The EVE Foundation was founded in 2005 by Lee Cox and Carolyn Risher. Based in Missoula, Montana, it is an IRS-recognized 501c3 nonprofit organization.
The EVE Foundation has approximately 3,000 copies of Raised on Fear currently in circulation. Raised on Fear is being used in women's shelters, youth groups, counseling offices, anger management programs, and by the general public. Lee has given over 100 presentations over the past four years, sometimes as many as four a day in smaller communities. Every presentation has made a difference.
Women, who on average will return to an abuser between 7 and 13 times, have said they were thinking of returning and now won't. Teachers have said that after Lee's talk, students have shared things about their living situations, and the teachers have been surprised to learn how many kids live in abusive homes (walk on egg shells at home). A youth group leader got up after one talk and announced he had been hiding from the group the fact that he had grown up in an abusive home. The stories go on.
The EVE Foundation is impacting teens and adults who have been abused. Our programs open up conversations about hardship and abuse and inspire a positive view of the future, empowering people to go beyond the hurt and pain and to live life with an inspired purpose. It is our mission to make a real difference with humans by educating and continually re-igniting their flame of hope, inspiration, and purpose, so they can heal themselves.
Lee Cox- Founder and Creative Director
Lee Cox is the Executive Director and Founder of the EVE Foundation. Lee brings 20 years of business leadership experience to his position. His last position was President of EZ Brothers, a company that manufactured and distributed a CD repair product. Lee is the author of Raised on Fear, an autobiographical book that is the foundation for his development of the “Violent Scene Investigation” curriculum which addresses anger management issues with teens and young adults. In the early history of the E.V.E. Foundation Lee was the creative developer of “Teens Inspiring Excellence”, a curriculum that promotes turning early life challenges into successes. His community service work includes being a board member for Parenting Place in Missoula and as President of the Exchange Club whose focus is on child abuse prevention. Lee’s personal transformation has inspired him to support others in their achievement of an extraordinary life.
George Sendon, President
Having earned a master’s degree in Secondary Education with a Principal’s endorsement, George recently retired from a career, spanning over 40 years, as a Spanish teacher and administrator in the Missoula County Public School system. His last assignment was as principal of Willard Alternative High School. George is an Army veteran with many years of participation in civic and professional organizations such as the Exchange Club, Community Restorative Justice Committee, Montana Education Association, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. George and his wife, Sherry, have lived in Missoula for over 40 years, where they raised their son and now enjoy their two granddaughters.
Trish Foster, Vice President and Secretary
Trish has over 25 years of experience working with and for children and adolescents. Her work environments have included the classroom, residential treatment facilities, juvenile detention centers, foster homes, mental health units and wilderness adventure programs. She has been involved in both government services and non-profit agencies. Her focus over the last several years has been in quality improvement, evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of services provided. She has a master’s degree in Public Administration. Trish and her husband, Mike, moved to Montana in 2000, from Seattle and Texas respectively. Together they are involved in several community service programs and development of their own non-profit devoted to equine assisted leadership, Friends of Dunrovin.
Carolyn Risher, Treasurer
Carolyn Risher is married to Lee Cox, and has been the Secretary/Treasurer of the EVE Foundation since its inception. She brings 35 years of business management experience, with skills in financial management and organizational development. As a native Montanan, local business owner, and parent, her practical and insightful influence on the board is invaluable. She is past President of the East Missoula Lions and a Trustee on the East Missoula Fire District Board.
Arthur Held
Art Held, a Montana native, is a technologist and photographer living in Missoula with his wife, Marge Hulburt, and son Eric. Art is the former CIO/CTO for a national health care management company. He has an extensive background in IT systems large and small, plus a deep interest in photography, and entrepreneurship. Art has pursued a variety of activities aimed at helping children including starting and supporting private elementary schools, working with Cub Scouts, running a technology club for 4th through 8th graders, and providing photography services for organizations actively serving youth such as “A Carousel for Missoula.”
Art’s reason for serving on the board and working on Eve projects including “Violent Scene Investigators”, “Teens Inspiring Excellence”, and the Eve Foundation’s website is to promote Eve Foundation’s powerful message that change is possible. Art believes that young people with strong role models and clear information can find alternatives to living with pervasive violence. When the understand its dynamics, they can act to end violence that interferes with the quality of their lives.
Roger Harvey
With Roger’s 25 years as a classroom teacher, and a master’s degree in education, his experience and perceptions are highly valued by the other board members. He was the first Reading Recovery Teacher Leader in Montana and trained over 50 teachers to teach the lowest 20% of first graders how to read. After retirement, Roger developed his own Therapeutic Massage Practice in Missoula. He is a master furniture builder and gardener, and donates time to his church doing maintenance projects and landscaping. As a native Montanan he enjoys fly fishing and tying his own flies. Roger has committed himself to the success of the E.V.E. Foundation as a way of fulfilling his passion for helping children learn and achieve their goals.
