The Change-Makers: stories that inspire

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. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.

Courtney Childers & Kari Ziesemer

Funding for a house so large proved challenging, and making sure we had proper insurance coverage, damage protection, etc for the historic features in the house was not easy to secure. We also ran into several challenges as we remodeled due to the age of the home (plaster walls, custom millwork that was hard to replicate, old plumbing, etc). Also, once we went live, it was hard to secure our first bookings with no reviews. But once people started staying and leaving good reviews, the future bookings got easier. Read more>>

Barbara Marshak

Life. It’s what happens along the way. Like when you fall off the teeter-totter as a kid and need stitches in your forehead. Or when you’re running late for work and don’t quite stop at the stop sign—and yup, broadside a police car in your hometown where everybody knows your name. Read more>>

Angela McDowell

It’s true. It’s called the Non-Profit Security Grant Program and I’ve been having all kinds of fun with it since 2021 (sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm). We’ve supported clients from California to Colorado with the NSGP and whether it be a synagogue, community center, or daycare the challenge always comes in realizing the measures we’re taking to protect ourselves from one another and that these measures are necessary in the first place. Which brings to mind the another obstacle. Read more>>

Sarah Smith-Prokosch

We didn’t want it sitting empty and wanted to breathe life back into the place, hoping to give it a new identity and a new purpose. We also saw value in owning 2 side-by-side commercial properties. We didn’t have much money but found a creative way to make the purchase on as-is terms. We created Humble Moon Saloon, llc in February 2021. Read more>>

Vivian Lark

I am originally from Minnesota and attended college in Chicago for vocal performance. After college, family life was my focus, raising my 4 children and also homeschooling before moving to Rochester from Minneapolis in 2017. I was approached on the street in Rochester and asked if I would be willing to teach piano lessons to students on the spectrum. Read more>>

Catherine Berg

A Touch of Lonsdale started out as just dream, that was it, just a dream. My husband and I moved to Lonsdale in the winter of 2020, welcomed our second child the spring of 2021 and dreamed of what we could bring to our new home town. Read more>>

Merry-Ellen Bryers

Over 12 years ago, I decided to make a career change to Thrivent and be a Financial Advisor. It began with my dad talking to the Thrivent guy at church, and asking about if Thrivent was hiring. It was not a career I had considered prior to that time, but it has been a wonderful change. Read more>>

Dina Clabaugh

Michael and I are married and co-own Insight Counseling in Duluth, Virginia, Ely, and Bloomington. Both couple therapists, about two years ago we started offering weekend couple retreats at Wild Rice Retreat in Bayfield, WI. The retreats are a mix of self and couple therapy curriculum, relaxation, movement, nourishment, and rejuvenation. Read more>>

Pastor Daniel McKizzie

Pastor’s Bio Pastor Daniel B. McKizzie was born on October 23,1957 in Minneapolis, MN. He is the youngest of three sons born to Ms. Edna McKizzie. Brothers, Kevin and Duane Temple are deceased. He is the devoted Husband of Annie McKizzie, and proud father of seventeen and the proud Grandfather of twenty-three. Read more>>

David Packa

I grew up playing piano and taking private lessons. I developed a love of music and a passion for live performance as a young boy. My interest in community music began to develop when I was high school age and had more opportunities to share classical music in different settings. Read more>>

Timothy Java

Music runs in my blood. I’m part of a four-generation legacy of Java musicians, and the third in the direct line following my grandpa and dad, who played together in the Java Trio. Also my dad, uncle and their friends from high school still play out together around the midwest area to this day! Read more>>

Jessi Leader

I’m Jessi Leader, a relationship and sex therapist and founder of Moody Octopus Collective. My team and I provide radical therapy for folks who want to have a healthier relationships including themselves, intimate relationships, and the world around them. My passion for relationships started in my childhood which was unique being an only child, raised by a single mother in Alaska. Read more>>

Jeanine Viani

Art 2 Heart started off in 2004. Lori Westling, our founder and an artist, had just become a new Christian, and felt the Holy Spirit moving her to use her creativity for His Kingdom. She started by making & selling beaded flatware and donating all the proceeds to support a village in Zambia. Read more>>

Tony Harris

I actually started back in 2017 when I was still in high school. I had saved up enough to buy my first drone — I just loved flying and capturing the world from above. There was something about seeing things from a different perspective that really stuck with me. Read more>>

