Through our work we have had the good fortune of seeing firsthand how success comes in every shape, size, color, faith, and orientation. More importantly we’ve learned that success is often the result of people embracing their unique backgrounds and so we’ve asked the community to tell us about their background and how it has impacted where they are today.

Terrel Emerson | Owner & Editor of Talk that Talk Media Company

I moved around the Los Angeles County area a lot growing up for various reasons but I claim Inglewood, California as my hometown because that’s the place where I grew into a man. I spent my high school years there, got my first job during that time, learned a lot of my life lessons then and had a lot of firsts there in the city. Being from that area and having family from all over the LA area means having to move through different cities. With that comes, maturing a little faster in some cases. Read more>>

Jeff Josenhans | Luxury Food and Beverage Director, Freediver

I grew up in a working class environment in Riverside, CA. My mother worked with childcare out of our home and my father commuted to Orange County for work before eventually picking up a job at Walter’s Mercedes Benz in Riverside. They got married young, had me young, and as a result pushed my sister and I to excel in school, probably driven by the challenges they worked through as young parents. They never splurged, always preached hard work and savings. To this day, they remain like this. Read more>>