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.

Rachele Royale | Recording Artist & Songwriter

I grew up in the Bay Area (Silicon Valley) CA. My mother, Sioux Lehner, ran one of the most successful dance competition/ performing arts centers on the west coast. Watching my mom run her own business definitely prompted me to be an independent artist/ entrepreneur. As a competitive dancer we were also encouraged to audition for TV/ Film. Vocal lessons were recommended as well. I started writing songs as a young teen and knew I wanted to be a singer songwriter. Of course, like most kids, my mom wanted me to focus on other things. I inherited her drive, ambition, and stubbornness. She gave me the strength and tools I needed to fight for my dreams. The music industry is tumultuous and crazy but it’s also the one thing that makes life worth living For me! Read more>>

Debra Lee Baldwin | Succulent Plant Expert, Speaker & Bestselling Author

I’m a San Diego native who grew up on an avocado ranch. Oddly enough, my parents proudly (and cluelessly) assumed I was precocious because I was reading at age 4. What they didn’t realize is I had extreme near-sightedness that shrank the world to within my outstretched arm. Illustrated books were my life. Everything else, including TV, was a blur. Play was difficult, especially anything that had to do with catching a ball! It wasn’t until first grade that a teacher suggested I get my eyes checked. But by then, words in print had done more to open the world to me than glasses ever did. Growing up, I longed to be a writer, a desire I buried because it would be too painful not to achieve it. I was considered brilliant scholastically yet was hopeless socially. I’m a San Diego native who grew up on an avocado ranch. Oddly enough, my parents proudly (and cluelessly) assumed I was precocious because I was reading at age 4. What they didn’t realize is I had extreme near-sightedness that shrank the world to within my outstretched arm. Illustrated books were my life. Read more>>

Maria Bahamon | Co-founder

I was born and raised in Ibagué, the capital of the department of Tolima in western Colombia, known for its musical and cultural heritage. My hometown is also on the central mountain range of the Colombian Andes, where you can find coffee crops and it is in fact that Tolima is the third-highest coffee producer in Colombia. My upbringing has impacted who I am today and my company Yipao Coffee in many ways. I grew up surrounded by music, art and Colombian coffee culture. Since I was very young, the walls of my mother’s house had a variety of oil paintings inspired by landscapes of Colombian coffee crops. All the art was painted by my brother, Carlos Bahamon, a Colombian self-taught artist. We inherited my mother’s creativity, which is why I decided to pursue a career in Architecture. Read more>>

Yesica Rodriguez | Yoga Instructor

I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. When I was 2-years-old, my family moved to Connecticut. We faced a lot of discrimination there and while I don’t remember much of it from when I was very young, I do have some memories from those times. Eventually, we moved to Maryland which is where I grew up. Every summer, we would go back to Puerto Rico so I spend much of my childhood there. When I was in Maryland, I felt like an outsider. You might say I was seen as too Puerto Rican. In Puerto Rico, I also felt like an outsider. I was seen as too American. My cousin would introduce my sister and I to her friends as being from “out there”. These experiences very much shaped who I am today. As a yoga teacher, my goal is to make sure anyone from any background feels safe, welcome and comfortable in my class. I tend to be very nurturing and accommodating to my students. Read more>>

Kris Fillat – Buchanan | Restaurant Owner, Olympian & Certified Holistic Nutritionist

I grew up inland San Diego. I played sports form the age of 5, making it all the way the Olympics. That work ethic and dedication enabled me to move to the beach, which was my dream, open a restaurant and thrive through all the challenges owing a restaurant brings. Read more>>

Waddie CrazyHorse | Silversmith

Where I come from and my background are the most integral aspects to the maturation of my business. I have a unique story which weaves between the old and the new worlds; this non-linear life path can be both a blessing an a curse. As a 3rd-generation Native American silversmith, I am the continuation and evolution of the artistic heritage passed down from my grandpa, Joe H. Quintana. In a way similar to my father, Cippy CrazyHorse, I have taken those inherited technical skills and made them my own. But this blessing can be much more complicated to negotiate than it at first seems! The question here is: accounting for all that I have been given, how do I make my own way without trying too hard not to imitate? Along with the techniques and tools, I inherited a network comprised of museum buyers, gallery owners, and collectors eager to support and encourage me, the upcoming generation. Read more>>