Mary Jo Crooks

I worked as a Vet Tech for nearly 10 years and truly loved my job. In 2005, my family decided to move from St. Paul to Centerville. Shortly after settling in and welcoming our youngest, I chose to stay home with my two boys. I started walking dogs as a little side job—something flexible that also allowed me to bring my boys along. Read more>>

Janna Schmidt

I, Janna, began creating custom wedding films in 2019, though my filmmaking dates back to the good ole days of VHS tapes. As a child, she spent many hours with my parent’s camcorder making movies with friends and family. Read more>>

Katy Freitag

I decided in high school I wanted to be an attorney – at the time no one in my immediate family had gone to college, so it was a big goal for me. I went straight through college and law school in 7 years and joined the Popham, Haik law firm in downtown Minneapolis. Read more>>

Jesus Dominguez

I began my barber journey in 2020 during a time when life felt uncertain for many people, including myself. After working a variety of jobs, I realized I wanted to build a career I genuinely loved—something creative, meaningful, and worth mastering. Cutting hair had always caught my attention. I admired how barbers could turn a simple haircut into something artistic. Read more>>

Jennifer Cronen

Options for Women Morris started in 1996. We are a pro-life, pro-faith pregnancy and family resource center that offers families alternatives to abortion. We help the families with basic needs and parenting classes. Read more>>

Maria Toso

I was nineteen years old, living in my native Copenhagen, when a Buddhist teacher first articulated something that shifted the entire course of my life. He described how every human being is, at the core, a radiant, infinite light, pure awareness, temporarily housed inside a body that carries our experiences, our unprocessed emotions, and even the echoes of other lifetimes. Read more>>

Greg Groppoli

Greg Groppoli grew up learning to remodel houses from his father. Together they turned a basic home into one lined with stone, tile, hardwood, and classy fixtures. A few years out of college at UMD, Greg decided to start a part time handyman business. He was doing business as himself, did not have a shop, a truck, or even a website. Read more>>

Steve Davis Jr.

I played football at the University of Minnesota from 2005 to 2008, and like many athletes, I had one goal in mind. I wanted to make it to the NFL. I earned several accolades in college and truly believed I would get drafted. Read more>>

Lynsey Cooper

I have always been the friend who carried around a camera, bringing it to school every day so I could capture all the memories my friends and I were making. Believe it or not, being a photographer was never something I saw for my future even though I carried that camera everywhere with me. Read more>>

Kimberly Hawes

I grew up in Texas and have spent most of my life caring for animals in the realm of veterinary medicine and conservation. I’ve worked as a registered veterinary technician in small animal medicine, emergency and zoo animal medicine. Read more>>

Tai Miller

I am originally from Cleveland, Ohio, however. My family and I were living in New Orleans because my husband was offered a position with the Navy as a computer programmer. During that time, I was a homemaker with four children. Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 changed everything. We relocated back to Ohio during the storm and stayed with family. Read more>>

Caitlyn Jungels

I started my journey as a health care practitioner in 2014 as a sports medicine provider treating athletes on and off the sidelines. Through my practice in the field of Athletic Training, I became increasingly concerned about the concussion epidemic that occupied the athletic world. Due to my experiences during the ongoing concussion epidemic, I foresaw the ability to heal people holistically with real science. Read more>>

Winnie Larson-Iarussi

I am a third generation artist in my family. I remember when I was a kid that the great room in our house was converted to my fathers working art studio. As a two year old some of my first memories were watching my father paint in his studio. Art was quite literally second nature to me as it was all I knew. Read more>>

MIKE FANSLAU

After 35+ yrs owning a marketing /promotional company and being a mediator it was time to return to my roots. I’d always been a woodworker and purchased a sawmill so I could source my own lumber, as well as cut lumber for others with a similar mindset. I was also wanting to see trees recycled instead of being burned or chipped into mulch. Read more>>

Will Maravelas

14:59 Studios started as a labor of love to mainly record my personal music. I have been active in the original music scene for several decades, playing in several bands. I am currently playing in Wormholedeath artists Plague of Stars, Death metal band Caustic Abyss and My Kingdom Music artists Chalice of Suffering. I have been in tons of others as well. Read more>>

Amy Blickensderfer

Before I got into Professional Cuddling (or as I call it, Therapeutic Nurturing Touch) I was a caregiver/PCA for a decade, from ages 17-27… Caring for elderly and vulnerable populations started to take me into the heart of my purpose in life, to hold compassionate, nonjudgmental space for humans. Read more>>

