Philadelphia really opened my eyes to what was possible and made me curious about creative industries and larger opportunities. Read more>>

A Klass

Art has always been a part of my life, who I am, and my thought process. From a young age it became a big part of how I engaged with and understood the world around me. Especially as a kid that felt lost and confused by what society was feeding me in terms of identity and community. Read more>>

Brent LaBrada

I grew up in San Bernardino, California, in a pretty unique environment surrounded by animals. My neighbors had goats, chickens, and horses, and between my family and my grandmother, who regularly rescued animals, we were always around dogs. At any given time, there were well over a dozen dogs between our homes. That exposure gave me an early, unfiltered look at animal behavior. Read more>>

Jamie Cruz

I moved from Ohio to California in 2007 and began my career as a pediatric occupational therapist, working in both school-based and outpatient clinic settings from 2007 to 2020. After the birth of my first child in 2011, I started to envision a more flexible and family-centered career path. Read more>>

Maria Helena Anderson

I grew up the youngest of six children in a tiny house in São Paulo, Brazil. We didn’t have much, but my mother made sure we had something more important: she introduced us to Transcendental Meditation, Spiritism, and natural healing from the time we were small. Read more>>

Mia Jade

I’m originally from a small town called “century, Fl. My hometown definitely shaped me into the person I am today but it also limited me ALOT. Once my mom moved me and my sister to California we started out staying with my aunt and uncle and the first thing my uncle told me was how I could be anything I could think of in California. Read more>>

Antonio Pelayo

My name is Antonio Pelayo, it started back in 2008 when I was curating small art shows at small galleries and bars. I decided to stop doing that and create one large event where Art, Music, Fashion and Culture merge. I started producing El Velorio from a place deeper than events, it came from culture, memory, and love. Read more>>

Orlin (Revol) Francisco Reyes

Orlin Francisco Reyes, who performs as “Revol,” was born and raised in West Side Modesto during the mid 90’s. Revol turned to music as his escape from the tragedies of a broken home, consisting of domestic violence, divorce, and neglect. His mother, who is of Afro-Honduran descent, raised him (along with three other siblings) on her own. Read more>>

Omar Guzman

Well, I was born and raised in the 805, in Simi Valley. Just outside the SFV. I definitely always felt like a black sheep in my city, whether it was at home or amongst peers. I started going to art shows and eventually joined the Valley/LA art scene when I was about 21. Read more>>

Jessica Allen

I grew up in the Bay Area, specifically San Jose. From a young age I was always curious about aesthetics. I loved to style hair and play with color, whether it was on my dolls or myself. I began really exploring makeup and all the possibilities that came with it around high school. Read more>>

Jonathan Claudio

II grew up in Santa Paula which is a smaller town in Ventura County. Growing up Ive always wanted to find something that allowed me to put my all in and see a result so when I found real estate I knew it was the one. Read more>>

Amelia Fins

My story starts with going to a local college in NJ for Animation/Illustration called Montclair State University. The art program was a great introduction to animation and design principles, wherein I learned a lot about where I wanted my career path to lead me. I gravitated towards comics, animation design, and convention tabling. Read more>>

Gian Solo

I was born and raised in the Philippines, and music was always around me growing up. My dad played guitar and listened to records all the time. He’s actually left-handed but played the guitar flipped, backwards (think Eric Gales) so as a kid, that already made it feel like music didn’t have to follow rules. Read more>>

Erica Munoz

I started my journey with lashes as a hobby back in 2016. At the time, lash extensions were quickly becoming one of the most in-demand beauty add-ons—something that elevated everyday makeup routines. My younger sister, Carla, was actually the one who introduced me to it. She told me I’d be great at it… and of course, she also wanted her lashes done. Read more>>

Greg Gregorian

I started Lunar Branding nine years ago. And business is booming! When I started my company, I felt like I found my Ikigai, this is a Japanese Venn diagram of mixing your passion, profession, mission, and vocation. Read more>>

Krikor Tchay

I began my professional art career in 2018 with my first show at GDCA Gallery in Downtown, Los Angeles, and I haven’t looked back since. Over the years, I’ve focused on developing distinct collections that reflect my evolving perspective, allowing the work to grow organically while staying true to my voice. Read more>>

Lyn Valenton

Gosh, where do I even begin? So I am a mama bear of many. I have 2 kids of my own, a step daughter from my previous marriage, 3 grandbabies, and 2 step kids from my current relationship. I know, talk about a modern family. Read more>>

Boot Raymond

I started rapping around like 14 Im like a lil Kendrick fan girl so I was just like yeah bro this crazy but I was listening to jid and Kenny mason and im from the south so it resonated to me so I just started free styling every day after school for like 2 hours but I really started trying to make music in pre k I had a guitar and would make like love songs about the girls I went to daycare with on some usher shit first official song I was like 9 on garage band I was just re wording a lil yatchy song Read more>>

