Board of Directors

Fritz Porter is the Co-Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager for WestEnd Advisors in Charlotte, NC. A graduate of Davidson College, Fritz completed his MBA at Duke University Fuqua School of Business and also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Fritz and his wife, Mary Margaret, are avid art collectors and enjoy supporting local artists and arts organizations like Goodyear Arts and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art among others. Fritz is honored to be able to serve at Arts for Life to help bring the joy of art and creativity to children in the hospital and their families. Fritz and Mary Margaret have two teenage boys, and they enjoy traveling, skiing and hiking in the mountains.

Charissa McCullers has more than 15 years of experience in IT.  She has worked in leadership roles at HPE and SimpliVity. She is currently the Sr. Director of Nutanix Worldwide Support in Durham, North Carolina, where she leads a diverse team of leaders and engineers.  Charissa loves volunteering with organizations that support children.  She volunteered at Fuller Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she served as the Vice President for several years even though she had no children that attended the school.  Charissa also serves on the Trustee Board of Maple Temple United Church of Christ.  She holds a Master’s Degree in Management, Strategy, and Leadership from Michigan State University.  Outside work, she enjoys attending North Carolina Symphony and Opera performances.

From the musical page to the digital stage, Sarah Cooke is an advocate for creative entrepreneurship and strategic communication with a focus on living local. She pursued her education through her Bachelor of Arts in Music and Interdisciplinary Minor in Humanities from Furman University and her Master of Science in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from the University of Edinburgh Business School. Sarah founded her blog and business in 2015 and specializes in content creation and digital marketing management for companies in the arts, literary, and technology spaces. 

Sarah’s excitement for Arts For Life comes from her combined focus on art as a means for solace and her interest in supporting pediatric hospitals, specifically in her connection with facility dog programs. 

She enjoys traveling from South Carolina to Scotland and beyond, discovering serendipity in her daily life. Between these international adventures, Sarah searches Instagram for fun lattes at independent coffee shops and peruses Little Free Libraries for romance novels.

Tim is a Senior Vice President at Truist and manages the in-house creative design studio. He lives in Kernersville, NC with his wife and three children. Helping others has become a lifelong commitment that began in college, where he spent Saturdays volunteering with children in the community. This desire to have an impact on the lives of others was the spark that grew into years of involvement in church ministries, local organizations and volunteer opportunities. Tim has led team projects for the United Way Day of Caring, Habitat for Humanity and the Truist Lighthouse Project. Arts for Life provides him another avenue to live out his personal purpose of helping and inspiring others by leading with compassion and creativity.

Audrey Hood is an educator and nonprofit leader with a deep passion for supporting children and families through education and community-based work. She has taught across elementary, middle, and high school settings and previously served as a learning specialist. Audrey holds dual master’s degrees in Elementary Education and K–12 Special Education and brings a strong understanding of how children learn, grow, and build confidence.

Audrey brings extensive nonprofit leadership and board experience to Arts For Life. She has held fundraising and development roles within nonprofit organizations and has served as a board member for several nonprofits, including the Salem College Alumnae Board, Teen Health Connection, and The Junior League of Charlotte. Her experience includes event management, strategic planning, fundraising, and program development.

Audrey is especially drawn to Arts For Life’s mission and believes in the power of the arts to bring comfort, connection, and joy to children facing medical challenges. She lives in Waxhaw, North Carolina with her husband Chris, and their two daughters, Kennedy and Charlotte, and is honored to support Arts For Life and the families it serves.

Trish Kreick is an occupational therapist and artist who lives in Durham, NC with her dog, Cheddar. Specializing in geriatric care, she enjoys working with her patients and fellow staff, to find function and joy in their lives. As a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Trish served as an AmeriCorps member in Albuquerque, NM, as an adaptive art teacher for children and adults alike. Following completion of her Masters in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California, she moved to North Carolina. Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Trish’s family now lives in the Carolinas. In her free time, she enjoys learning new processes and creating in her studio at home.

Brittany Lins Peter is a Partner at Alexander Ricks PLLC, where she specializes in land use, zoning, and governmental relations. A graduate of Furman University with a B.S. in Environmental Science, Brittany earned her J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Brittany’s commitment to Arts For Life is rooted in her belief that every child deserves the opportunity to find joy and healing through creativity. She has witnessed the transformative power of art firsthand—both through the innocent wonder of her young daughter, Gemma, and through her uncle, who discovered a passion for painting at age 70 while recovering from heart complications.

