Portraits of Nashville

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 Nashville.

Sherly Diaz

My journey into healthcare actually started long before I became a registered nurse. I began working with women and families as a doula and midwife assistant, supporting mothers through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. That experience is really where my love for caring for people began. From there, I continued building my career in healthcare. Read more>>

Jennifer Briskin

I’ve always been fascinated by people — what motivates them, what holds them back, what makes them come alive and what allows them to do their best work. My career began in corporate human resources, including GE’s Human Resources Leadership Program, and eventually led me to build my own consulting business. Read more>>

Daniella Clement

I took my first class at The Chrome Bar in Nashville in 2017. I trained there for 2 years, trained abroad for 1 year in Sydney, Australia as my fiance and I worked abroad for a year. When I returned, the owner of Chrome opened a location in Murfreesboro and I started teaching classes there in 2021. Read more>>

Alyssa Ann

My parents enrolled me into Kinder Music classes when I was 3 years old and ever since then I have been pursuing music. I took piano, voice, flute and guitar lessons growing up but I always enjoyed singing the most. Read more>>

Kathryn Currey

I studied engineering at Vanderbilt and spent years as a competitive show jumper. Neither sounds like the start of a personal assistant company, but both are. Engineering taught me to build systems for messy problems, and a busy household is exactly that. Horses taught me discipline and hard work is the key to success. I started in Brentwood, Tennessee as Girl Friday Nashville. Read more>>

Madeline Rose

Photography found me when I least expected it, and wedding photography found me exactly when I hoped it would. My name is Madelline Rose. I’m from Memphis, Tennessee, and I document love all over, but mainly in NYC. TN, and abroad. I spent my late high school and early college years working at a Thai restaurant while wondering what to do with my life (typical). Read more>>

Rahkya Dunlap

Growing up in New York City, I always had a creative mind and believed that the sky was the limit. I was outgoing, confident, and constantly thinking outside of the box. Fashion was one of my first loves. At just six years old, I remember watching *That’s So Raven* and being inspired by Raven’s passion for fashion design. Read more>>

Sam Pfister

Sam Pfister, Owner and Head Coach of Rise Strength and Performance What does a typical day look like for you right now? Currently, I have two typical days. One in which I am at the gym at 4:50 a.m. Read more>>

Neel Sinha

I grew up in Menlo Park, in the sunny state of California, with a piano and a couple of guitars around the house. I started and stopped taking piano lessons when I was around 5–7 years old, and eventually I asked my parents for guitar lessons. Read more>>

Trae Taylor

So I was serving in the 82nd Airborne Division, living near Fort Bragg NC. We had a routine night jump but not routine winds. I’m a pretty big guy and I already fall fast, but during this jump I fell extremely fast and my parachute did not open completely until the end of my decent. Read more>>

Kelly McNair

From the outside, I was the picture of success. I graduated from Wake Forest University, built a career in fundraising and executive leadership, and became the Chief Development Officer of a national legal nonprofit. I also seemed incredibly healthy. I was an avid runner, practiced yoga, and lifted weights. I cooked most of my meals, ate plenty of fruits and vegetables, and avoided processed food. Read more>>

Towne Bidez

In some ways, I feel like this practice found me. I’d originally set out with dream in the creative arts world – as designer – the healing arts were not on my radar. I studied art, fashion, interior design, and trend forecasting. The goal was always to create garments and environments that offer comfort, beauty and functionality. Read more>>

Ceyda Durmus

I’ve always been someone who finds beauty in the little things — a beautiful corner of a home, the perfect outfit, an old piece with a story behind it, or simply a moment worth capturing. For a long time, I never imagined that those little things could actually become part of my career. My journey into content creation started very naturally. Read more>>

Abigail Kamali

Fae of Ilaria is a world I created to share my artwork and interests. Fae of Ilaria means ‘Fairy of Joy.’ With so much chaos going on in the world, I wanted to create a corner of happiness through my artwork. Happiness that is shared with nature and creativity. I have been painting most of my life. Read more>>

Gerald Cheng

I grew up in California in a house where medicine was part of daily life. Both of my parents were physicians, so the idea of being a doctor was highly encouraged, especially the aspect of being able to serve patients in difficult times in their life. I ended up pursuing the profession because I wanted to be a part of that work. Read more>>

Brandon Jones

I grew up in Paris, KY which is a small town north of Lexington. I played sports growing up and attended Bourbon County High School where I took drama to get an easy ‘A’ but eventually fell in love with acting and stopped playing sports. Read more>>

Sofie Katherine

My name is Sofie Katherine and my greatest passion is to help people trust their intuition. My business ‘Quiet Luxuries’ was born out of a desire to help people live a life truly authentic to them and their energy. I have always been highly intuitive and sensitive to people’s energy with no idea on how to control what was mine and what wasn’t. Read more>>

Porsche Vaughn

My journey started with my love for hair and making women feel beautiful and confident. Over the years, that passion grew into Splat Hair Studio, where I’ve been able to build a career doing what I love while creating a personal experience for every client who sits in my chair. But my purpose became much deeper after losing someone very close to me to cancer. Read more>>