Old Girls Entertainment

Old Girls Entertainment started out of a need for platform to display our creative work and be able to employee more Women and people of color in front of and behind the camera, and is now a full service Woman-owned and founded, Los Angeles–based independent production company. Read more>>

Scott Slaughter

My podcast journey begins in bed (as so many do, right?). My girlfriend had just taken a podcasting class, and one night she turned to me while we were watching TV and said something to the effect of, ‘I’m thinking about actually making this podcast. Read more>>

walter volpatto

Started as a farmer outside of Turin, Italy! Did 10 years as Engineer for Broadcast, then worked for DI equipment manufacturer (Quantel) and finally starting to use it, now almost 25 years of Coloring. Read more>>

Melissa Cerna Martinez

My story begins with my parents, my mother was brought to the U.S. as a child. My grandparents came and went they had plans to make some money and return to their ranch back in La Soledad, Guanajuato. They ended up staying here in the U.S. fast forward my mother began high school. Read more>>

Danica Diamos

I loved the arts ever since I was a kid, and I became interested in wanting to do art professionally because some of my family members are artists. They helped shape who I am and what I wanted to be Read more>>

Evan Moses

I grew up in Glendale, California, where I was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2. I was always around music and film, and my parents were huge enthusiasts of both mediums. Read more>>

Morgan Meadows

I was a junior in college getting my BFA in acting, when a group of seniors who were close friends of mine told me about a voiceover contest they were submitting for. They had one seat left in their carpool, and I had time between classes, so I joined them. Read more>>

Grant Merritt

I’m originally from Texas and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, which has been a big part of my creative journey. Like most actors, my path has had its ups and downs, but storytelling has always been at the center of what I do. The biggest shift for me creatively came with writing my children’s book, A Puppy’s Tale. Read more>>

T’rae Brooks

What’s Goody 👋🏽 I’m a multi-disciplinary artist and Innovator based in Louisiana. My work spans music, movement, and design, but more than anything, I focus on building experiences and systems that support how artists actually create. Early on, I was identified as talented and shown traditional paths to success in the industry. Read more>>

Patrick Faucette

I grew up in New Jersey and pursued my education in Boston, where I earned my degree in Physical Therapy from Boston University. After graduating, I headed to San Francisco, where I began my career at a sports medicine clinic — which really set the foundation for my clinical interests. Read more>>

Danielle and Sarah

The Safe Space Community was founded in May of 2024. In that time,The Safe Space Community has provided numerous free healing workshops, community events and educational seminars such as soundbaths, nutrition education, support groups, vendor showcases, clothing swaps, drug and alcohol free music nights, creative workshops, self defense classes, and more. Read more>>

Josh Zingerman

I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I was always drawing—coming up with characters and worlds from my imagination. A lot of that came from the movies my mom showed me early on like silent movies and classic epics. My version of Sesame Street was Charlie Chaplin and The Ten Commandments. Read more>>

Teresa Lo Astronaut City

I was born and raised in a small town in Kansas, where my family owned a popular Chinese restaurant. I started working there when I was 12. At the time, I resented the restaurant because I didn’t want to work. Read more>>

Mary Skinner

Mary’s journey in the birth world began generations ago. In 1875, her great-great Aunt Hilda served as a midwife, helping bring thousands of Goshute Indian babies into the world. The love of birth and supporting women runs deeply through her maternal lineage. Mary herself was born at home, with her 7-year-old brother assisting the midwife during her delivery. Read more>>

Ania Thomas

I knew I wanted to play guitar, so I learned everything: writing, recording, marketing, producing, prot tools and more! I built myself into who I am now! Of course with the help of a few mentors! No safety net, no blueprint—just instinct. I created from nothing and made it real. They call it DIY! Or do it yourself! That’s how I got here. Read more>>

Nora Massisimo Ranning

I was adopted from Nepal when I was two weeks old by a Danish mother and a Spanish-German father, so from the very beginning, my life has been shaped by different cultures and perspectives. Read more>>

Łukasz Czajkowski

IntrusiveOCDmemes- I didn’t start this as a project — I started it because I felt completely alone. For years, I struggled with OCD without even knowing what it was. Intrusive thoughts, constant doubt, checking, fear of losing the people I love — it took over my life and my relationships. I was functioning on the outside, but internally it was chaos, anxiety, and shame. Read more>>

Leykun Girma

I began with instinct, not a plan. Drawing and painting were my way of making sense of the world around me my culture, faith, and everyday life. What started as a natural impulse gradually became a disciplined practice. I spent years studying, experimenting, and pushing my style until it developed into a voice I could truly call my own. Read more>>

braidME

braidME is a next-level pop, dark-pop, and alt-pop artist from Ukraine, already commanding a dedicated fanbase of nearly 1.5 million followers. Her work has caught the attention of acclaimed artists like Rosalía, MARINA, and many more. Read more>>

Tanya Maida

It’s hard to answer this briefly, because the beginning of my journey as a photographer was so unexpected. I never really decided I was going to become a photographer, or even thought of it as this big lifelong passion from the start. Read more>>