Kristen Cox

Kristen Cox
Executive Director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services
Personal details
Born	1969 (age 47–48) Bellevue, Washington
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Randy Cox

Kristen Cox (born Kristen Eyring in 1969, Bellevue, Washington) is an American politician and former Executive Director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, current executive director of Utah Governor's Office of Management and Budget. Previously Cox served as Maryland Secretary of Disabilities. Kris Cox was the running mate of Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich in the Maryland 2006 gubernatorial election.

Cox was born in Bellevue, Washington. While growing up in Utah, Cox gradually lost most of her vision starting about age 11 due to a degenerative genetic condition caused by "a rare recessive trait" (Stargardt's disease), so she had to use a white cane for walking.

She attended Brigham Young University, where she had to memorize everything because she had not yet learned Braille. Cox received her B.A. in educational psychology with a certificate in special education in 1995. A devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Cox spent eighteen months prior to graduation as a Mormon missionary in Brazil.

Currently Cox lives in Utah with her husband Randy and their two sons, Tanner and Riley. In a 1998 article for the National Federation of the Blind, Randy credits her with changing perceptions about blindness. Randy described an experience he had as a highschooler assisting a man who had become almost completely helpless after becoming blind. He contrasted this with meeting Kristen in 1992, and being most impressed with a blind woman who could cross the street easily, order at restaurants, and was a top student and international traveller. Randy stated:

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