Enjoying other cultures of the world without leaving home can be as simple as enjoying a cup of coffee with good friends.

Before smoke signals, postal services, newspapers, telephones, televisions, the internet, and smart phones, people shared their news by visiting each other. They spent face-to-face time together communicating and educating one another about their beliefs, cultures and experiences. By default, meeting places were established for such exchanges.

The first Turkish coffee house meeting place opened in the 16th century, and so began the traditions and rituals of leisurely gathering to form longlasting alliances while slowly drinking specially-brewed Turkish coffee. The Turkish people’s love for coffee and the experience of socializing around it can be summed up in their proverb: Bir kahvenin kirk yil hatiri vardir: A cup of coffee commits one to forty years of friendship.

Accomplishing so much at such a young age, Victory Mohamed has only just begun to mold young girls into confident and empowered women.

It’s hard to believe when looking at her impressive resume that pageant and entertainment industry extraordinaire, Victory Mohamed, is only 24 years old, because she has already accomplished so much. For starters, she owns a company entitled, “Be Victorious Pageant and Image Prep,” where she adds more than 10 years of experience in competing, judging, directing, modeling and acting. Her experience has been instrumental in helping her coach clients on the local, state, national and international levels. Aside from that, she is also the Director of Education at the Barbizon School of Modeling, Acting and Personal Development in Baltimore, from which she graduated in 2003.

From Jersey girl and former nanny to entrepreneur and CEO, Markerly’s co-founder Sarah Ware talks about life as a 26-year old technology startup executive.

In the land of IT startups, 20-something males sitting at the helm of technology companies are a dime a dozen. Open any techie magazine or read any tech-focused blog, and you’ll come across countless startup companies being led by guys under 30.

In the same land of IT startups, however, CEO seats being held by women under 30 are not as common. So when you run across an up-and-coming, 26-year old by the name of Sarah Ware, who spearheads a startup tech company named Markerly (markerly.com), you have to pause for a moment to realize just what a rare treat that is.

Evaluating and redefining one’s life can be infectious, and this woman’s passion inspires others.

An initial meeting with Stephanie Hoaglund can be spellbinding. There is no tentativeness about her personality or approach. She is enthusiastic and energetic, nearly glowing against the dark backdrop of her CrossFit gym. A marketing and social media professional for K-12 Inc. and CrossFit Impavidus of Ashburn and a blogger, she is also a woman redefined. She is full of passion with a desire to inspire others so they can find their passion regardless of their circumstances.

Life, however, hasn’t always been easy for Stephanie and her family. Five years ago they faced their most difficult challenge. In 2008, after her husband, Scott, had been suffering health complications and feeling unusually exhausted, Stephanie urged him to make an appointment for a routine physical. In the meantime, the two celebrated their 10th anniversary at Disney World. Though they enjoyed their getaway, Scott had difficulty keeping pace on the vacation. When she looks back at the photos of their trip, what wasn’t noticeable in the day-to-day now becomes strikingly obvious…her husband was extremely ill.

Leesburg-based artist, Deborah Morbeto, on life, creativity and the pursuit of “art-ness”

Deborah Morbeto, a fine artist living in Leesburg, VA and art instructor at ArtSquare (formerly known as the Loudoun Academy of the Arts) began her career in art as a little girl. “I started making art when I was very young,” explains Morbeto.

By high school, Morbeto knew that pursuing art after graduation was in her blood. “I was positive I wanted to pursue art school, and I spent my time putting my portfolio together. I was accepted into Boston University and spent about a year there, but it wasn’t long after that I ended up at Mass Art. The environment there was much more art-focused and centered on celebrating creativity. It was just a better fit. Mass Art met my high creative need for expression.”

Alessandra Gelmi is a national award-winning author, professor, journalist, editor, former member of the White House Correspondents’ Association and an advocate for human and animal welfare. She currently lives in Washington, D.C., where she is at work on her fourth book, Soulbait.

