Charles Baker

Officer

Background

Charles grew up in North Carolina and has been a family doctor in Avery County, NC for 39 years. His clinic is a half hour from the NCOBS Table Rock Base Camp. His love for Outward Bound started soon after he moved to the area and met Dave and Peggy Genova and their daughter Kelly, who were heavily involved with the school. He has been working with the school ever since as their physician advisor and health provider for students and staff (and has delivered many more babies for the NCOBS staff.) Charles's and his wife has met many of his best friends through the school. 

Will Barnhardt

Ex-Officio Charlotte Advisory Board Chair - Charlotte, NC

Amos Beason

Officer

Jim Belikove

Officer

Mitchell Breit

Secretary

Background

Mitchell is an attorney in New York City, where his practice is focused on consumer-oriented litigation. He has served in leadership roles in cases around the country.  Mitchell lives in Manhattan with his wife, Marjorie, and his two adult daughters, Maisie and Gemma, who live nearby. 

What inspired you to serve on the NCOBS board?

“I was a semester student in 1981 when the magic of NCOBS touched me, and I later became an Instructor and Course Director. 

Ann Brock

Officer

Robert Buckley

Officer

Susan R. Buckley

Officer

John Buford

Officer

Background

After serving around the globe for 20 years in the Marine Corps infantry John and his family moved to Brevard, North Carolina.  Following a failed 3-week retirement, he became an Outward Bound instructor and over the past 15 years has served NCOBS as a mountains instructor, river and sea kayak specialist, and Outward Bound Professional facilitator. 

Currently John is an Associate Professor of Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education at Brevard College, certified professional leadership coach, and certified whitewater kayak, whitewater canoe, and sea kayak instructor.  

Amy Climer

Officer

Dan Crocker

Officer

Background

Dan is a physician from Eastern North Carolina. After graduating from Davidson College and the UNC School of Medicine, he served as an intern and resident at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and completed his fellowship in Hematology at UNC. Since 1975, Dan has practiced internal medicine, hematology and oncology in Rocky Mount, N.C. He was introduced to hiking and camping in 1976 with his classmates from medical school and it has remained a regular activity for him ever since. Other interests include playing the trumpet in the Tar River Orchestra and Tar River Swing Band and various churches in his area. 

David Hardy

Background

David P. Hardy is the Co-Founder and retired CEO of Boys' Latin of Philadelphia charter school. Boys' Latin, which opened in 2007 in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's first and only single-gender charter school has a student body that is 98% African-American and 74% economically disadvantaged. Blending classical studies with contemporary pedagogy, the school offers rigorous coursework and an extensive selections extra-curricular activities including robotics, drama, entrepreneurship, mock trial, and 10 varsity sports. In its first four graduating classes, Boys' Latin has sent 85% of graduates to post-secondary education-80% of which attending four-colleges. Boys' Latin students matriculate into the finest colleges and universities in the nation including Pomona, Bowdoin, Carleton, Penn, U Va, and Penn State, as well as 13 of the 14 members of the State University System. It added a middle school in 2013, increasing enrollment to 850 students to make it the largest 6-12 grades all-male school of any type in the region. The school has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and on NBC with Megyn Kelly.

Sonji Jacobs

Officer

Background

Sonji is vice president, corporate communications and public relations at Cox Enterprises, a broadband and automotive solutions company based in Atlanta, Georgia with annual revenues of nearly $20 billion and 50,000 global employees.

She leads a team of communications professionals charged with creating and disseminating critical information for employees, building corporate culture, enhancing Cox’s reputation as an employer of choice, and supporting the company’s C-suite leaders on message development and issues management.

Prior to joining Cox, she served as director of communications for the city of Atlanta. Sonji was a key advisor on policy development, often with state and White House officials, and drove the mayor’s communications agenda, including local and high-profile national media appearances on “Meet the Press,” MSNBC, and CNN.

As vice president, crisis, issues management, and public affairs at Edelman, she helped private companies and nonprofits navigate complex internal and external issues, including legal challenges, accidents, and employee reorganizations.

Scott Landis

Officer

Janet Hatfield Legro

Board Chair

Dan Leroy

Officer

Scott Puritz

Officer

Background

Scott is Managing Director of Rebalance, a leading pro-consumer investment firm. Scott is a nationally recognized investing expert, with references in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Forbes, CBS, PBS, USA Today, and most recently the Washington Post. He testified before the U.S. Senate on new rules designed to make investing safer for all Americans. Scott received his B.A. in economics, with distinction, from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. With his wife Susan of 30 years, he is an avid supporter of his two daughters’ forays into travel (Outward Bound too), sports, and music.

What is your role on the board?

