ABOUT EPIK

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Who We Are

A BUNCH OF GUYS

Everyone wants to belong but men often will try to build it with the wrong tools. At Epik Project, we are a bunch of guys learning how to use the right tools to build a better story of belonging.

BUILDING BELONGING

Belonging is our most fundamental human need. If we do not understand how it works, we damage ourselves and those around us in our struggle to meet that need. Epik Project seeks to heal the hurt and the hurting by sharing our stories in authentic community. We call this Telling A Better Manstory.

“Belonging is a structure we build with our stories. And we are done building when every story fits.”
— Curtis Miller

Meet the Team

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Founder & CEO

Tomas Perez

In 2010, Tom began engaging in the anti-trafficking fight and quickly noticed that while men are the primary drivers behind demand that drives sex trafficking, very few were practically involved in effective efforts to abolish it. His vision to create meaningful onramps for men to engage this issue has resulted in the training, equipping and support of hundreds of volunteer men across 20 cities in North America. Tom is an active member of several local and national collaborative efforts to eradicate commercial sexual exploitation. Tom also serves as the demand reduction specialist on the Oregon Attorney General’s Trafficking Advisory Committee. He previously led a multidisciplinary team of law enforcement, prosecution, business and faith communities as the head of the demand subcommittee for the Multnomah Co. Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children or “CSEC” Executive Team. Tom has presented both locally and nationally on the centrality of equipping male allies and focusing on demand reduction as a critical component to any strategy serious about combating sex trafficking. These presentations include The National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Youth and the United Nations Global Council on the Status of Women.

Program Director

Justin Euteneier

As Director of Programs at Epik Project, Justin equips male civilians in the US to speak directly to sex buyers at the point of sale, disrupt cultural acceptance of exploitation, and seek areas of our lives as men where we can work towards creating an equitable and flourishing culture. Justin holds a Masters Graduate Degree of Social Justice from Kilns College, has presented at MIT Counter Human Trafficking Workshop and has 10+ years working the anti human trafficking movement. At Epik Project, Justin has designed and built an innovative buyer engagement platform that has led to over 200,000 purchase attempts from 100,000 buyers in the US utilizing all-male volunteer efforts.

Operations Manager

Jenni Lippold

Jenni Lippold has 15 years of working with technical start-ups and non profit initiatives. With a portfolio of large client work like Disney, Nike, Tesla and a number of local businesses, Jenni is a skilled product director and project manager- a practitioner of systems and people. A long time volunteer for local foster care, homeless outreach and refugee support, she has engaged with Epik Project over the years in a number of operational initiatives- until 2023 when she joined the staff because she loves Epik’s mission to see the end of demand. Jenni lives on a tree farm in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kiddos- her other full-time job.

Communications Director

Lauren Trantham

Lauren Trantham has over seven years of working in the anti-human trafficking movement. In addition to managing communications at Epik Project, she is also the Founder & Executive Director of Ride My Road, a national anti-human trafficking organization that operates within the motorcycle community. She sits on the steering and education & training committee for the Coalition Against Human Trafficking in Jackson County, Oregon. As a photographer, she has photographed nearly 100 American survivors of trafficking.

Program Manager

Scott Scheuer

With a foundation in technology, Scott possesses a natural affinity for interpersonal dynamics. His career has been punctuated by captivating roles at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he actively contributed to vital programs serving our military and intelligence community. Preceding this, he held positions at various General Electric subsidiaries, overseeing product development and championing quality control initiatives. Throughout his journey, Scott has consistently emphasized cultivating strong bonds within his teams, across organizational boundaries, and throughout the customer and collaborator community. Scott's association with Epik dates back to late 2021.

Program Manager

Ashlynn Fredendall

Ashlynn Fredendall is a recent high school graduate from Vancouver, Washington. With a four-year engagement in DECA, she cultivated her project management, leadership, and communication skills. This journey led her to Epik Project, where she has begun work as a project manager. Now stepping into a new chapter, Ashlynn is poised to continue her growth, leveraging her role with Epik Project to further develop her leadership capabilities. Her roots in Vancouver ground her, while her aspirations drive her to create positive change through her work.

Meet the Board

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Board Chair

Randy Rhodes

Randy Rhodes’ career in the electric power utility sector included leadership roles at a variety of organizations and industry consortia. He became a trusted consultant and advisor to many executives. He has been described as a "relentless researcher," having authored over 160 publications on technology trends and digital transformation. Within Epik, he volunteered in various roles before becoming a board member in 2017. Randy accepted the Board Chairperson role in 2022 following his transition out of the corporate workforce. At a personal level, Randy is father and step-father to twelve adult family members and fifteen grandchildren. He enjoys hiking in the Columbia Gorge and bicycling throughout the area with his wife Marietta.

