LAF Endowment

The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) established the LAF Endowment (LAFE) in 2003 to help maintain long-term financial security for the Foundation’s programmatic goals. The LAFE provides donors with the opportunity to make gifts to the LAF that are more permanent in nature.
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View the LAFE financial information >>

LAF Endowment Board of Trustees

Michael Sherwin | Dennis Cavner | Karen S. Cook | Jeffery C. Garvey | Larry O'Reilly  | James Hodge, III | Kozo Shimano

Michael Sherwin - Chair
Mike Sherwin is a resident of Cleveland, Ohio and has been involved in the private equity capital investment business for many years. In addition to serving on many corporate boards, both public and private, Mr. Sherwin has had active roles with several non-profit organizations. From 1992 to 1997, he served as president of The Cleveland Museum of Art, an organization with an annual budget of approximately $35 million and an endowment of nearly $800 million. He is the founding chairman of the LAFE Board of Trustees.

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Dennis Cavner - Vice Chairman
Mr. Cavner is a principal of Waxman Cavner Lawson, a financial services firm serving high net worth individuals, and SALI Fund Services, L.P., a fund administration company based in Austin and New York. He has been actively involved with the Lance Armstrong Foundation since 1999 and currently serves as Chairman of the LAF Board of Directors. Cavner holds both business and law degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and has served on the UT Gift Planning Advisory Council. He lives with his wife Chris in Austin, Texas.

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Karen S. Cook
Ms. Cook has more than 30 years of experience in the investment industry starting as an equity trader at Goldman Sachs and continuing into hedge fund management. She is CIO of Steinhardt Mgt. Co. and general partner of Nepeta Partners, LP. She is involved with a number of philanthropic endeavors, most notably with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She is a trustee of Milestone Funds (money market mutual funds) and serves on the board of Fifth Avenue Alternative Investments (Bessemer Trust). Ms. Cook received a BA from Wheaton College where she is a trustee. She received her MBA from NYU.

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Jeffery C. Garvey - Treasurer
Mr. Garvey is co-founder and general partner of Austin Ventures, the largest venture capital firm in the Southwest with over $3.5 billion under management and the third largest early-stage investment firm in the United States. Garvey has been actively involved with the Lance Armstrong Foundation since its inception in 1997. He is the founding chairman of the LAF Board of Directors.

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James Hodge, III

Larry O'Reilly
Mr. O'Reilly has a lifelong career in the automotive parts industry. He received a Business Administration Degree from Drury College, and in 1993 was appointed Co-Chairman of the Board and Co-President of O'Reilly Automotive Inc. as well as Chief Operating Officer of O'Reilly Auto Parts. He is a prominent civic leader through his involvement in St. John's Regional Health Center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Co-Chairman of the Victims Center Capital Campaign, Drury University, Springfield Catholic Schools Development Board, the Community Foundation, Springfield Sports Commission, Springfield Hall of Fame and Chairman of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. In 1992, the O'Reilly family received the prestigious National Entrepreneur of the Year Award in addition to the Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year. In 2003, Mr. O'Reilly retired from O'Reilly Auto Parts, but remains active on the board as Co-Chairman and continues to oversee the O'Reilly Family Foundation.

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James Hodge, III

An Ohioan by birth and a graduate with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Jim spent his early career in academic advising at Bowling Green and eventually as director of planned giving and associate vice president for Development.  In 1985 Jim came to Mayo where he has been a senior development officer responsible for building important relationships with Mayo’s philanthropic partners.  Presently Jim is the associate department chair, and director of the principal gifts program, which recognizes $1 million or more benefactors to the institution. 

He is a visiting faculty member at St. Mary’s University in Winona and Indiana University-Purdue Univeristy in Indianapolis. He frequently lectures on the topics of values-based philanthropy, transformational philanthropy, and working with entrepreneurs as philanthropists.  He serves on the editorial board of New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising published out of Indiana and is a member of The Philanthropic Index, an organization that operates much like the consumer’s confidence index but related to philanthropy.  He is the author of a chapter on major gifts in the publication of Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising by Jossey-Bass.  

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Kozo Shimano

Kozo Shimano, has been involved with the bicycle industry his entire life.  Grandson of the founder of Shimano, Inc – Shozaburo Shimano, Mr. Shimano has had an insider’s view of not only the manufacturing and sales but the research & development of high-end bicycle components.  Mr. Shimano joined the company after completing his degree in Biomedical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University in 1984.  While working in Japan from 1986-1992, he was paramount in the development and introduction of the XTR component group for mountain bicycles.  He moved back to the U.S. in 1992 to work for Shimano American Corp. and has held many different positions. He has reached out to the bicycle community by joining forces with other leaders to form the Bikes Belong Coalition, where he is currently serving as president of their board of directors.  He has also been a proponent of advocating safe roads & trails for bicycle access.  He is currently heading up the Advocacy effort for Shimano American Corp. to continue to help promote bicycle safety and education.  He lives in Laguna Niguel, CA with his wife and three girls.

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