Scott is the Chair of the NCOBS Investment Committee, which oversees the organization’s $18 million endowment. Additionally, he was the inaugural chair of the NCOBS Washington DC Regional Advisory Board whose mission is to establish scholarships for financially disadvantaged teenagers. 

Megg Rader

Board Vice Chair

Jay Roberts

Officer

Leigh Luter Schell

Officer

Background  

After graduating from Washington & Lee University in the second class of women, Leigh lived and worked in Washington, D.C., New York and Cape Town, South Africa before moving back to Charlotte in 2001. As a founding member of the Women’s Impact Fund and active outreach member of her church, she has chaired multiple committees responsible for both programing and grant-making decisions involving a wide-range of community service organizations. Additionally, Leigh has served on the boards of the Charlotte World Affairs Council and Crossroads Corporation, and is a current director for the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, VA. An avid traveler, info-junkie and creative dabbler, she lives with husband Rich (also CAB member) and their collective Brady Bunch crew of five when they are home visiting. 

Robert M. Schwartzberg

Treasurer

Nathaniel G. Vish

Officer

Background

A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Nathan has served as an instructor with North Carolina Outward Bound since 2009 and joined the Board of Directors in 2016. He teaches mathematics, coaches climbing, and serves in leadership capacities at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC. He has been involved with the NCOBS Washington, DC Advisory Board for many years. 

After thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail as a teenager in 2004, Nathan realized that time spent in wilderness has the capacity to teach lessons rarely found elsewhere.

Rosa Verdeja

Ex-Officio South Florida Advisory Board Chair

Mitchell Wickham

Officer

Background

Mitchell is a Managing Director–Wealth Management in the Private Banking and Investment Group at Merrill Lynch and co-manager of Wickham Cash Partners. Along with Charlie and Greg, he is responsible for managing all aspects of the client service and investment experience. He guides the team’s wealth management practice, where he is actively involved in developing each client’s customized strategic portfolio allocation. 

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Mitchell spent five years in the commercial real estate business, providing brokerage, choosing sites and location consulting services to Fortune 500 corporations.

Patricia B. Wilson

Officer

Pat Woodson

Officer

Arthur M. Blank

Life Director

Marjorie Bryan Buckley

Life Director

Rufus Dalton

Life Director

John C. Huie

Life Director

Dan Meyer

Honorary Director

Scott Perper

Life Director

Jay Ahuja

Officer

Background  

Jay lives in Mint Hill with his wife, Karen, and their two dogs, Tosh and Jango. For the past dozen years, he has worked in public radio and TV, currently at WDAV 89.9FM. Prior to that, Jay worked for The Charlotte Observer and Charlotte magazine. Jay has also published two sports travel guide books and produced a documentary film and continues to travel and write. Highlights include a week aboard an aircraft carrier and a trip to London to see Led Zeppelin. 

What inspired you to serve on the Charlotte Advisory Board?

“In 2008, I was inspired to join the CAB by Robbie Howell, one of the finest humans I know. She convinced me that NCOBS needed publicity. The first thing I did was visit students on course at Pisgah National Forest and interview them for a video. 

Will Barnhardt

Chair

Background

Will has worked in the textile field for over 40 years and is currently the President of Technical Textiles, LLC. Having grown up in Charlotte, he has been involved in many organizations that serve the youth in this community. 

He graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Chemical Engineering and is blessed to have two grandchildren, both of whom live in Charlotte. 

Amos Beason

Officer

Jennifer Leigh Bishop

Officer

Background  

Jennifer Bishop is an event planning professional with almost 15 years of event planning experience. Jennifer began her event planning career working for a non-profit organization in the Charlotte area. In addition to J. Leigh Events, Jennifer is also passionate about volunteering her time and experience to area nonprofits. For the 4 years, she volunteered with the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte for their yearly fundraiser. Jennifer co-chaired the 2015 and 2016 event and oversaw the organization and execution of all aspects of planning for the fashion show portion of the event. 

Dr. Keith Cradle

Officer

Biography

Dr. Keith Cradle is the Director of Youth/Juvenile Programs for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and responsible for juveniles/youthful offenders dealing with detention and the staff associated with the successful implementation of rehabilitation/re-entry and youth development programs/initiatives.

Dr. Cradle is currently on the Board of Directors for the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art (www.bechtler.org), Mecklenburg County’s COVID-19 Recovery & Resiliency Task Force, Charlotte Trail of History, the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for Mecklenburg County, and an adjunct professor at UNC-Charlotte in the College of Health and Human Sciences. Keith’s involvement and commitment to the development of the arts and cultural sectors of Charlotte have led him to start a podcast “Crafted with Cradle” and co-create the Jail Arts Initiative with the Bechtler Museum that works with youth in detention to discover, cultivate, and harness their appreciation for art. Additionally, his first book is entitled “Cut the Check! Successful Strategies for Increasing Donor Engagement and Fundraising” and aims to help nonprofits become more sustainable.

