Casually Creative

Michelle Williams goes beyond defying the odds and has, at every stage of her life, defined them. Her passion for economic and entrepreneurial equity comes from years working alongside business owners, CEOs, and non-profit leaders to push them towards a true understanding of their value, and how they can (and do) impact the world and community around them. As the founding Executive Director of the Dallas Entrepreneur Center at Red Bird Mall, Michelle was responsible for highlighting, celebrating, and supporting entrepreneurs in areas of her city that were often overlooked and under-resourced. Now, as an independent Social Impact and Innovation Strategist, she works alongside those same entrepreneurs, civic leaders, and heads of business to help them define, execute and implement their philanthropic goals to build a more just and impactful world. We chatted about creating opportunities, cultivating communities, and...the power of channeling your inner Beyonce.

Curiously Creative

Twitter: @bemichellew

NPR interview hosted by KERA

Every now and then you stumble into a conversation that holds your attention in such a way that you look up and don't realize how much time has passed. That's what happened the entire time we sat down to chat with Chike Aguh. A Harvard Fellow, Wharton Alumni, and Presidential Leadership Scholar, Chike history has seen him navigating the halls of Harvard and the roads of Nigeria. Passionate about fostering opportunities to create and discover the future of work, Chike's career has allowed him to develop campaigns for presidential candidates, fight for technological equity for disappropriated communities, and most recently, serve as the Head of Economic Mobility Pathways at the Education Design Lab. There he leads the Community College Growth Engine Fund, an innovative, tri-sector and $2.5M dollar effort turning community colleges into bridges to careers in high growth fields for every American learner and worker, starting with nearly 4,000 in 6 communities.

Endlessly self-inquisitive, Chike strives daily to "interrogate his own performance" to push himself to work alongside agencies, organizations, and individuals to envision a present of work that includes everyone, regardless of where they find themselves. 

Curiously Creative

Twitter: @CRAguh

Instagram: @chikeaguh

Work in Progress Podcast

Council on Foreign Relations Panel on Trade, Immigration, Workforce Development 

WebSummit Panel on Internet as a Human Right

The Chance And The Choice That Changed My Life: The Power of A College Promise (Forbes) 

Jennifer Burns' creative approach to problem-solving, question asking, and collaborating has been a large part of what has elevated her to being one of the top event production professionals in her industry. Her commitment to "never say no" to a client while still guiding them towards the decisions and outcomes that are best for their experiences has given her the unique opportunity to create and celebrate those moments with presidents, celebrities, and heads of state. Jennifer is one of the few women leading in the male-dominated industry of pyrotechnics, and her time as President of Illumination Fireworks and Special FX has taught her to find opportunities when only problems seem to present themselves and to use those opportunities to grow companies and build brands to 5x their original size.

Oh yeah, and we learn about Byron's (mildly scary) obsession with fire.

Curiously Creative

Personal Instagram

Illumination Fireworks Instagram

Ultimate Confetti Instagram

Sitting down with Jerry Hawkins is like getting a master class in, well...everything. Equal parts storytelling historian and unapologetic activist, Jerry deftly weaves in and out of narrative and policy discussions with a skill that speaks to the many hours he's spent understanding, unpacking, and most importantly, reading. An avid bibliophile, Jerry has spent his life digging into the history of the places and spaces in which he finds himself, to unpack the roots of the systemic racism baked into so many communities. A Chi-town native, Jerry's mission to impact those around him to transform their communities by more fully understanding their stories and using their past to create more just and verdant futures is realized as he leads Dallas Truth Racial Healing & Transformation, a non-profit organization whose work has been globally recognized, first by a founding grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and most recently by being awarded a $500,000 grant by the Texas Instruments Foundation to allow TRHT to expand their mission, increase their community outreach, and bolster the programming they offer to the communities they serve.

Jerry is a masterful storyteller, and the work that he and Dallas TRHT are doing will inspire and motivates you to understand the history of wherever you find yourself to be a part of a future that's better for all.

Curiously Creative

D Magazine Article: Death Around the Corner: Racism, Protest, and Living in Dallas During a Pandemic 

Community Conversations: Racial Healing and Change

Instagram: @JerryLEADS

Luxury wedding planner, design guru, podcaster, instructor, semi-serial entrepreneur, professional dancer (ret), and multiple URL owner (you can catch your breath now) Kimberly Rhodes has been focused on creating beautiful experiences for clients for almost two decades and still finds joy in every one. From her days planning corporate meetings and conferences, grand openings and trade shows Kimberly was surprised to discover that her true passion was helping people celebrate their most special days from her time planning her own...and she hasn't looked back since.

