Meet Our Team

Board of Directors

Our philanthropic foundation has no paid staff members and very low overhead costs. This means that we’ve got more money available for grants.

Board Member Biographies

Mark Cohen, President

Mark Cohen is currently the Senior Counsel for Advanced Estate Planning at Creative Planning Legal.  Before that he was the Director and then the Chairman of the Board of Creative Planning Trust Company. Mark was previously the co-owner of both a boutique investment advisory firm and an estate planning and tax practice. Prior to establishing his private law practice, he served in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Mark earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from California State University at Long Beach. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona. He earned his Master of Laws Degree in Tax from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary. Mark is admitted to the practice of law in Arizona (inactive) and Virginia. He is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional as designated by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Mark is married to Leigh Scott, has two adult children and two step-children, lots of grandchildren, and is owned by a dog and two cats.

Leigh Scott, Executive Director

Leigh Scott is a vegan chef who earned her culinary certificate in 2016. Leigh had previously worked for 25 years as a nonprofit professional and environmental scientist/educator. She managed diverse projects involving endangered species, recycling, urban park development, coastal management, and more. She holds a BS in Geology from Furman University, an MBA from the University of Washington, a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University, a Chef’s Certificate from the School of Natural Cookery, and a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from e-Cornell. Leigh is also an accomplished landscape and wildlife photographer, and you can view a selection of her work here. Leigh is married to Mark Cohen, has two adult children, two adult step-children, enjoys spoiling a granddaughter who lives nearby, and is owned by a dog and two cats. 

JB Culpepper, Director

Jennie Bob “J.B.” Culpepper is an independent consulting planner. JB has lived in North Carolina since 1982. She holds a B.A. in Urban Affairs and a master’s degree in Urban Planning from Virginia Tech. As Director of Planning for the Town of Chapel Hill for nine years, she managed the Town’s long-range planning process, development review process, and oversaw innovative planning approaches. Recently, she has been involved in community planning for an aging population. J.B. has two adult children, two beautiful granddaughters, and three granddogs.