About Us

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 Matthew Alexander Tracy is a rising senior business and data science student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Matthew has always understood the importance of helping others and making a difference in the world. He has a long-standing interest in developing business solutions to social problems. He helped found Cooking Up Character because serving others and standing up for love cannot wait. 

His hobbies are learning Spanish, playing tennis and basketball, enjoying time outside especially by the water, and learning about new technologies.

Susan Riley Poteat has a BA from the College of William and Mary and an MA from George Mason University and worked in global telecommunications (sales/marketing) for 26 years.

Susan's love for her children and passion for children and community service led to the creation of Cooking Up Character.

Her favorite things to do outside of CUC are to spend time with her husband, family, friends and puppy, to be anywhere outside and to cook.

I am a Chief Technology Officer - CTO - with more than 25 years of experience, building success at a number of large, multinational corporations including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. I'm also a serial entrepreneur, having founded multiple tech startups with more than 10 successful exits. And I have 35 issued patents.

My background includes a graduate degree and doctorate research in computer science, artificial intelligence, and robotics at Carnegie Mellon University - as well as ten years as a commissioned officer in the US Army.

I have been an active angel investor for about 14 years and I've served on multiple Boards of Advisors for tech companies and organizations. 

I've served on Boards for other nonprofit organizations serving children, specifically:

• 6 years on the Board of      Directors for the International Youth Hall of Fame, a community and asset      building program to acknowledge and celebrate the best in kids
• 13 years as a Director      in the YMCA Adventure Guides programs, a parent-child program designed to      build bonds through shared experiences
• 6 years on the Board of      Advisors to a large, high-performing school district in Seattle
• and 3 years on the Board      of directors for the YMCA of Greater Seattle

My free time is spent with my family - hiking and camping in the mountains, and kayaking … and I've been an avid skydiver, hangglider pilot, and bungee jumper for more than 50 years.

Liza has a B.S. in Business Administration and a Minor in Psychology from Meredith College. As the Chief Executive Officer and owner of FRS Communications, Liza has 25 years of experience in Project Management, Content Strategy, and Social Media design working on platforms including radio, print, and broadcast media.

As a volunteer leader for Creating Assets Reaching Youth, a character-building initiative in Cary. NC, Liza was featured by Search Organization in 2002 in "Walking Your Talk: Building Assets in Organizations that Serve Youth." Liza is the author of "The Truth about Parenting the Elementary Years" and in 2010, she represented N.C. in Mom Congress at Georgetown University that developed a “Lesson Plan for Change” to help parents from all walks of life feel more comfortable advocating for their child, their school and education. Since that time, Liza was a feature Education and Parenting columnist for The News and Observer, NBC-17 Education Reporter, and currently blogs on character education topics. 

Liza also enjoys spending time with her 7 grandchildren and traveling.