How a Fourth Generation Photographer Found His Next Chapter at Achieve Summit

For Daveed Holmes, photography is a family legacy four generations deep. And at the first-ever Achieve Summit, held June 27 to 29, 2025, he found powerful affirmation that this legacy, combined with his passion for health and wellness, belongs at the center of the Southland’s rapidly evolving economic story.

Holmes, a Chicagoland Community Health and Wellness Creative Advocate, attended the summit not for a particular speaker, although names like Daymond John, Nely Galán, Nathalie Molina Niño, Seth Ferguson, and Walker Deibel helped catch his eye. Instead, it was the opportunity to reconnect with the Southland itself that pulled him in. And yet, he was still taken aback by the speaker list. “I was like, it had Daymond John from Shark Tank, so I was like, really?” Basically, Holmes knew he had to be there.

What followed was more than just an event with Daymond John.

Holmes traces his roots in photography back to his great-grandfather, who began capturing family moments in Kansas City in the 1940s and 1950s. His grandfather introduced video in the 1970s. His father took over with a camcorder in the 1980s and 1990s. And by the late 2010s, Daveed had taken up the mantle himself.

“My background was first in personal training, massage therapy, and ergonomic screening,” Holmes said. “Then I became a peer recovery coach. Photography became the vehicle to help people heal… mentally, emotionally, even physically.”

His business, Apertrue Photography, focuses on capturing stories of resilience, restoration, and health. He is also the assistant manager of a non-profit in neighboring town Griffith, Indiana, called SHINE Recovery Cafe. “We Serve ‘Hope, Integrity, and New Experiences’ to people who are recovering from substance abuse, justice involvement, and the unhoused,” explained Holmes

From his LinkedIn: “My goal is to inform people of the benefits of living an active and healthy lifestyle and to simplify exercise concepts. Health and exercise can greatly improve our quality of life.”

When it came to achieving that goal, what the Achieve Summit offered was a lens wider than even his camera could provide.

“Your staff was really awesome, very helpful. I met people I would have never met if I didn’t go. It just reminded me that when people get in a room together, ideas start to spark,” said Holmes of his experience at the event.

Holmes said the experience nudged him to refine his business focus even further. He left with a renewed vision of aligning Apertrue Photography more tightly with the growing need for health-forward storytelling in a post-pandemic world.

“There’s so much potential right here,” he said. “Cook County is one of the largest in the country. We’ve got Rush, Northwestern, University of Chicago Medicine, the Illinois Department of Public Health, all in our backyard. If we use tools like photography, video, and yes, AI, we can change the narrative of health, not just in a clinical way, but in a human way.”

On that note, Holmes spoke on the unifying energy of Achieve. “Seeing the chambers from the Southland coming together was a real ‘aha’ moment for me.”

Unifying energy is core for Holmes - who signs all his emails with the phrase “Love Always Prevails,” a reference, he says, to the enduring power of love not just in romance, but in community.

“If we truly love our people,” he said, “we’ll find solutions others can’t see. When you combine that love with skill and technology, you don’t just build a business. You change lives.”

“We’re not just here to make money,” he said. “We’re here to pass something on. Something solid. Something our kids can build on instead of starting from scratch. That’s the vision. That’s what events like Achieve help reinforce.”

“Everything is changing,” he said. “But when love prevails, and people connect, we can figure it out. We always have.”

About the Southland Development Authority

The Southland Development Authority, a not-for-profit economic development organization, is committed to driving equitable and sustainable economic growth in the south suburbs of Chicago. Through innovative programs, strategic partnerships, and impactful direct investments, the SDA is building a vibrant, inclusive economy that drives wealth growth for individuals, businesses and municipalities. Combined with the benefits of the South Suburban Land Bank and the Monarch Fund, the SDA serves as a model for regional development.