Board Members

Eric Loudon

Board Chair

Eric Loudon is the cofounder of O.N.E. Coconut Water, one of the original coconut water brands to enter the US. The company was eventually bought by Pepsi Co. He has bachelor’s degrees in economics and international business, as well as an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Eric is currently the owner of Dedicated Trucking Services, a full-service trucking and staffing company that operates in the western US. He is also a partner in JD&E Restaurant Group, which has holdings in Texas and Utah. Over the years, Eric has also been a consultant for many natural food and beverage startups.

Eric enjoys serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a full-time mission in Brazil. He has also held many callings with the youth and served as a ward clerk, stake executive secretary, and bishop. He currently lives in St. George, Utah, with his wife, Kim, and their nine children.

Tanner Milne

Vice Chair

Tanner Milne is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, and commercial real estate advisor. He has worked in the commercial real estate industry since 2003 and founded Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate in 2008. He has also invested in more than 50 other businesses and real estate opportunities.

Tanner holds a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Arizona State University. He lives with his wife and five beautiful children in Gilbert, Arizona. Tanner served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil and is grateful to give back to the country he loves as an ACE instructor.

Shaun Ritchie

Past Board Chair

Shaun started his first company in 2002. Neutron Interactive, an online marketing company, twice earned spots on the Inc 500 list at #313 and #318. Shaun cofounded his second company, Teem, in 2012. Teem raised over $20 million in venture capital from several prominent venture capital firms. After the sale of Teem to The We Company, Shaun served as the chief workplace experience officer at WeWork until his departure in 2019. Shaun is currently a managing partner at Grinder Ventures, a firm he cofounded, which seeks to invest in those who embrace the grind of building successful, enduring companies. Shaun is a Utah Business 40 under 40 award recipient and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. Shaun has served as the president of the Utah Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization and was twice recognized as the EO Utah Entrepreneur of the Year.

Stephen W. Gibson

Founder

Stephen W. Gibson has created or funded more than a dozen entrepreneurial businesses, including being the first investor in 1-800-Contacts, Omniture, and Ancestry.com. He also cofounded the Utah Angels, the first Angel investment group in Utah. In 1999, he and his wife, Bette, moved to the Philippines on their own for 19 months and created a nonprofit educational system, The Academy for Creating Enterprise, for Filipino returned missionaries. The Academy now has more than 671 alumni chapters in the Philippines, Mexico and Peru and expanded to Brazil in 2019. The chapters are led by more than 1,900 volunteers who are learning leadership skills that they apply in business, church, family, and their communities. Gibson also taught as entrepreneur in residence and later as full-time faculty for the Marriott School for a total of 15 years, having retired in 2011. He continues to enjoy writing, investing and mentoring, and traveling with Bette. They have been married for 56 years.

Rich Andrus

Board Member

Rich Andrus is the executive vice president for Menlo Commercial Real Estate and cofounder/co-owner of Menlo Dental Transitions. Prior to working in commercial real estate, Rich was regional manager for Cardinal Health, a Fortune 100 company. Rich graduated from Utah State University with dual bachelor’s degrees in finance and marketing and dual minors in economics and Spanish.

He attended the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, earning his master’s in business administration. His church callings have included missionary in the Mexico Veracruz Mission, executive secretary, bishop, as well as 15+ years of various youth callings. He currently lives in Gilbert, Arizona, with his wife, Miriam, and their four children.

Lyle Parry

Board Member

Lyle Parry started his career working as a certified public accountant for Arthur Young and Ernst & Young. He spent the majority of his career as the senior vice president, chief financial officer, and secretary-treasurer of Management & Training Corporation (MTC). MTC, a privately owned corporation, is an international education and training company that focuses on providing education for economically disadvantaged youth as well as education for rehabilitation in a correctional setting.

Lyle was prominent in the strategic growth and management as a senior executive of the company. When he retired, it was the largest contractor with the US Department of Labor and the third-largest company to manage correctional facilities globally. MTC had over 10,000 employees and revenues of around $950 million. He retired to serve a mission with his wife, Cricket, for their church in West Africa and continues to serve in a similar capacity in Salt Lake City. He has served on various boards, including charitable organizations and international corporations.