His community-based initiatives have been awarded the 2001 NACO award for outstanding program of the year in the state of North Carolina, the Golden Project Award 2004 from the North Carolina Public Health Association, the Kathy Kerr Outstanding Health Education Project Award 2004, 2006 APPCNC Award for pregnancy prevention program of the year in North Carolina, and the 2007 Outstanding Service Award from Crossroads Charter High School [CMS].

David G. Dalton

Officer

Background

Native of Charlotte and son of long-time and founding Board Member Rufus M. Dalton. David is married and has three grown children, one being the youngest Dalton to ever graduate from an Outward Bound course, and serve as President of General Microcircuits in Mooresville, NC. David is also a long-time board member and past President of Festival in the Park in Charlotte. Faith, family, fellowship and fitness are his three priorities outside of work.

Have you taken an Outward Bound course? If yes, which? 

I am an alumni of Hurricane Outward Bound.

Rufus Dalton

Officer

Elyse Dashew

Officer

Background

Elyse Dashew serves as an At-Large Representative for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education. An experienced advocate for public education, she is the mother of two children who have both attended CMS. After graduating from Brown University, she worked in the television industry and ran a publishing business. As a community leader, she has a long history of addressing the challenges and opportunities in our public schools. She also serves on the boards of GenerationNation and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership. 

Melissa Golder

Officer

Robbie Howell

Officer

Background  

Robbie’s background is in Development starting at Davidson College and then Carolinas HealthCare Foundation. She enjoys meeting new and different people and being in the outdoors, so the American Leadership Forum (ALF) was a perfect fit for her next. During her 10 years at the Lee Institute, Robbie led a group of diverse leaders through a nine-month personal development journey. Each class started with a five-day Outward Bound experience. The bonds created in that space gave people the ability to see beyond the superficial. It created Unity!

Tonya Jameson

Officer

Background

Tonya Jameson is the Director of Civic Advancement for Leading on Opportunity. In her role, she utilizes existing advocacy coalitions and leverage the business community to promote legislative policy (state and local) to improve economic mobility Previously she provided consultation and campaign management services to elected officials, community leaders and rising political stars seeking to make Charlotte a better place to live, work and raise a family.

Hillary Lacouture

Officer

Hillary brings over 25 years of experience in marketing and branding, helping companies and individuals build strong, meaningful identities. Known for encouraging brands to embrace a bit of “controlled chaos” and pushing boundaries and thinking differently to create real, lasting impact—she connects brand purpose to a broader societal role, building trust and long-term value for customers and communities.

States Lee

Officer

Ridgely Medlin Phillips

Officer

Background

Ridgely received her Bachelors degree from Davidson College in 1983 and then graduated from the Certified Financial Planners Program at Queens University 2005. She is also a community volunteer.

Have you taken an Outward Bound course? If yes, which? 

I attended a month-long Outward Bound Course in the Gore Range in Colorado in 1983. 

Anne Regnery

Officer

Background

Anne previously served as Director of Lydia's Loft, a non-profit organization in Huntersville, NC, which provides clothing free of charge to those in need in Mecklenburg County. There she volunteered for over 14 years, starting on the day the doors were first opened.

Leigh Luter Schell

Officer

Background  

After graduating from Washington & Lee University in the second class of women, Leigh lived and worked in Washington, D.C., New York and Cape Town, South Africa before moving back to Charlotte in 2001. As a founding member of the Women’s Impact Fund and active outreach member of her church, she has chaired multiple committees responsible for both programing and grant-making decisions involving a wide-range of community service organizations. Additionally, Leigh has served on the boards of the Charlotte World Affairs Council and Crossroads Corporation, and is a current director for the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, VA. An avid traveler, info-junkie and creative dabbler, she lives with husband Rich (also CAB member) and their collective Brady Bunch crew of five when they are home visiting. 

Rich Schell

Officer

Beth Shocki

Vice Chair

Background

Bethany Shocki is a marketing executive with two decades of experience in cross-platform media. She was named vice president of marketing and joined the Soundrise leadership team in October 2022.

Along with her charge as brand steward for Soundrise, Shocki is responsible for leading the marketing strategy to propel company growth. Shocki leads a cross-functional team to deliver on the company’s brand promise, building and executing programs to acquire, retain, and grow customers, both independent networks and sponsors of podcast partners. In its inaugural year, Shocki will work to establish the brand as a thought leader in the podcast industry and convener of important conversations related to supporting independent media.

