Please join us for the '20th Annual Gala of Dreams- Dinner & Auction" on Saturday, April 27th!
This elegant and entertaining evening event is our largest fundraiser of the year and benefits our mission to support the educational interests of the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts
CLICK THIS BANNER to learn more!

Board of Directors

The Charter Arts Foundation Board of Directors:

Melinda Stitt (President)
Chris Kulp (Vice President)
William Alpaugh
Santa Bannon
Tim Charlesworth
Anthony Crisafulli
Rob Guerriere
Elise Hill
Carol Koenig
Michelle Landis
Sheryl Maher
Mark Metzgar
Elizabeth Ortiz
Lisa Ruth
Rob Schmidt
Emrich Stellar II
Emrich Stellar III
Mary Jo Whitson

FOUNDATION 990


Timothy Charlesworth has practiced law for over 30 years, and has been with Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba since the firm’s inception.  Currently, he is a Shareholder in the firm’s Corporate, Business and Banking Group.  Mr. Charlesworth is also an instructor at DeSales University in the field of International Business Law, and, since 2014 has regularly taught Masters of International Business Administration classes at the ESDES School of Management, which is part of the Catholic University of Lyon (France).

He is the President of the World Trade Club of the Lehigh Valley and is involved in many other community, business and legal organizations.

He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A. 1982) and American University’s Washington College of Law (J.D. 1985).  Mr. Charlesworth is admitted to practice before all courts in Pennsylvania, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of International Trade and other federal courts.


As a Relationship Strategist for PNC Private Bank, Elise Hill is committed to understanding the needs of her clients, developing plans for their financial aspirations, and implementing strategies to achieve success.

Elise has been working with dynamic teams for over a decade in the financial services industry and recognizes the value of diversity and inclusion. As a board member for the Greater Lehigh Valley Women Business Council, Elise supports women-in-business and advocates for female financial decision makers. Elise strongly believes in the importance of empowering, recognizing, and inspiring women to achieve their professional and personal goals.

After attending a Charter Arts event and speaking with the school’s inspiring young students, Elise was excited to get involved. She joins the Foundation Board to further its mission to support the health, welfare, and educational interest of the school.


Chris Kulp is a senior executive with a national homebuilder overseeing regional mortgage operations.  Chris has been in the housing finance and real estate industries for over 35 years leading high performing sales teams and driving profitability while focusing on delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Prior to his current role Chris spent almost 20 years with Wells Fargo where his last position had him leading business to business relationships across eight states in the Northeast.  As a leader he has made people development and sales training a focus of his efforts and has had the honor of helping to create many industry leaders throughout his career.

In addition to his career in the real estate industry, Chris also owned and operated an independent ice cream store in partnership with his wife for 20 years as well as owning and operating a real estate company while earning his BS in Finance from Lehigh University.

Chris has served in various positions on boards and committees for several charities in the past and was drawn to the Charter Arts Foundation Board when his daughter began her high school career at Charter Arts as a visual art student.  The impact the school made on her from day one was amazing and her development artistically, academically, and socially has driven Chris’ passion to insure the future success of both the school and the Charter Arts Foundation.


Since 1989, Emrich Stellar has practiced the “Serve First” philosophy by seeking to understand before seeking to be understood. Emrich is the Mid-Atlantic Partner of Equity Strategies Group (ESG) and the owner of Stellar Advisor. He and his team provide leadership and creativity in the areas of Business Succession, Estate, and Charitable Planning. Emrich’s commitment starts with understanding his client’s aspirations and “3 AM Questions!” He and his team have processes to provide clarity and value with a unique ability to make complex problems and solutions easy to understand. Understanding what it takes to build and preserve security flows from his years as an entrepreneur and experience working with successful business owners.

In addition to the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Certified Life Underwriter (CLU) designations, Emrich is one of the first Certified Business Exit Consultant (CBEC) designees. This rigorous study demonstrates competence and leadership in the psychological and technical areas of Business Succession Planning. As a Founder of the Business Intelligence Institute (BII) and CBEC, Emrich knows the process that BII deploys is unbiased unlike others in the Business Exit Planning marketplace. Our goal is to help clients meet their goals by helping them
understand and quantify their options, with the capabilities to deploy the options that are most appropriate.

Family and community are important to Emrich. He is married with four children. He is the past Treasurer of the Lehigh County Authority Board and elected to two terms as a Lehigh County Commissioner. He is a past President of the Lehigh Valley Society of Financial Services Professionals and a Scout Leader has also served as a Cub Master. He is on the Foundation Board of The Lehigh ValleyCharter High School for the Arts.