A resident of Charlotte, Brittany balances her legal career with a busy home life alongside her husband, Mike, their daughter, and their energetic Australian Shepherd, Fitz. When she isn't navigating legal complexities or chasing her family around, she enjoys her book club, relaxing by the pool, or sharing a glass of wine with friends.

Allison joined the financial services industry in 2003 and is currently an Assistant Vice President and Business Manager with Greiner, Ezell & Associates at the Merrill Lynch office in downtown Asheville.  Prior to joining Merrill in 2015, she held several compliance and operations roles at other firms.

Allison was born and raised in Johnson City, TN.  She completed her Bachelor of Science in Justice and Policy Studies at Guilford College and a Master of Science in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Creighton University Law School.  Prior to her career in financial services, she worked as a relocation consultant in Beijing, China and Hong Kong for six years. 

She lives in Asheville with her husband, John, and their dogs, Sandy and Biggie.

Lauren first became involved with Arts For Life in 2010 as a visual arts intern at Brenner Children’s Hospital. She continued to volunteer as an arts instructor until 2014, when she helped to expand Arts For Life’s programming as the program coordinator in the outpatient clinic. She remained passionate about Arts for Life’s mission, even while living out of state. She returned as a volunteer at Duke Children’s Hospital in Durham in 2019-2020 and again at Mission Children’s Hospital in Asheville, her new home, in 2025.

Lauren studied printmaking and psychology at UNCG and received her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Wake Forest University. She owned and operated a burger stand that went viral in NYC from 2016-2020. Currently she helps develop programming and operations for organizations and companies focused on creating meaning and change, and is the operations manager for an education nonprofit called the Mill Institute. She continues her own practice as a process artist, her primary mediums being printmaking and ceramics. 

Toshkova Fine Art Gallery + Advisory (TFA Gallery + Advisory) Founder Irina Toshkova has spent the past 15 years forging connections between art enthusiasts and the talents behind the works that they admire. Irina brings expert knowledge in contemporary art and an extensive network of artists as an advisor to foundations, corporations, architects, and developers in Charlotte and beyond.

TFA Gallery + Advisory is a thriving firm working to fill a significant need in today’s art market for a client-oriented combination of deep market knowledge and relationships with artists. Catering to a wide range of art enthusiasts, TFA provides a comprehensive range of services from private individual collectors to established institutions.

Morgan Mathieu Tran is a devoted arts and culture leader, serving the Charlotte community for nearly ten years in both nonprofit and commercial spheres. Morgan supports creative, cultural, and community-centric initiatives in the southeast through her art and consulting studio, as well as roles with SE CLT Gallery and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

She earned her B.A. in Visual Arts with a minor in Business Administration from Meredith College.

Arts For Life is one of several organizations that Morgan supports across Gaston and Mecklenburg counties, and she currently also serves on the Gaston Arts Council Board of Directors. In her free time, Morgan can frequently be spotted hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, getting lost in a new book, or creating in her home studio.

Drew is a Senior Vice President at Truist, serving as a Finance Risk Advisor. He is a graduate of Davidson College with a B.A. in History and UNC Chapel Hill with a Masters of Accounting. Drew is a licensed CPA.  He is actively involved in coaching youth sports and a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Charlotte.  Drew lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife and three children.

Amanda Wise is the Director of Nonprofit Partnerships for SHARE Charlotte, an online engagement platform that powers social good by connecting the community to more than 630 Charlotte-Mecklenburg nonprofits. Before coming to SHARE Charlotte, Amanda worked in foster care and at Electrolux on the Global Brand Licensing team as the Licensing Manager. For the past twenty years, she has worked in corporate relationship building, sales, and special events planning. In addition to her contributions in the professional realm, Amanda is heavily involved in her community. Both a volunteer and a leader, she serves through her involvement with Samaritan’s Feet, Foster Village Charlotte, and Suicide Prevention. Amanda’s other interests include rooting for the Carolina Panther’s football team, playing tennis, and learning to play Mahjong.