Portraits for Charity™
"Kids Share" One World Storybook Journey's
Team Leaders
Please read about Portraits for Charity's™ Earth Angels!
This page is dedicated to those who have helped make Portraits for Charity™("PFC") a reality here in Vermont. Roger Crowley and Newton Baker along with other Vermonters donated their time and positive energy to help create PFC's "Kids Share" storybook workshops. If you are interested in being part of a Portraits for Charity™ workshop, we would love to hear from you!
ROGER CROWLEY (Team Leader: Official Photojournalist for PFC) 
NEWTON BAKER (Team Leader: Writing Project Leader)
Newton is a retired elementary school teacher of 35 years and a Vermont National Writing Project Teacher Leader. His passions are writing, especially with kids, and ultra-running where he is the National 24 Hour Run age group champion the past 6 years with a personal best of 120 miles. A native Vermonter and graduate of Middlebury College, Newton lives in Montpelier with his wife Diane, son Silas 13, and daughter Devin 9. He has two older children, Jessica and Jeremy and 3 grand-children. Newton donated much of his time and good spirits instructing a writing project for the Superheroes: Muscular Dystrophy & Union Elementary students. In addition, Newton initiated Portraits for Charity's™ first workshop at Union Elementary, with Ash Brittenham. Many thanks Newton!!!
Please direct PFC Classroom Narrative Writing questions to Newton at: bakersf@verizon.net
PAM SHEA (Team Leader: Bookkeeper)
Pam is our "Bookkeeper Extraordinaire!" She is the right person at Portraits for Charity™ for any of our financial needs. Pam is also managing our weekly minutes.
Pam has a bachelor's degree in quantitative analysis and professionally, over 15 years of actuarial and underwriting experience. Outside of Portraits for Charity™("PFC"), Pam works as the underwriting director for a local non-profit. Pam believes in the healing power of positive thought, music, and other forms of art. She is passionate about helping children find and use their voice. This can be hard for some children, especially those who were raised in a neglectful, abusive, or otherwise dysfunctional home environment. She has found the arts have a powerful way of bringing children out of their shells and helping them realize their value and connection with the human family.
Pam lives in central Vermont with her children. In 2007 Pam lost her lovable Rhodesian Ridgeback to cancer and hopes to adopt another one soon, as she brought great joy to Pam's Family! Additionally, Pam has been a dear friend to Kristina and her family for the past 10 years.
Pam is enthusiastic about PFC's potential to empower children, spread joy, and provide a positive growth experience for the children and adults involved with their work. Please direct PFC financial questions to Pam at pamsofxeq1@gmail.com
JEANNE ROSS ATCHINSON (Team Leader: Webmaster/Webwriter) Jeanne is our new Web specialist! We are so thrilled to have her on board! Jeanne worked for the State of Vermont as its only Agency of Human Services Webwriter for 10 years, until the birth of her youngest child, four years ago, and then for the Agency of Natural Resources. Recently she and her teenage daughter traveled within Thailand to spend 5 weeks fully immersed in Thai and village life. Their homestay visit allowed them to witness the needs, as well as the amazing strengths, of folk that honor the simple life. She will be returning to Thailand in early January or February, 2009 and hopes to remain for several months to teach English to Thai children and assist Ubon University students with their studies. While Jeanne is in Thailand she will continue to manage Portraits for Charity's website.
"I am so very pleased to become a member of the Portraits for Charity team! What Kristina has done here has such potential for making serious beneficial changes in SO very many lives. I just could not believe that, in this time in my life when I want to "give" of myself, Portraits for Charity has provided an exciting opportunity for me to do just that."
Jeanne is a self employed web writer and consultant, and she substitute teaches at her local schools. She is a member of the Vermont Beekeeper's Association and manages their Speaker's Bureau. Her honey bee hives are in her back yard where they can pollinate up to 2 miles away!
Jeanne lives in Central Vermont with her very supportive husband, 17 year old daughter, 4 year old daughter, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 3 birds, and various other critters. When she needs a break she hides out in her garden. She also is coowner of a piece of totally undeveloped riverfront land in a small village in the Isaan Region of Thailand on the Mun River, which now serves as a home-base when she travels there.
KRISTINA APPLEGATE LUTES (Portraits for Charity™ Founder)
Kristina is a montage portrait artist who has been creating portraits for over twenty years. In 1992 she graduated from the Art Institute of Boston. Kristina’s colorful career includes designing newspaper editorial art while in college, working for Sadlier Publishing on Wall Street as a junior designer, and employment with Scholastic Publishing's IPG in NYC. Kristina was first hired as an art buyer for Scholastic Publishing, then later as a designer. A highlight of Kristina’s career occurred when she met Pete Rose and had the privilege of creating silk shirt designs of him for the Silk Club in NYC. Later, in Longmont, CO Kristina and her husband, Kurt, created the greeting card company, Oryx Mountain Studios, Inc™. Their ABC Endangered Species collection™ was sold to national chain stores and the San Diego and Denver Zoos. The Holiday and Endangered Species collection was later sold to Caravan International, located in Boulder, CO. Additionally, Kristina was part of the digital illustration boom of the 1990's and the early part of 2000. At one time she was creating one hundred spot illustrations a week for companies such as the Learning Company and Microsoft. Kristina’s herbal line drawings were also featured on the packaging of Celestial Seasonings’ Wellness Teas.
Kristina is currently working to grow Portraits for Charity™ www.portraits4charity.org internationally as well as locally. She hopes to travel to a new Children's Village annually to share the collaborative "Kids Share" Global Story Book and support where needed. Kristina's montage technique was inspired by the artist Eric Carle. She believes that her experience as an artist and entrepreneur will make Portraits for Charity™ a successful endeavor.
Kristina with her husband and two small children live on a small hobby farm in the mountains of central Vermont. She enjoys gardening, raising birds, as well as riding and driving her horses. Please direct questions about Portraits for Charity™ to Kristina at: lutesfarm@tds.net
*Please consider supporting Portraits for Charity™(PFC) "Kids Share" workshops. We are a volunteer based arts education organization.
www.portraits4charity.org portraitsforcharity@gmail.com
Portraits for Charity™ believes in earth angels! We are a group of volunteers that are dedicated to bringing arts education to children here in the US and around the world! Please contact us if you are interested in being part of our team. We need help from artists, photographers and writers. Each workshop is unique and exciting! We are conducting 3-4 US workshops yearly and one international children's village workshop. Once a year a team of volunteers will travel abroad to complete the cycle of each workshop. We would love to hear from you!