Shocki previously served as director, marketing and creative services for Market Enginuity where she directed efforts that strengthened the brand, increasing industry awareness and engagement through strategic thought leadership campaigns. Her work led to the implementation of an ongoing lead generation initiative with a 40% customer conversion rate. She also helped evolve marketing support on a local level, building a team of business development specialists who employ commercial media marketing best practices to drive public media revenue potential for station partners nationwide.

Amanda Sturner

Officer

Background  

Outward Bound has in many ways defined Amanda’s life since her first NCOBS course at age 16. Since then, the four pillars provide the framework in which she aspires to raise her kids, work and live.  

For 10 years, Amanda was honored to work as an instructor for Voyageur Outward Bound School’s Montana base. One amazing winter, she got to serve on the Rio Grande at VOBS’ southern border base. 

Fast forward a few years, Amanda was working as a teacher at West Mecklenberg H.S. The then Charlotte Program Director (Jean Sullivan) stepped into her classroom and asked her to sponsor a Unity Program Club. Dave Genova, aka Grey Wolf, often came and spoke to students.  

Jean Sullivan

Officer

Background  

Jean is a Charlotte native who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in English and Education. She taught in Durham and Charlotte public schools and at Central Piedmont Community College and served on the boards of various Charlotte non-profits. 

What inspired you to serve on the Charlotte Advisory Board?

“After participating in an Outward Bound Invitational Expedition in 1996, I was hired as the first Area Coordinator for NCOBS in Charlotte, a position which I held for 6 years.  

Lex F. Warmath

Officer

Background

Alexis Warmath recently retired from working for a financial consulting firm that provides assistance to city and county water and wastewater utilities nationwide. Although the work mainly involved providing assistance with financial and strategic planning, the work also involved assistance with environmental and regulatory compliance to help protect the natural resources of the cities and communities they served. Alexis's educational background includes an MBA and a Masters Degree in Environmental Management, both from Duke University.   

Alexis has lived in North Carolina most of her life and has always appreciated the great variety of natural beauty and outdoor activities available in the state. She grew up hiking and skiing in the NC mountains, spent five summers in Colorado and Utah as a whitewater rafting guide, and today her favorite activities include skiing, hiking and surfing, or anything that gets her outside.

Mitchell Wickham

Officer

Background

Mitchell is a Managing Director–Wealth Management in the Private Banking and Investment Group at Merrill Lynch and co-manager of Wickham Cash Partners. Along with Charlie and Greg, he is responsible for managing all aspects of the client service and investment experience. He guides the team’s wealth management practice, where he is actively involved in developing each client’s customized strategic portfolio allocation. 

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Mitchell spent five years in the commercial real estate business, providing brokerage, choosing sites and location consulting services to Fortune 500 corporations.

Scott Wurtzbacher

Officer

Background

Scott is a dad and husband first.  Professionally, he is the owner and team leader of W Realty Group, a boutique residential real estate brokerage in Charlotte.  Scott is at his best when he is learning, growing, sharing ideas and connecting with others.  He has a passion for adventure and finds his greatest sense of peace and purpose in the outdoors.  He is the creator and host of the Inspire Campfire podcast, currently a passion project, which aims to encourage people to listen to the voice inside that calls them to adventure and get outside.

What inspired you to serve on the Charlotte Advisory Board?

Alignment of mission.  Scott is someone who seeks purpose, inspiration, and opportunities to contribute 

Eduardo Balarezo

Officer

Julie Dick

Officer

Franklin Caplan

Christian Crews

Officer

Alan Fein

Officer

Monica Larriva

Officer

Ines Lozano

Officer

Sandy Moise

Officer

Rodrigo Sardi

Officer

Pat Woodson

Officer

Rosa Verdeja

Chair

James Belikove

Chair

Colony Brown

Officer

Paige Harrigan

Officer

Scott Puritz

Officer

Susan Puritz

Officer

Ryan Rabbitt

Officer

Rob Schwartzberg

Officer

R. Jordan Smyth

Officer

Lauren Wert

Officer

Background

Lauren Wert is a Senior Attorney at KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) in Northern Virginia. KIND provides pro bono legal representation to children in immigration proceedings. Lauren received her juris doctorate from THE Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2016 and has focused her professional career on public interest. Prior to attending law school, Lauren served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, Lauren worked in a public health program in elementary schools. The "Healthy Schools" program included leading workshops on public health practices such as handwashing and teeth brushing, supporting teachers in their projects to develop health programs for their students and several water infrastructure projects which brought water tanks to schools that previously had no running water. Lauren grew up in the mountains of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Virginia. She received her Bachelor of Arts from James Madison University in Modern Foreign Languages. She is fluent in Spanish.