Board member

Robin Miller

Born and raised in Vancouver, WA, Robin Miller earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science from Portland State University and is the Education Coordinator at World Without Exploitation. As a member and survivor services specialist with the Trafficking Task Force of Clark County (Washington) and the Human Trafficking Advisory Committee for Oregon State’s Department of Justice, Robin has 8+ years of experience presenting on the complex issues relating to the sex trade. She’s a founding member of the Sex Trade Survivor Caucus and a consultant for the Trafficking Law Center in Portland, Oregon. Her biggest joy is spending time dancing and making TikTok’s with her granddaughter.

Board Member

JR Ujifusa

JR Ujifusa has been working on human trafficking crimes and issues for the last 15 years and is also a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the district of Oregon focusing on federal human trafficking crimes. He is the Senior deputy and supervisor of the Multnomah County District Attorney's Drug and Property unit and Human Trafficking Team which oversees the Prostitution Coordination Team, the Sex Buyers Accountability and Diversion Program, First Offender Program, Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Law Enforcement group, National Sex Trafficking Law Enforcement List Serve, and is the primary prosecutor for all felony prostitution and human trafficking cases within Multnomah County. JR serves as the chair of the National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States. He co-chairs the Association of Prosecuting Attorney’s Human Trafficking Advisory Committee and the Oregon DOJ Trafficking Intervention Advisory Committee.

Board member

Ken Gudenrath

Ken is a longtime supporter of Epik with extensive experience in local volunteer development and nonprofit leadership. Professionally, he is a 25+ year senior sales leader, individual contributor, project manager, and business development industry executive in large scale technology solutions focused on the Federal sector. His experience includes grass roots territory development, quota over achievement, new account development, sales strategy planning, and sales team management. For the past 15 years he has been focused on developing mainframe/hardware solutions for Federal agencies most recently with the Department of Energy. Ken is the newest member of our board and has been focusing his efforts on supporting a long-range fundraising and donor development strategy.

Board Member

Ralph Wilson

Ralph brings a wealth of business development and philanthropic experience to our work. Newly retired, he was formerly a Principal at LSW Architects where he served for over 30 years.

What We Do

Over a decade ago, Epik Project set out to disrupt the demand for sexual exploitation at the point of sale. We got pretty good at that! However, after a while, we began to understand that in order to truly disrupt the demand for exploitation we had to address the culture that allows it to thrive. And the more we addressed the culture, the more we realized we had to change as men who exist in that culture.

We started out doing one thing and that one thing has compelled us to expand the scope of our work.

An Epik Impact

What We Believe

Generative Masculinity

Humility: Epik Project men have the eyes to see ourselves for who we truly are.

Empathy: We have a broken heart for the brokenness in the world.

Meekness: We have a shoulder that can lean into hard things or that can be leaned on during hard times.

Appetite for Justice: We understand that this work is a long game, requiring our attention over our lifetimes which we can stomach

What She Said

From the beginning, Epik Project has been informed by the wisdom of trafficking survivors. It has made us who we are and shaped what we do. We are committed to listening to, following, and elevating their leadership. Here are some examples of why we do this.

Our Partners

Instagram

View fullsize Our program director shares a painful memory of his Grandfather suffering in isolation... on the blog, "Sex Trafficking: What do feelings have to do with it?" Have you read it yet? https://www.epikproject.org/blog/traffickingandemotions
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View fullsize Our Board Member Ralph talks of a future we can all get behind on the Epik blog. Have you read it yet? https://www.epikproject.org/blog/joiningthefight
View fullsize "If you’re not addressing demand, you’re not actually fighting trafficking…" on the blog from Tom Perez, Epik Project Founder. Have you read it yet? https://www.epikproject.org/blog/demandisthething
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View fullsize Ty brings up an excellent post in the blog post, "An Open Letter to Christian Men." Have you read it yet? https://www.epikproject.org/blog/openletter
View fullsize Guess who launched an online store...?? Yup, we did! Visit www.epikproject.org/shop for Epik + My Friends Are Not For Sale apparel and goodies. Coming soon: The Masculine Wilderness Podcast swag! When you support our store, you are helping to fuel th
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View fullsize "Generative AI, An Opportunity to Fight Trafficking" on the blog from Randy Rhodes. Have you read it yet? https://www.epikproject.org/blog/generativeai
View fullsize On the blog from Lauren Trantham, "I don't know any abusers." Have you read it yet? https://www.epikproject.org/blog/abusers
View fullsize On the podcast: JR Ujifusa, Senior Deputy Advisor for the Multnomah County District Attorney's office, overseeing cases related to drug, property, and human trafficking crimes. JR has a deep and unique perspective on prosecuting Human Trafficking Cas
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