Yev Rosso

I’m YEV, a Ukrainian-American singer-songwriter based in Minnesota. I make cinematic alt-rock inflected with folk, blues, and vintage-pop, drawing on refugee and veteran stories and my own immigrant path to write about loss, resilience, and stubborn hope. I was born in Ukraine and raised in the Twin Cities. Read more>>

Aja King

I started in Birmingham, AL and I was always told that I was a great secret keeper. I learned early on that I was good at listening to people and watching them and understanding people’s pain. When I entered High School, we had an opportunity to participate in a work study program. Read more>>

Brooke Halliday
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My husband and I started dreaming about a holistic wellness practice back in 2018 while he was in chiropractic school. We both knew we had more to learn from people who had been in the field longer than us and intended to work and learn for the next 10+ years before going out on our own. Read more>>

Jen Swanson

I started my consulting firm about 6 years ago after nearly 20 years in corporate and non-profit work, mostly in marketing and customer experience-related roles. My career started in Higher Education, and I began working in administrative roles at Hamline University and the University of Minnesota, including a role as the Associate Director of Programs for the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. Read more>>

Cole and Jess Anderson

Cole first discovered his love for construction in high school. Even though he didn’t pursue it full time after graduating, the passion never left. We got married in 2020, bought our first home in 2021, and immediately jumped into remodeling it from the ground up—sheetrock, insulation, electrical, windows… all of it. Read more>>

Breanne Tepler

I was born and raised in Duluth, MN. We lived in the Central Hillside neighborhood mostly, bouncing around to different duplexes and apartments and elementary schools before settling on 4th and 5th by my Grandma’s house where we stayed through my teen years. My dad was a mechanic, my mom was a housekeeper. We were poor and there was a lot of trauma. Read more>>

Amber Rosier

Hi! I am Amber Rosier. I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. I opened Peak Therapy Services in the fall of 2023. I wanted more flexibility with my schedule for my family. Peak Therapy Services got its name for my love of the mountains; I was born and raised (until 15) in Montana and have always found peace in the mountains. Read more>>

Matt Browne

My name is Matt Browne and I’m a fitness professional living in Winona, MN. A year ago, I opened a private fitness studio in my hometown. The mission of Northern Pine Fitness is to create an elevated fitness experience and private space where the Winona community can pursue improved fitness and health. My personal fitness journey began when I was 5 years-old. Read more>>

Brenda Stelter

Anchor Promotions, Apparel, & Signage was established in August 2004; thus, I have been in business for over 21 years. I started Anchor Promotions, Apparel, & Signage to support businesses and help them evolve and succeed. In offering promotional products, branded apparel, company-branded websites, indoor/outdoor/land/sea/air signage, we have helped businesses and have amazing relationships with our customers. Read more>>

Sara Johnson

I lost my hearing in 2003. Literally lost it in 4 days. When that happened I had to quit college and my full time job. When my husband and I married, we started our family and have 4 beautiful children. When they started attending school I decided to volunteer on our school’s PTC committee, as treasurer. Read more>>

Jamie Mosley

I grew up in poverty, and from a young age, I understood how instability and hardship impact families. That experience shaped the work I would later do. I spent 20 years working in the Head Start program—Head Start is a federal, low-income early childhood program that supports children and families with education, nutrition, family services, and mental health resources. Read more>>

Lena Nguyen

I started my meditation journey around thirty years old. During the pandemic, I would say I had an opportunity to come across the Transformation Academy. My journey began! I never thought personal development was essential. Sometimes I believe the person behind me was God. Read more>>

Suree Sompamitwong

I started my journey with my own healing. After working in fashion in Los Angeles, I experienced a psychosis that completely changed the direction of my life. Soon after, I was diagnosed with bipolar 1. It was devastating. I had worked so hard to build my fashion career, it was a dream of mine since I was in 4th grade. Read more>>

Stephen Krause

The Central Wisconsin town of Wausau was a great place to grow up in the early 1970’s and boasted excellent schools, pleasant views and other offerings expected from larger towns. Rib Mountain is viewable from many vantage points around Wausau and I thoroughly enjoyed skiing that mountain often. Educational highlights included having access to programmable computers in Middle School back in 1977. Read more>>