Cricket Parry

Board Member

Cricket began her dance career at the age of three. She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, Hawaiian, musical comedy, and lyrical dance. As she grew, her goal was to own and direct a dance studio. She accomplished that goal and taught hundreds of students. Cricket not only wanted to teach her dancers to dance but also how to be team players, good sports, and confident and good people. Her dance teams competed for many years, receiving national championships. She also coached dance and cheer teams at the high school level. These high school teams also received many national awards and championships.

Along with teaching, Cricket was co-founder, board member, and officer of the Utah Dance Judges Association. She was named Utah High School Judge of the Year and National Stars Director of the Year. Cricket has also choreographed and directed NFL and NBA halftime shows as well as other events for Junior Miss, Miss USA, and various artists in national celebrations. Her greatest accomplishment is being married, the mother of five children, and Grandma Cricket to nine grandchildren.

Brian and Louise Murphy

Board Members

Brian and Louise Murphy live in Midway, Utah, and have four children and 13 grandchildren (the 14th is due in August). Both graduated from BYU, Brian with a business degree and Louise with a degree in English literature. Brian also has an MBA from Columbia Business School. They are on the BYU Marriott National Advisory Council, participate with the BYU Marriott Founders, the BYU Cougar Club and are on the Board of Rising Star Outreach. Brian is the chairman of the UVU Foundation Investment Committee and on the Woodbury School National Advisory Board. Louise is a board member of the Stella Oaks Foundation. Brian is a senior advisor to FS Investments and the founder of Portfolio Advisors.

Doug Holmes

Board Member

Doug spent the majority of his career in the telecommunications industry with MediaOne Group, a Fortune 100 company. At MediaOne, Doug held various positions including CFO and executive vice president of strategy, corporate development, and technology. Prior to his work at MediaOne, Doug was a strategy consultant with Booz Allen and Hamilton. Doug served on several company boards, including Time Warner Entertainment, IPIX, InfoGear, and Time Warner Telecom. He has also served in multiple volunteer positions, including as the chairman of Parents for Choice in Education and United Way of Davis Co. He spent three years in Detroit, Michigan, leading a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Carrie Thompson

Board Member

Carrie Thompson is the executive director of Esperanza, a support organization to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A graduate of Brigham Young University, Carrie discovered her passion for nonprofit work during a life-changing trip to Mozambique, Africa, in 2001. With a commitment to uplifting those in need, Carrie has volunteered with Care for Life, an initiative focused on providing village self-reliance solutions for extreme poverty.

Married to Kris Thompson, Carrie is the mother of four children. In her spare time, she enjoys family activities, outdoor adventures, and continuing her volunteer efforts to make a positive difference in her community.

Joe and Jolene Swenson

Board Members

Joe and Jolene currently reside in Midway, Utah, and recently returned from serving as president and matron of the Concepción Chile Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They previously led the Chile Concepción South Mission. Joe, a former missionary in Spain, has held executive roles including CEO of Imagine Learning and DynaVox Systems, and served as president of Hill-Rom Europe. He holds both a bachelor’s degree and MBA from BYU and currently serves on the board of Gibby Group. Jolene earned her English degree from Utah State University and has served as a seminary teacher, docent at the Carnegie Museum of Art, and contributed to various publications. Together, they have lived and served in Utah, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Paris, France. They are the parents of four children and grandparents to twelve.

Katie Ritchie

Board Member

Katie Ritchie is passionate about empowering individuals and families to become self-reliant through practical education, mentoring, and faith-driven enterprise. Her commitment to self-sufficiency aligns deeply with the mission of the Academy for Creating Enterprise to lift individuals from poverty through entrepreneurship.

Katie graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in microbiology and an emphasis in genetics. She worked for 12 years in the burgeoning field of genetic genealogy before stepping away to devote her full time to raising and mentoring their four children. In addition to family life, she helps run a family-owned business that produces and sells premium juice.

A dedicated wife, mother, and mentor, Katie finds joy in connecting with people from all walks of life—especially throughout Latin America, where she and her family love to travel. Her perspective blends a strong analytical background with hands-on experience in small business, making her a valuable voice in shaping programs that serve aspiring entrepreneurs across the globe.