Board of Directors
Board President - Jordan Crist
Jordan Crist is a native of South Charleston, WV. He went to West Virginia University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.
In 2017, Jordan started a residential redevelopment company, Building Appalachia, which renovates distressed real estate in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia.
Jordan has been on the board of Pollen8, Inc. since 2017 and played a “hands on" role in turning a church at 206 D Street into what now stands as Cafe Appalachia.
"It’s so exciting to see how far this organization has come in such a short amount of time through sheer passion and hard work by Cheryl and her supporting cast."
Jordan's hobbies include traveling, cooking, gardening, hiking, and anything that involves exercise or the outdoors.
Board Secretary - Louis G. Gaunch
Louis Gaunch, a native of South Charleston, currently works for the WV Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. He is married to Johnna, and they have 3 adult children. He is currently finishing work on his Doctorate in Executive Leadership.
Louis befriended Cheryl Wilson Laws in junior high school at age 13. After graduation from South Charleston High School in 1988, his first attempt at college failed miserably. Upon relocating to Huntington, WV his second attempt was not much better. It was there, however that he met his wife Johnna. He has been married 29 years and gives all credit to his bride Johnna for her patience and support.
After 3 children and a successful 25 year career in his family's insurance business, Louis felt the call to return to school. After finishing his B.S. and Masters degrees at the University of Charleston, he enrolled in the Doctor of Executive Leadership program. A chance meeting at the funeral of a mutual friend brought Louis & Cheryl back together, this time in a professional capacity when they were asked to co-author a book chapter on Appalachia. Cheryl asked Louis to join the Board of Directors of her new non-profit, Pollen8 in 2018 and he has been an enthusiastic member ever since.
Board Treasurer - Natalie Luppold
Natalie Luppold is a Senior Manager at Suttle & Stalnaker PLLC and works primarily in audit, consulting, and compliance.
Natalie has over 13 years of experience during which time she has worked on several engagements that involve assessments of client information technology controls, compliance and regulatory audits, policy and procedure development, and internal audit procedures for financial institutions.
Due to Natalie’s unique experience in both financial audits and information technology consulting, she is able to identify gaps in information technology controls and security that could impact the financial statements.
She graduated from Concord College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and from West Virginia University with a Masters of Professional Accountancy.
Natalie is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), member of the Information Systems and Audit Control Association (ISACA), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), West Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (WVSCPA), and the Charleston Chapter of the WVSCPA.
Natalie currently serves on the Board of Directors of two community not-for-profit organizations including Pollen8, as well as the Charleston Chapter of the WVSCPA.
Board Member -Lia DiTrapano Fairless
Lia DiTrapano Fairless is from Charleston, WV. She is married to LJ Fairless and has 2 children, Ben and Francesca. Lia practices law at DiTrapano Law Firm, PC. Her law practice focuses on employment law and personal injury. Lia also helps run her family's business Villa DiTrapano, Inc. Villa DiTrapano imports small batch extra virgin olive oil grown on the DiTrapano's family property in Sezze Romano, Italy. They also run a full service vacation villa.
Her husband LJ Fairless owns Snodgrass Funeral Home, which is a strong supporter in South Charleston and Kanawha Valley. Lia has been on the board of Pollen8 since 2018. She has a deep and personal understanding of the affects that addiction can have on a family.
Board Member - Lory Lyles
Lory has called West Virginia home most of her life and raised her two children here.
Lory is an Organizational Development and Learning professional for MRC Global where she has worked for 30 years. She has a passion to help people develop and learn how to advance in their career and in life.
Lory has been on the Board of Directors of Pollen8 since 2018. She is grateful for the opportunity to support the mission of helping families recover from substance abuse.
Board Member - Morgan Krieger
As a Charleston native, Morgan Krieger has a deep-rooted passion for growing and serving her hometown community. After graduating from West Virginia University in 2017, Morgan opted to postpone her plans to move to a big city and returned to Charleston where she began working for her own non profit, I Love Nice People full time.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for Cafe Appalachia, Morgan is a Marketing Director for a well-established law firm, and the CEO of her non-profit.
In her spare time, she is currently flipping her first house in Charleston.