KC: You’ve worn a myriad of hats throughout your impressive and accomplished career, both personally and professionally. How did your stroke in 2007 change your life?

AG: The doctors thought I would never walk again. I had to relearn how to walk and talk. I remember the speech therapist coming in every day when I was hospitalized and pointing to something in the room–a sink or a chair–wanting me to name it. I had no idea how to do this. I was in intensive care for three weeks while paralyzed on my left side.

A passion for aviation and a can-do attitude doesn’t mean you’ll break sound barriers, but Jeanne Dietrich broke barriers nonetheless.

It’s a familiar ritual. You’ve rushed through the airport, you’re buckled into your seat, and suddenly the crack of static attracts your attention as the loudspeaker comes to life with the captain welcoming you aboard. But how many times in your travels has that been a female’s voice? If you’re like most people, you’re likely to answer rarely, if at all.

It’s still a mystery – 80 years after Helen Richey became the first female commercial airline pilot – that only about 450 women worldwide are airline captains. The reasons are complex and include a lack of awareness on girls’ parts about career options, money needed for training and job realities. Some believe it’s not unusual that women don’t flock in numbers to a stressful, male-dominated job requiring continuous training, long stretches of time away from home and the stress of raising a family “in absentia.” Perhaps in this day and age, one can say the same about men, and it begs the question: What attracts them to the same stressors? Minus, of course, the male-dominated part…

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors recognized Cathy Maddox, president of the nonprofit organization, Sprout, as an Outstanding Adult Volunteer in the Volunteer Loudoun Outstanding Volunteer Awards on May 1, 2013. Sprout provides equine assisted activities and therapies to individuals of all ages, backgrounds and ability levels seeking growth opportunities, with equine experiences tailored to meet their needs. Cathy’s recruitment efforts on behalf of the organization resulted in a 53% increase in the number of volunteers in her first year of service. Her commitment to creating a contact database, establishing a volunteer recognition program, training 146 volunteers, and enhancing Sprout’s partnership with Loudoun County Public Schools through Community Based Instruction has made Cathy a lifeline to the organization.

Cathy joined Sprout Therapeutic Riding and Education Center in October 2011, volunteering with her teenage daughter, and eventually becoming the Volunteer Coordinator in December 2011. She joined the Board of Directors as the President in February 2012. Her employment background includes working for Loudoun County Public Schools as a Job Coach, Special Education Assistant and Secretary; Boeing Services Company as Environmental Health and Safety Liaison; and as a published author.

Cathy firmly believes in giving back to the community and helping others and has a deep respect for the staff, volunteers, horses and participants who work together to change lives through our programs. www.sproutcenter.org

Whether you are a parent looking for information about a specific children’s activity or enrichment camp, want to comparison shop across activities and camps, require robust and intuitive activity and camp planning tools, or just want to connect with other parents to share and collaborate, Activity Rocket is the solution.

In today’s technologically driven world, anything and everything is at your fingertips. Want to go on a vacation? You can easily book one by going to a plethora of traveling websites that will not only book your plane ticket, but also your room and any extra fun things you may desire. Need a reservation for dinner? Bring up Open Table and the restaurant world is your oyster. How about reviews for resorts, museums, beaches, and parks? Easy! Want to try and get your children involved with sports and activities at a time that works for you, in a location that is close to home? Not so easy…until now.

Meet Karen Mitchell, founder of Ashburn’s Fitwize4Kids. You may not yet have heard about this growing business, but it is redefining health and fitness in our community and inspiring families to make positive changes.

At the core of this endeavor, the branch’s founder is truly committed to her cause and proves to be an inspirational woman with the drive and ambition to make an impact.

Growing up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Karen had no idea where she would discover her calling. She earned a business degree and embarked on a successful career in sales and marketing.Despite her accomplishments, she was searching for more. The desire to make a difference in the lives of others led Karen to leave her day job and focus on family. She needed time off to figure out her next steps.