GRACE Gala 2026 Co-Chairs:
Morgan & Brian Nichols
Brian and Morgan Nichols moved to Grapevine, Texas in 2015, as career opportunities brought them both to the Lone Star State. Married and proud Grapevine residents, Brian and Morgan are raising their three-year-old daughter and are grateful to call this community home.
Brian is a Principal at Baker Tilly, where he serves as part of the firm’s Risk Advisory practice helping businesses understand their cybersecurity risk and how best to protect themselves, their employees, and their customers.
Morgan is the CEO of LifeBranch Wealth Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial based in Grapevine. LifeBranch Wealth Partners serves clients across Texas and throughout the country, with an intentional focus on comprehensive financial planning. Located in the heart of downtown Grapevine, the team is committed to helping families plan with purpose.
Brian and Morgan began volunteering with GRACE shortly after arriving in 2015, and their involvement has steadily grown over the past decade. Their service has included volunteering with the Christmas Cottage and Feed Our Kids programs, along with Morgan’s recent years of service on the GRACE Board.
Giving back to the local community is a core value for the Nichols family. Through their involvement, they have developed a deep appreciation for how GRACE walks alongside individuals and families working to rebuild their lives. The organization’s commitment to offering a hand up rather than a handout, along with its thoughtful stewardship of every resource entrusted to it, has further strengthened the Nichols family’s passion for GRACE’s mission.
We are honored to celebrate Brian and Morgan’s leadership, generosity, and heart for service at this year’s GRACE Gala.
For more information on how to get involved, contact Events@GRACEGrapevine.org
GRACE Gala 2026 Emcee:
Laura Harris, NBC 5
Laura Harris is a 3-time Emmy Award and Associated Press award-winning journalist who joined the NBC 5 team in September 2018. She can be seen co-anchoring NBC 5 Today weekday mornings from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
Some highlights of Laura’s career at NBC 5 include covering the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021 and the Paris Olympics in 2024. She also helped start the childhood literacy initiative at NBC 5 Reading With You, an innovative program encouraging elementary-aged children to read at least one book a week throughout the summer to help combat summer learning loss, often referred to as the “summer slide.”
She came to Dallas-Fort Worth from the ABC affiliate in Tampa, Florida. Some highlights of Laura’s career at ABC Action News included covering President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba in 2016 and covering the Tampa Bay Rays while they played the Cuban National Team in Havana. She also covered Pope Francis’ historic visit to Cuba in 2015.
Before moving to Tampa, Laura was a morning anchor at the ABC affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina.
She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., honorary co-chair for the 2024 Literacy Achieves Wings of Spring Gala and a board member for New Friends New Life.
She and her husband Patrick, who is on the Board of Governors for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, call Dallas home.