Elisabeth Johnson

I was working in my hometown of Albuquerque, NM as a line cook when I met my husband, Andrew, who is a MN native. He had recently been hired at IBM and I figured I could cook anywhere so I moved to Rochester to be close to him. I wanted to shift to bakery work and ended up getting a job at Great Harvest. Read more>>

Soukkay Keomysy

I am first generation immigrant from Laos. I left Laos in 1975 after Vietnam war. Fled to Thailand and was in the refugee camp for 4 – 5 years. Finally, We were approved to immigrate to America and were sponsored by Mormon family in Sandy Utah in 1980. I didn’t know a word of English and was put in 3rd grade among other kids. Read more>>

Wendy Fraser

Northern Lights Ballroom and Banquet Center was built and opened in June 2007. We are a mother/ daughter team who started off-site catering 7 years prior to opening Northern Lights Ballroom. I (Wendy Fraser) am the head chef and owner along with my husband Chip Fraser. Our daughter Bryony Stark helps us to manage and runs the business. Read more>>

Kelly Baltzell

I am a serial entrepreneur that started my first company in 1997 after working at AOL for a couple of years. My first websites/business was www.grieving.com that is still going strong today. It is a community for grieving people from around the world. Over a 100 countries represented from all walks of life. It is free and is peer-to-peer support based on loss type. Read more>>

Jen Fox

Spiral brewery is a women-owned, women-operated, women-brewed, micro, self distributed craft brewery. Back in 2012, my brother, sister-in-law, and I were drinking Minnesota craft beer discussing how much we adore our hometown of Hastings, MN. And the conversation quickly turned into a conversation about how much our sweet city would benefit from a third space like a locally owned taproom. Read more>>

Jodi Campbell

Absolutely! My story really began long before I ever became a travel advisor. I earned my master’s degree in Human Resource Management from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota while raising three children — and once my husband’s career began taking him around the world, I decided to stay home full-time to raise our family. Read more>>

Tricia Schwietz

I am a Professional Ballroom Dance Instructor, and opened my first ballroom in 2008 (I was 23 years old). In addition to Group Classes and Private Lessons, I held Dance Parties and Private Events, including my good friend’s wedding reception. I was located inside Valley Creek Mall in Woodbury, next to Keys Cafe. Read more>>

Allie Lott

I started my real estate career nine years ago as a marketing agent at Keller Williams, and I had no idea then how life changing it would become. What began as a marketing role quickly turned into a true passion. I fell in love with the process of helping families find spaces where their lives could grow. Read more>>

Erik Peacock

I started my personal training career accidentally as I was a computer science major but switched majors in college because I did not love sitting in a cubicle. I ended working at ay a YMCA in college and then a big club chain the Twin cities after I graduated. Read more>>

Lynsie Ochoa

I’ve had a love for photography for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t start pursuing it seriously until 2020. I had taken time off from my nursing career to be home with my son, and after being gifted a professional camera when he was born, I started taking online classes to truly learn how to use it. Read more>>

Moody Arafa

My wife and I started Cahill Diner back in April of 2009. When we decided to take it over, it was on the brink of closing and needed a lot of work. With over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry, my wife Zeze and I were ready to create something of our own. Read more>>

Fabio Morescalchi

I started martial arts as a teenager back in Portland Oregon. Karate, Judo and Some freestyle type martial arts. Early 90s started teaching for Straight Blast Gyms and eventually followed a girl to Minnesota ( now my wife) . Read more>>

Tanya Johnson

My name is Tanya Johnson and I am a Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, Group Fitness Instructor, Lifestyle & Career Coach with over 26 years in corporate leadership positions dedicated to helping my clients meet their professional, fitness, health and/or wellness goals. My story begins with a 7-year old little girl put into a program designed around nutritional habits to lose weight. Read more>>

Alyssa Schultz

I began my journey in mental health back in 2012 when my cousin died by suicide. I was gone at basic training for the army national guard at the time of his death. I wasn’t allowed to come home for his funeral due to him not being immediate family. This was really difficult for me. Read more>>

Christopher Isahaq

My name is Chris Isahaq, and I am a proud single father of four wonderful children. My oldest, at 19, enlisted in the US Air Force this year. I have twin daughters—one is pursuing Psychology at Concordia University, while her twin, who has special needs, is thriving in her transition program. Read more>>

Juan Llerena

I grew up in Peru, in a family where entrepreneurship wasn’t a buzzword — it was survival. Watching my parents build opportunity from limited resources shaped the way I see business today: as a tool for dignity, stability, and possibility. Read more>>