Rising Violet Board of Directors
Tiffany Sowby, Founder
Tiffany Sowby grew up in a suburb of London, England. She was, according to her father, a “proper English school girl,” which is why he laughs at her life now: cowboy boots strewn around her house and Saturdays spent watching football (the American kind), to say nothing of the goats in her backyard. With the exception of a few favorite English phrases she still loves to use, she can pass for a typical American these days.
Tiffany earned her BS in family studies from the University of Utah and her MA in social justice and human rights from Arizona State University. It was at the University of Utah she met her husband, Mike. They were assigned to plan a party for an organization they both belonged to. She thought he had an annoying sense of humor; he thought she was immature. Despite this auspicious beginning, they soon became friends, and then decided to become kissing friends. The rest is history. (For the record, she is no longer immature, but the annoyance level of his sense of humor is debatable.) They live in Utah with their five children.
There is always room in Tiffany’s schedule for long conversations with friends; shopping for shoes that compliment her great legs and always-painted toe nails; a board or card game (her favorite is Scrabble; she ABSOLUTELY MUST have the car in Monopoly); alone time with her husband; or perusing travel sites for her next vacation. She has never eaten a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or had a bloody nose and can’t stand sticky floors or the smell of Play-Doh.
Tiffany speculates that the idea of Rising Violet began when she was seven years old and a friend said, “You ask soooo many questions.” Tiffany has always had a passion for people and their unique lives, stories and experiences. She values honesty and integrity (sometimes to a fault, she admits). These passions, combined with Tiffany’s years of writing and speaking about women and motherhood, inspired Tiffany to create Rising Violet. She can be reached at tsowby@risingvioletgifts.org.
Alisha Gale, Founding Board Member
After spending most of her life in California, Alisha Gale now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her family. She and her husband, Jared, are the parents of three daughters and two sons. Alisha and Jared both have degrees in philosophy; they met while working as editors for their university’s philosophy journal. (It was much more thrilling than it sounds.) (Not really.) Her degree might account for what her husband claims is the phrase she says most often: “I have an idea…” (Second-most often: “We’re out of space on our bookshelves again.”)
Post college, Alisha moonlighted as a florist, an assistant to both a Nobel Prize winner and a MacArthur Fellow (but really all she did was get mail for the former and make copies for the latter), and spent four years at Power of Moms, where she served as content director. In 2018, she joined a research team studying gender equality in the state of Utah. Her team won first place in the Map the System competition held at the Said Business School (Oxford University) and was a semi-finalist in the global competition.
Currently, Alisha serves on the board of directors for Charlotte Youth Ballet, which recently celebrated its 40th season. She spends her free time in a ballet studio, at the gym, trying to stay awake while she reads, learning Korean, and working with Rising Violet. Alisha loves spy movies, family adventures and puns. (She would say “good puns,” but has learned that’s an oxymoron.) She once indulged her passion for pie-making to such an extent that her children complained about having to eat pie too often! (She can’t understand it, either.) She will go to great lengths to avoid cooking dinner. (And she never met a pair of parentheses she didn’t like.) She loves traveling internationally and hiking and especially traveling internationally to go hiking.
Her great admiration for Tiffany led her to volunteer with Rising Violet. Her love for all sorts of stories, and the knowledge that sometimes the most important stories are never told, are her motivation to keep Rising Violet moving forward. She can be reached at agale@risingvioletgifts.org.
Heidi Jacobson, Board Member
Heidi Jacobson grew up on the beaches of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where she developed a love for sunshine and the sea. She now works as a marriage and family therapist in Oregon and Washington, with a passion for empowering women. Before moving to the PNW, she got her degree in psychology and art, and spent time working as a personal support worker, job coach, and peer mentor until she attended graduate school. Through experiences with friends, family, and colleagues, Heidi has developed a desire to give women a voice and more opportunities to have a seat at the table. Joining Rising Violet allows her to meaningfully and tangibly contribute to a world where women and mothers have more access to pursuing their passions.
Along with her dog, you can often find her exploring the Pacific Northwest and all the beauty it has to offer. She enjoys making music, painting, hiking, dancing, and soaking up the sunshine. She has also found immense joy in being the “fun aunt” to 14 cute nieces and nephews. Heidi can be reached at hjacobson@risingvioletgifts.org.
Theresa Ford, Board Member
Theresa Ford grew up jumping over the snowbanks of Minnesota, until she moved to sunny Atlanta to attend Emory University and take her jumping to the NCAA. While at Emory, she earned her bachelor’s in business administration and was a multi-event athlete for Emory’s track and field team. In addition to track, Theresa has a passion for all things food, so once she graduated, she pursued a career in the food retail industry. She began her career at Target Corporation and later moved to Virginia to work for Lidl US. It was a very flavorful way to earn her living! After many years of food merchandising, she attended Georgetown University to earn her master’s degree in business administration.
She met her husband Casey at a Halloween party in Virginia; they currently live in Virginia with their four children. Her interests include spending time with her family, being active, watching movies, dining out, travel, and, as you probably have guessed, all things food. She likes to pass along her passion for jumping and is a volunteer assistant coach for Vienna Youth Inc. Track and Field team. She hopes to convince all four of her children to try a track and field event at some point.
She has prioritized advancing and empowering women in the workplace throughout her professional career and she is thrilled to expand this passion of empowering women through her work as a volunteer with Rising Violet. She can be reached at tford@risingvioletgifts.org.
Chris DeHerrera, Board Member
Raised in Ogden, Utah, in a tight knit family of 6 girls, Chris cherishes her childhood and expresses her thanks for the work ethic and self-confidence that her parents instilled in her along with the love for learning and self-development.
She attended Weber State University where she studied communications and English. Her past civic roles include Den Mother for the Boys Scouts of America, Advisory Board for Building Utah Youth, and the Weber County Fair Board. Her past professional affiliations include the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce Spikers Ambassadors, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce (SLCC) Immigration Task Force member, SLCC Transportation Coalition member, Board of Trustees Economic Development Corporation of Utah, and Associated Builders and Contractors National Strategic Planning Committee. She formerly served on the Wasatch Front Economic Development District – Strategy Committee.
Chris was recognized as one of Utah’s “30 Women to Watch” by Utah Business Magazine for the leadership position she held in Utah’s construction industry.
In 2021, she accepted a four-year governor’s appointment as vice-chair for Davis Technical College Board of Directors where she hopes to work in bringing industry and education together. One of her favorite civic roles was participating on the Davis Chamber of Commerce’ Legislative Affairs Committee as a registered lobbyist.
Currently, Chris is proud to serve on the Rising Violet Board of Directors.
She is employed as Director of Charities for Giving Hope Charities, the charitable arm of Mountainland Supply Co. As director, her role includes governance, development, and fundraising for Giving Hope.
Her interests include reading, travel, learning and all that encompasses the “art” of living. She enjoys anything outdoors and recently started mountain biking. Chris lives in Plain City, Utah and loves to be surrounded by her three sons, three beautiful daughters-in-law, two grandsons and four precious granddaughters. Chris can be reached at cdeherrera@risingvioletgifts.org.