When Dr. Ashley Hunter and Dr. David Echeverri first met at their residency interview in Orange Beach, Ala., they had no idea they were beginning both a love story and a shared medical journey that would span nearly a decade. Now, as the newest family medicine physicians at Tryon Medical Partners, this husband-and-wife team brings not only their clinical expertise but also their unique partnership to Charlotte. 

Building careers and love in Alabama 

Before joining Tryon, Dr. Hunter and Dr. Echeverri built their careers and relationship in the Gulf Coast region, where their romance first bloomed. After completing their family medicine residency together in Alabama, they chose to stay in the area. For seven years, they established themselves as dedicated family medicine physicians in separate practices.

During those formative years, they discovered what would become the hallmark of their medical practice: deep, lasting relationships with patients who felt truly cared for.

The heart of family medicine

“Literally everyone was crying during our farewell tour when we gave our 90-day notice,” Dr. Hunter recalls. “We were sometimes shocked by how emotional patients became. They would say, ‘You were the best doctor I’ve ever had in terms of listening and feeling like you care about me.’ I think our patients felt like they were losing a friend and a physician.”

Dr. Echeverri echoes this sentiment: “It was extremely hard to leave, but it was also meaningful to see such a visible impact that we’ve had on folks. Some patients had followed us from residency—some people we’d seen for seven years.”

Their connection to family medicine runs deeper than professional choice – it reflects their shared philosophy about healthcare and human connection.

Why they chose medicine

Dr. Hunter, who comes from a strong medical background with a mother who immigrated from India as a physician, always knew medicine was her calling. “I sometimes oscillated between animals or humans, but it came naturally for me to do medicine,” she shares.

Dr. Echeverri’s path was different but equally compelling. “I don’t have a family in medicine. I just always loved science,” he explains. “I’m old enough to remember having encyclopedias, and I gravitated to the human anatomy sections of those encyclopedias. When I was older, I found I was a people person, and medicine is a field that allows me to do something with science that is oriented around people.”

Their specialization in family medicine reflects their shared desire for variety and long-term patient relationships.

“When I was a fourth-year student, my problem was that I liked everything,” Dr. Echeverri notes. “I was curious how I’d be able to see a little bit of everything, and that was primary care. It provides long-term continuity with patients. I like seeing the patient as a whole—specialists look at the trees and I look at the forest.”

Dr. Hunter adds, “With family medicine, you don’t know what your day will look like. It could be run-of-the-mill stuff like strep, but you could have an injection, laceration, or someone to make a preventive care plan with. It’s very stimulating as a physician because we enjoy learning.”

Finding their way to Tryon 

The couple’s decision to move to Charlotte was years in the making, driven by both personal and professional aspirations.

“We had been planning to move to Charlotte for two years and were looking for active listings but couldn’t find what we were searching for,” Dr. Hunter explains. “We were looking at potential jobs when I came across Tryon. I hadn’t been aware of them before.”

The discovery of Tryon Medical Partners proved to be the catalyst they needed. “Their values, their mission—it aligned with what we wanted in our future practice,” Dr. Echeverri remembers telling Dr. Hunter. “We’re very like-minded with the people who started the organization and everyone we’ve met.”

Dr. Hunter describes their interview process as feeling destined: “Our interview was amazing. We met with Dr. Shelton and Dr. Wilder, and it felt similar to choosing our residency program. With Tryon Medical Partners, the universe just kind of moved everything into place for us. It felt like all the pieces came together.”

Working together as a married medical team 

Working together as a married couple in medicine brings unique dynamics that they’ve learned to navigate successfully.

“We’re completely opposite,” they laugh. “In the way we practice medicine, we’re similar. But we’re also very different. If there are two options, we often don’t choose the same one.”

Yet these differences prove complementary in their professional lives. “We’re good counterbalances in many ways,” Dr. Echeverri notes. “We’ve leaned on each other for certain topics in medicine. We’re both easy-going and joke a lot.”

While they’ll be working in different Tryon offices, they see this as part of building one larger community. “Sometimes I’ll even call Dr. Hunter during the day for a consult,” Dr. Echeverri says. “She’s my wife, and one of my favorite physicians to consult with.” 

Embracing life in Charlotte

Charlotte has already proven to be everything they hoped for in their new home.

“Charlotte has been exactly what I was wishing for,” Dr. Hunter shares. “We want to be able to have date nights, go to concerts, go out to eat, find a new restaurant. Charlotte is the perfect place for all of these activities.”

For Dr. Echeverri, the move represents important personal milestones ahead: “Having kids is in the very near future for us, and it takes a village. We have more of that village here. We’re the godparents of my friend’s baby, who is like a brother to me. Being able to hop over there and see them is worth the world to us.” 

The couple also appreciates Charlotte’s unique blend of urban amenities and suburban comfort. “We were looking for a bigger metro area,” Dr. Echeverri explains. “We feel like we’re in a small town but can hop into the city, which is what we wanted when we moved here.”

A legacy of caring that follows them

What sets this medical couple apart is their commitment to the foundational principles of family medicine: comprehensive, compassionate care that follows patients throughout their lives.

“With family medicine, we have the opportunity to follow a patient from womb to tomb,” Dr. Hunter explains. “It’s nice to have that opportunity and participate in someone improving their own health. We have an opportunity to stay involved in their health journey for life.”As they begin this new chapter at Tryon Medical Partners, Dr. Hunter and Dr. Echeverri bring not only their clinical skills but also their shared commitment to the kind of medicine that values relationships, listens deeply, and sees each patient as a whole person. Their journey from that first meeting in Orange Beach to their new home in Charlotte proves that sometimes the best professional partnerships—like the best personal ones—are built on shared values, complementary strengths, and a common vision for making a difference in people’s lives.