April West and Ashton Ellis
We were fortunate to meet through a mutual friend. My background (April) was in event planning and marketing and Ashton’s was in interior design and project management. Our skill sets really compliment one another and make us a strong partnership. Read more>>
Gail Jillissen
I have always enjoyed working with children. In elementary school I volunteered to help out in the preschool area during recess, and when I got older I babysat to make money. I worked as an English teacher in Germany, teaching English to German children between 2 and 5 years old. Read more>>
Jan Rivera
I do not come from a rich family. I am by no means a “legacy”. My life, has been a combination of struggles. But then again, that has been the life of most of the people I have met. I deeply believe that these struggles actively shape your life for the better. Read more>>
Louise Canton
Since a child, I have been fascinated with portraiture and using paint to capture the way light falls on the face and the mood one could create. After finishing school, I went on to study art and psychology at a college near London where I discovered photography and became obsessed. Read more>>
Leslie Desrosiers
I discovered my passion for physical therapy at a young age, as it seemed to be a perfect fit for my love of sports, interest in human anatomy, and excitement about understanding injuries and rehabilitation. I remember the moment that I had an ankle sprain assessed by a physical therapist – I was in awe that she appeared to almost “see” the injury beneath the skin and knew just what to do for it. Read more>>
Paul Stacey
You know us as the original. The inventors. We live in a pursuit of doing things better. In 2001 we gave birth to the inflatable board and today that’s still all we make. First came a surfboard, then came stand up paddle boards. We’ve been busy designing our boards to perform better and improving our technologies. Read more>>
Erik and Eli Lockheimer
When Eli and I first embarked on our new business journey, it seemed like a long shot to be where we are now, due to factors like our young age and lack of experience. As two young brothers with a passion for the automotive field and videography, we were determined to make it work. Read more>>
Rev. Dr. Jeff Saville
I led my first wedding in Mission Valley for my younger sister back in 1987, and loved it! One of my greatest joys in life is bringing couples together to celebrate their love and lifelong commitment to one another in a way that is both fun and spiritually meaningful in the presence of family and friends. Read more>>
Jazz Irizarry
I love life, immensely. This love gave me the strength to overcome all the obstacles I encountered throughout my life. I am proud of who I have become and all I have accomplished. I want the same for others. I love people and I love helping them create balance through healing. Read more>>
AmyK Hutchens
Teaching is in my DNA. I started off as an elementary school teacher in Chevy Chase, Maryland. I got my grad degree from Johns Hopkins University in Education with an emphasis in brain research – cognitive science. I then moved to Shanghai, China and trained teachers in our international school system. Read more>>
Shawn Roner
The American Heritage Charter Schools officially began in 2010, but started much earlier when it’s first school, Escondido Charter High School opened in 1996. Frustrated with the pace of educational reform in California, Republicans and Democrats agreed in 1992 to pass an innovative piece of legislation that would transform public education in the United States. Read more>>
Kevin Viner
I began learning magic as a child, when I was about 5 years old. My first paid event was for another child’s birthday party up the street when I was 11, and I was fortunate to be hired for an event with Qualcomm when I was 15. This started my current career performing for corporate meetings across the country. Read more>>
Alan Noblitt
I had worked at Hewlett-Packard for a number of years. HP used to be a great company and was always among the best places to work. However, in my later years with the company, it had declined greatly and I was miserable being there. Read more>>
Anjelica Wilson
Oceanside Dance Academy was established in 1989 by my mother, Jocelyn K Wilson. My father was a Marine stationed in Camp Pendelton and who supported her dream by building each one of our dance rooms by hand. What began as a single dance floor has expanded to 8 studios, spanning 3 locations between Oceanside and Temecula. Read more>>
Sylvia Kurth, Markus Kmitta and Yasmin von Banke
Masks Don’t Lie LLC is a feature film production company that develops, produces high quality films for theatrical, television, and DVD release. It is our intent to appeal to a large audience with a broad range of genres, Drama, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural and Science Fiction. Masks Don’t Lie LLC was incorporated in 2011. Read more>>
Jamie Waller