Jennifer Matthews

My journey began more than two decades ago in law enforcement, where I developed a strong foundation in public safety, leadership, technology, accountability, and community relations. Throughout my career, I served in leadership and technology-focused positions, including as a Deputy Sheriff and Body Worn Camera Coordinator with the Cook County Sheriff’s Department and Police Digital Services Manager with the Metra Police Department. Read more>>

Taylor Williams

I can vividly remember trying to solve some boredom as a kid and discovering my great-grandmother Phyllis’ sewing box while rummaging through our garage. I was raised just outside Nashville and have always been curious by nature, described early on as an old soul. I was immediately captivated by the contents of her sewing box and taught myself to sew by hand. Read more>>

Michael Allen

I’m a Lafayette, Louisiana native, and I was fortunate to be introduced to music through a very festive environment that celebrated live music, rhythm, and instrumentation. Church, Mardi Gras marching bands, and music constantly filling the rooms of my childhood home all played a role in developing my love for music. Hip-hop eventually became the form of expression I gravitated toward most. Read more>>

Sonia Geny

I’ve always drawn since I was a little girl, but it wasn’t until my 35th birthday that I found myself in front of a cheap canvas recycled from Goodwill and a gift bag of acrylic paints and brushes. Read more>>

torie crick

I have always had a love for the western industry, from horses to cattle and to the fashion. I wanted to make myself apart of the industry in more than just selling cattle and riding horses. I am an agriculture business major, 21 years old, work a full time job, and spend my free time silversmithing. Read more>>

Amanda Scott

I became interested in healthcare at a young age when both my cousin and aunt were diagnosed with breast cancer. Watching them navigate their treatment and journeys inspired me to pursue a career where I could not only help people through medical challenges, but also provide empathy and compassion during some of life’s most difficult moments. Read more>>

Torriyah Falana

I started my transition journey and drag career in November of 2021. I began at 19 years old where I was a trans baby and bedroom queen in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now I’m 24 years old and I’m living out my showgirl trantasy in Nashville, Tennessee. It has been nearly 5 years now, and I’m still blossoming every day. Read more>>

Annie Moore Schumann

After I attended The Juilliard School in its evening division as a vocalist and after I worked as a German nanny and private music teacher for a diplomatic family in New York City I felt called to share my gift with all. The idea of The Schumann Conservatory was born in August of 2018. Read more>>

Jason Spradley

As father and frontman of this family band, I’m living out a dream that took 20years to develop. My musical journey began as a passionate writer/drummer, with hopes of stepping into opportunities to bring inspiration and provocation to audiences across the nation. The early years were incredible. Read more>>

Deon Tutt Jr.

My journey into graphic design started during my senior year of high school. I’ve always enjoyed working with technology, but I wanted to find a way to combine that with my creativity. That’s when I discovered graphic design and realized I could turn my ideas and imagination into something visual. Read more>>

Trace Jory

Hi there! I had another publication create this bio for me and I gotta say – it’s pretty accurate. Okay to utilize the following and put your own spin on it? Trace Jory is an emerging Soul/Americana singer-songwriter whose music reflects a life shaped by movement, curiosity, self-discovery, and a desire to connect with people through honest storytelling. Read more>>

Samantha Daly

Explicit Essentials started in my Queens, New York apartment when I was looking for a gift to help a friend de-stress. I couldn’t find anything that felt right, so I decided to make something myself. What started as a creative outlet quickly turned into a business. From the beginning, I wanted to do things differently. Read more>>

Veronica Gentry

I started my journey in 1996, but in many ways it began long before that, doing hair in my kitchen with raw talent and a dream I couldn’t yet name. Early on I realized talent wasn’t enough. I needed discipline, professionalism, and a commitment to keep growing. Read more>>

James Wodarek

My path as an artist has been long and continually evolving. I studied art formally in Italy, where I immersed myself in painting, architecture, design, and art history. That experience continues to influence the way I think about composition, structure, and the relationship between art and its surroundings. Read more>>

Tara Lofley

This particular chapter of my life story begins in late 2021, I co-founded Blue Ocean Direct Primary Care with my husband Kent, who is a primary care physician. The Direct Primary Care model is a movement, that is changing lives for the better, bringing accessible and timely care to folks when it’s relevant and addressing their needs before they become major medical problems. Read more>>

Connor Huggins

My story in music begins in 7th grade, being forced to join the band program. I was not really active in school or anything else, so my mother pushed me into music and I haven’t looked back. From there I was all in. Moving into high school, I was in the marching band on the front ensemble for a year and drumline for 3 years. Read more>>

Sara Davis

I’ve always loved music, concerts, and the communities that form around artists. Four years ago, I moved to Nashville to study music business at Belmont University, but quickly realized college wasn’t the right path for me. I dropped out after a week and took the risk of figuring things out on my own. Read more>>