2018-2019 YPA BOARD

Trent was born and raised in the great southern city and state of Birmingham, Alabama. Both his entrepreneurial parents and brother continue to work and live in his hometown and visit Asheville regularly.

Trent attended Oak Mountain High School and upon graduating ventured 100 miles southeast to the bustling college town of Auburn, Alabama where he attended Auburn University. Though Trent has loved nearly every aspect of the real estate industry since he discovered TLC’s “Flip That House” as a college student, he opted out of working in that industry after his graduation due to the tumultuous situation the industry was experiencing in 2007 to 2008. Not being well established, Trent felt more comfortable working in an industry he was more or less vaguely familiar with due to his personal work experiences during college.

Upon his graduation, Trent worked in the financial industry for many years and after great success finally decided that it was time for him to follow his true passion and experience the real estate industry first hand. In 2013 Trent moved to Asheville, North Carolina and met his beautiful wife, Amy with whom he has two sons, Elliot and Oakley.

Trent also owns several rental properties through another company of his in his hometown of Birmingham, AL. He continues to actively purchase these homes, renovate them and house lower income tenants in a developing community!

In his spare time, Trent enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, camping, spending time at the lake, mountain biking, riding his motorcycles, piloting airplanes, playing with radio control vehicles and traveling to new places. He loves being both a listing and buyer’s agent because he knows that selling or purchasing a home can be positively life changing for most people and he enjoys sharing the experience during such a joyous and exciting time in people’s lives!

Born and raised in Asheville, Jonathan attended Asheville High School and Belmont Abbey College outside of Charlotte NC, graduating with a BS in Business Administration.  He began his professional career working with Skyline Properties as a real estate appraiser and eventually formed his own firm, J.A. Hunter, Inc.  In 2013, Jonathan switched gears and moved to the brokerage side of the real estate business. He joined Keller Williams Professional Realty as the Lead Sales Professional for the Streppa Team.  In 2015, Jonathan formed the Asheville and Associates team at Keller Williams and has been a multi-million dollar producer since starting the team.

Jonathan is a true Ashevillian who resides in Haw Creek with his wife, Karen Edey, a recent PharmD graduate from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy satellite program at UNCA. He is also dedicated to several area organizations and sits on the Board of Directors with the Young Professionals Asheville, Green Opportunities, and the Agent Leadership Council at Keller Williams.

A native to western North Carolina, Zeno was born in Asheville and raised in nearby Canton.  He attended Pisgah High, before obtaining a BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, class of 2004.  As planned since he was fifteen or so, Zeno went on to become an attorney, obtaining his Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, FL, in 2007.  Zeno is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, the American Bar Association, The North Carolina Bar Association, the Asheville Downtown Association, Young Professionals of Asheville, the 28th District Bar, the Buncombe County Chamber of Commerce, and counting.

Zeno currently lives in downtown Asheville with his sweet mutt, Daisy.  He enjoys the many festivals, restaurants, musicians, artists, and people that make up this jewel in the mountains.  He is very close with his family and enjoys spending time with his nieces and nephews and nearby family members. You might find Zeno around town at various restaurants and breweries. He is somewhat of a nerd – loving Star Wars, 80’s music, and all things James Bond. He’s also a sports fan, supporting his UNC Tar Heels and other teams.

Austin began his professional career in 2014 at Northwestern Mutual here in his hometown, Asheville, North Carolina. Over the past 3 years, his priorities have been to grow his business while continuing to further his financial education. He recently was awarded the CLU designation after completing the required courses and exams. His next priority is to pass the CFP exam. Helping to bring financial structure and knowledge to the community is the heart of his work and the meaning behind his business. On the weekends, he and his wife, Kathleen, enjoy going new places, drinking new beers and taking in the endless, local beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

As a native of Asheville, NC, Marcus Kim has been privileged to see Asheville grow to what it is today. He works hard to be a part of the community and make it better. Marcus is an analyst at Earth Fare who obtained his undergraduate degree from UNC – Chapel Hill and Masters in Business Administration from Western Carolina University. Marcus enjoys spending time with his nephews and enjoying all that Asheville has to offer from food to breweries to festivals to entrepreneurial activities.  

Megan received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from UNC Chapel Hill, and moved to the Asheville area in 2011 after finishing up a contract at the University of Seville in Spain. Megan has worked in banking since shortly after her arrival, and is passionate about economic development in Asheville, working with small business and commercial customers to support their business needs, whether it’s a startup or business expansion.

Megan is an active hotline volunteer with Helpmate and enjoys finding the time to organize corporate outreach events to Helpmate and Manna Foodbank. She is also an avid runner, leading her team to win their division of the Asheville Chamber 5K. Megan can’t wait to see how Asheville will continue to grow in the years to come.

Briar currently works in real estate law, but has always been passionate about volunteerism and giving back to the community. In her role as Diversity Outreach Coordinator for Lancaster Law Firm, she works with the Hispanic community of WNC to provide bilingual legal services that are largely unavailable elsewhere in the region. 

She also has years of experience with nonprofits in the area. She served for two years on the Board of Directors for Youth OUTright, whose mission is to empower LGBT youth in WNC. Briar has also worked for Our VOICE in multiple capacities and continues to maintain professional and personal relationships with many social justice movers and shakers in the community. 

In her free time, Briar enjoys karaoke, spending time with her cat, Oso, and cozying up with a good book. 

Ashley was born and raised in Toledo, OH, and got her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology at the University of Toledo. Her adoration for art and sustainability made Asheville an ideal home, and she made it her mission to get here. She has three and a half years’ in Workforce Development Case Management, and several years’ experience in the Customer Service Industry. Ashley loves to travel, meet new people, and has a passion for forever learning. 

Michael Diettrich-Chastain is founder Arc Integrated, an independent Organizational Consulting and Professional Coaching firm. Through a focus on emotional intelligence, leadership and communication, Arc Integrated aims to empower individuals and organizations to achieve optimum performance and true sustainable change.

Michael has an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Spanish as well as a Master’s Degree in Counseling. Michael is a Licensed Professional Counselor in North Carolina. In addition to his background and experience in psychology, Michael is also a Certified Communication Coach as well as a trained facilitator in the Advanced Insights Profile, Actualized Leadership Profile and Group Culture Profile.

Natalie Ray is the Marketing and Professional Relationships Director for Asheville Periodontics.

In 2014, Natalie moved to Asheville, North Carolina with her husband, Justin, a musician that plays both locally and internationally, and teaches Jazz at UNC Asheville.

Natalie and Justin fell in love with the arts and culture of Asheville, and decided it was the perfect place to settle in and raise a family.   They welcomed their first son, Wyatt, in 2014 and their second son, Wesley, in 2017.

Natalie is in her fourth year serving on the YPA board.