In 2007, my high school sweetheart, our 2 kids and I moved to Cardiff. In 2008, a month after our daughter was born (at Christmas time), the painting company I worked for laid off his entire staff. During the worst economic period, we decided to take a leap of faith and start our own painting business. Read more>>
Amy Saloner
One of our co-founders, Craig Saloner, was commissioned to develop curriculum for an up and coming residential development in Scripps Ranch that included education as a core component of residency. The Campus of Life and its residential counterpart Ascent were seeking to create community like no other. Read more>>
Jeff McLean
Like most awesome ideas, Bramwell Sunglasses was concocted while throwing back a couple of White Russians at one of Encinitas’s finest establishments, Beir Garden. Yes, I said White Russians. About mid-day one of our friends, who happens to look exactly like Tony Parker, knocked his sunglasses off and they broke as soon as they hit the ground. Read more>>
Justin North
I started shaping at 22 or 23 and started my first label called s.o.s boards in 98 in New England. I didn’t know what I was doing and there were very few shapers or real board manufacturers where I was from so my only influences were boards in the two shops. Read more>>
Ashley Ward
My journey began as a journalist back in 2011. I attended Humboldt State University to become a journalist, where I dreamed of writing hard-hitting news and eventually writing for publications like National Geographic. During my studies I quickly saw the decline of the print era and the rise of digital. Read more>>
Tom Bollard
I came to San Diego in 1980 to study scenic and lighting design for the theater at SDSU (I have a BA from SDSU) and the opportunities for designers/entrepreneurs were so interesting that I decided to stay. I designed dozens of productions at most of the theaters that were hiring professional designers at the time. Read more>>
Cindy and Mark Pearson
April 1st, 1989, as a couple of squeaky, young kids with a six-year-old in tow (Holly), we moved onto a dilapidated succulent range in Vista. Along with us came roughly 5,000 Plumeria, and the beginnings of our herb collection. Read more>>
Lenila Batali
I grew up in San Francisco, and after securing a degree in architecture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, I practiced architecture and landscape architecture for 15 years designing upscale residences and developments for large companies like Disneyland. I then pursued designing large housing developments, state parks and private residences. Read more>>
Bethany Peterson and Fatima Assi
I’ve always had a passion for the beauty industry. Out of high school I became licensed and since then have been a part of many aspects of the beauty world. Several years ago, I met some ladies who sparked my interest in lash extensions so I learned the craft and after that my personal business expanded very quickly. Read more>>
Curtis Guise
I grew up in Northern California in the Bay Area. I was into everything off-road related growing up, BMX bikes, mountain bikes, dirt bikes, watching desert races and short course truck races on TV and taking my 1983 Toyota 4×4 off-road. Shortly after graduating high school a friend that I raced mountain bikes with got into desert racing and built a truck to race. Read more>>
Forrest Blackburn
Suggested as one of 2012’s top emerging business professionals, Forrest attended Pepperdine University, Malibu, and is both Google Certified and Bing Accredited. He is married to his wife Ashley of seven years, from which they have two boys: Nixon Forrest and Weston Asher. Read more>>
Scott Martin
I was a partner at another glazing company late 1970’s. We designed and extruded our own storefront and built skylights. One thing I’m proud of doing was acquiring major account status to purchase glass directly from the manufacturer. Buying direct from Ford glass was impossible for even a large glass shop, you had to do the volume of ‘glass fabricators’ and Ford’s sales division had previously refused to sell to us, we weren’t big enough. Read more>>
Cliff Pia
Cheryl and Cliff started their company 21 years ago this month. Cheryl’s background includes stints in A&R for Island Records and international PR for New Line Cinema. Cliff has a background as a professional bassist, producer, director, and President/Creative Director of The American Comedy Network & CommercialWorks. Read more>>
Sam Goodwin
It stems from when my wife and I purchased our first home in Connecticut. The house was built 1950 and came with a basement. I grew up in Arizona, and we didn’t have basements. The Connecticut house was old and every time it rained, the basement would have water seep into it. Read more>>
Suzanne Weinstein
Suzanne is a consultant, strategist, and master of results who has been asking the “big” questions since childhood. Her approach is to link deep knowing of purpose with personal alignment to guide the world’s trailblazers in their pursuit of excellence. Suzanne helps leaders and their teams develop synchronicity in business and in life. Read more>>
