ISF Board of Directors Spotlight:  Mike Hopper, Newmark Knight Frank

Written by Rachel Wood, Director of Marketing

Over the next several weeks we will introduce you to our ISF Board of Directors. For all of us at ISF,  it is especially important to have a team of board members who are invested in Charlotte and understand the significance and impact of its growth. We want to surround ourselves with people who love this city, this region and want to make it the best there is. We are so proud of this crew and they continue to amaze us with their strong passion to help us succeed, in any way they can.

Meet Mike Hopper, Senior Managing Director at Newmark Knight Frank:

Mike and his wife Tara Hopper have been ISF supporters since early 2017.  When we first met them, the Hoppers were just starting out building their family.  As we talked about what Isabella and other kids fighting have gone through, they listened, heard, and felt every detail.  And knew they had to do something about it. They joined our 3 Wish Society, they joined us at the hospital for our Christmas in July events, and they brought their friends to events to hear Isabella’s story.  We found ourselves asking their advice and opinions on foundation-related items and loved the honesty we got.  So we decided to make it official, we were thrilled when Mike agreed to join the ISF Board of Directors just a couple of months ago.

“As parents of two young girls, Tara and I felt a strong pull to be a part of ISF and supporting the fight against rare pediatric cancers.  We loved joining a local, grass-roots foundation that is truly putting Charlotte on the map and making major impacts in pediatric cancer research and treatments.

Charlotte is the city my wife, Tara, and I merged our lives (Miami, and DC, respectively) together, and planted our roots.  We purchased our first home, and have since had 2 beautiful daughters together.  This is such a unique city, in that it is big, but feels like a small town, and we love having our family here.  We love that ISF is Charlotte-based, and directly benefiting families across our town, and beyond.  As parents, it has been our goal to immerse ourselves in such a worthy cause and foundation, and have our children become a part of this as they grow up.

“I’m a HUGE sports fan, for a long time I dreamed of playing basketball in college or possibly the NBA.  That dream then morphed into being a sports commentator or professional sports agent.  Nonetheless, everyone should always dream, you never know how that dream could unlock other pieces of potential that you didn’t realize you possessed.”