Dr. Cornell E. Lewis

Founder

Dr. Cornell Lewis is the Founder of The Expanding Visions Foundation; a grass roots non-profit mentoring organization that he started over 15 years ago. He is a native of Columbus, OH and upon graduating from Columbus South High School in 1986; he spent eight years in the United States Army. During his time in the military, he actively served in Desert Storm/Desert Shield, Korea and he was a Sergeant/E-5 in the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, NC.

In 1998, Dr. Lewis entered the City of Columbus Fire Academy where he served for 21 years as a firefighter/paramedic with the City of Columbus Division of Fire. Dr. Lewis was the first community paramedic and he helped the division of fire bring into fruition the RREACT team which aided opiate addicted patrons gain rapid access to medically assisted treatment post-overdose.

Dr. Lewis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology from Ohio Dominican University a Master’s degree from Capella University with a major in Human Services and Community Development and his Doctorate in Philosophy in Advanced Studies in Human Behavior from Capella University.

A passionate man and a concerned citizen are the words that describe the personality of Dr. Lewis. The Social Gospel (helping people), is just as important as The Salvation Gospel (giving your life to Christ).

Awards

Dr. Lewis is the recipient of the 2010 Outstanding Mentor of the year from The Mentoring Center of Central Ohio presented by The Honorable Joyce Beatty, 2001 Humanitarian Award from the American Legion and the 1998 Humanitarian Award from the Lighthouse Project (all of Columbus, OH). In 1995, he facilitated a program titled G.Y.M (Guiding Young Men) at Southmoor Middle School in which he personally mentored 37 young males each school year on a weekly basis by teaching life skills. Several of the young men from the program have gone on to obtain college degrees, maintain the values that they were taught and are now giving back to EVF by sharing their stories and experiences.