As the owner of Hitched Events, she works with clients to make their most beautiful and amazing days come true. As the co-host of This Week in Weddings, a podcast dedicated to wedding entrepreneurs, Kimberly helps those in the industry that she loves excel and create new opportunities to grow their businesses. Most recently, in launching her first online course, she is training a new generation of podcast creators on how to put their ideas out into the world. In short, Kimberly is all about creating and celebrating those moments of creation whenever possible. Kimberly believes that her superpower is her ability to listen and that she becomes more than just a wedding planner, she’s a confidante, part-time therapist, and advocate for her clients. Over the years, she's discovered unique ways to help clients understand their voice and empower them to share that voice through the creation of their most special days. In the process, she's discovered how to "own her own opinions" and use that power to create her world around her.

Y'all- Kimberly dropped some GEMS on this episode!

Curiously Creative

Business IG - @hitchedevents

Tanner Hockensmith is somewhat of an enigma. This show choir singing, deer hunting, karate-kicking (ok, it's Jiu-Jitsu, but the alliteration was too good to pass up), nonprofit leading husband and father has been a part of the building and transformation of a number of organizations throughout his career. From starting an arts-based cultural center that focused on the strengths of the community instead of trying to correct its weaknesses, to his time leading not one, but two different chapters of the ALS Association, Tanner has centered his life around impacting those around him and leaving lives and communities better. At the time of the now history-making "Ice Bucket Challenge," Tanner was a relatively new leader within the ALS Association and got to experience firsthand how someone with passion could rally an international movement and how creative approaches to solving problems are often found in the most unlikely of places. We sat down to discuss global movements, white walkers, and why conservation through hunting isn't an oxymoron.

Curiously Creative

Instagram: @tannerhock

ALS Association of Texas

Raised from an early age to appreciate, interpret, and engage with a variety of musical and creative expressions, Ben Hall spent most of his life educating and inspiring young people to connect with music in their own unique ways. When suddenly faced with the opportunity to shift careers, Ben found himself in seemingly unfamiliar territory but quickly learned that much of what he learned while teaching had perfectly prepared him to impact the lives of those he was now connected with. We sat down to discuss how his work at Safe Haven of Tarrant County has been inspired and influenced by his time in the public school system, and how even in a curriculum-based environment, opportunities for creativity are what enable true and lasting connection and change. 

Curiously Creative

Ben on Instagram

You've heard of multi-instrumentalists before, right? You know, those musical types who can pick up just about any instrument and play it with the skill of a virtuoso. Well, Mike Arreaga is like a multi-creativist (yes, that's a made-up word you can now use- you're welcome). An accomplished painter, printer, designer, welder, carpenter, furniture architect, and scenic designer, Mike has discovered his own particular brand of inspiration in, well...everything. A true believer that you can be inspired by anything from wall stucco and waveforms to toast and Nigerian Disco, and that it all can inform and create.

Instagram:  @arreaga & @ShagCarpetProps

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Narrative and story have always been a powerful part of Paul Wizikowski's life. Since discovering in elementary school theatre how people can be transported and connected through impactful moments, he has made it his mission to create, capture, and share those tales. Currently, in his position as Video Production Advisor to the NASA Administrator, Paul has been consistently tasked with telling some of this nation's most hopeful and awe-inspiring stories. Most recently, he led the team responsible for Launch America. As NASA ushered in a new era of human spaceflight, American astronauts once again launched on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and Paul and his team shared the launch with millions. We sat down with him to talk about connecting the dots, flying planes, and how to successfully launch 9' dinosaurs into space. 

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Dr. HaeSung Han has dedicated her life to empowering girls and young women to lift themselves out of situations historically destined to destroy them. Refusing to allow the young women she serves to be defined by the worst moments of their lives, she and the team at Poetic have built a community that has empowered and uplifted them to amazing heights. We sat down with Dr. Han to discuss her creative approach to impacting and changing the juvenile justice system so that young women have an opportunity to pursue dreams and find liberation through art and connection.