Ambassadors

Ally Isom is Vice President and Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer for Clyde Companies. She is a leader and strategist who is passionate about building community and bringing people together to tackle tough issues. 

Prior to her role with Clyde Companies, Ally held posts in Utah’s state government, including Deputy Director of the Department of Community and Culture, Government Relations Director for the Department of Workforce Services, and Deputy Chief of Staff, Communication Director and Spokesperson for Governor Gary R. Herbert. 

Ally then worked at the global headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in public affairs, communication, and branding, before moving to the private sector as Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, and eventually acting Executive Officer, for EVŌQ Nano. Most recently, Ally was a Republican candidate for the United States Senate.  

In 2021 Utah Business named Ally one of “30 Women to Watch.” Highlights from her civic involvement include service as a Kaysville City Councilmember, the Utah Clean Air Partnership Board (UCAIR), the Women’s Leadership Institute executive board chair, the Emerging Leaders Initiative advisory board, and the Utah Heritage Council.  

Ally has a Bachelor of Arts in political science and communications from Brigham Young University.  

She and her husband, Eric, have four children and five grandchildren, and one not entirely bright, but incredibly friendly labrador. Ally enjoys writing, hiking, cooking, and mole poblano, preferably on a beach with a good read. 

Bill Hulterstrom has been helping individuals and families improve their communities throughout North America and overseas for more than 30 years. Bill began his career working at the Utah Special Olympics, where he served as project director. He soon accepted a position at United Way of Utah County where, after only two years, he was promoted to president and CEO—a position he continues to hold today.

Bill has distinguished himself as a recognized leader and trainer in the areas of volunteering, board governance, non-profit leadership, and community building. Bill has served on scores of local, state, and national committees, boards, and task forces. Bill and his wife, Tammy, are the parents of two children and live in Provo, Utah.

Emily Bell McCormick is founder of The Policy Project— a group of individuals and like-minded organizations that help move forward healthy, long-term policy at a local and national level. Emily is also the editor of Utah’s NBC affiliate KSL Studio 5 "Smarter" series--informing viewers about issues, government, policies and politics of the time and helping to empower viewers to find their place in it all. 

Emily is an experienced communication strategist with a history of working in a myriad of industries including media, policy, NGOs, tech and fashion. She received a Bachelor of Art in Communication from Brigham Young University and a Master of Art in Communication from The Ohio State University, where she taught courses. 

Emily worked in advertising, marketing and public relations before acting on her love of fashion and co-founding the clothing line Shabby Apple and becoming the fashion editor for KSL’s Studio 5. 

After selling Shabby, Emily started a consulting firm that provides corporate planning and strategy related to content, brand, marketing, event and image to companies from large, publicly-traded corporations to start-ups. 

Several years later, Emily moved into the public realm, helping to bring menstrual policy to the state of Utah. She and The Policy Project worked to successfully eliminate the sales tax on menstrual products in the state. They continue to focus on policy specific to women, families and minorities, in an effort to move toward an equitable society. 

Ginger Chinn serves as the vice president of public policy and government affairs at the Salt Lake Chamber in Salt Lake City, Utah.  At the Chamber, she coordinates with critical stakeholders on emerging policy issues and works with local and federal lawmakers on getting bills through the legislative process.   She works to build strong relationships with members, the community, and elected officials.   

Prior to her role at the Salt Lake Chamber, she served as the managing director for urban and rural business services for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and was the vice president of business development at the Inland Port.  As managing director at GOED, Chinn directed a strategic growth plan for Utah’s industry cluster program and managed rural economic development programs. Additionally, Chinn oversaw GOED’s business services including Utah’s Business Resource Centers and the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC). 

Chinn was previously the vice president of external engagement and economic development at the Davis Technical College (DTC). In this role, she directed several areas including Custom Fit training and operations at the Davis and Morgan County Business Resource Centers. 

Chinn has served on many organizational boards including the Utah Advanced Materials Manufacturing Initiative (UAMMI), Davis Education Foundation, and the Lakeview Hospital Board.  She served as an honorary commander under Major General Stacey Hawkins at Hill Air Force Base.  She currently serves on Utah Tech University’s Board of Trustees.  

Chinn graduated from Boise State University earning a degree in social sciences.  She also earned a master’s degree from Colorado State University in organizational leadership.  

Heather is the Deputy Campaign Manager for Governor Gary Herbert. She is a political advisor and strategic planner, who works with citizens and elected officials in all 29 counties. She has served as President of the Utah Federation of Republican Women and served on their national board of directors, representing Utah. 

Over 15 years ago, Heather started a small market research and recruiting business. She has been involved in several high-profile research projects and has worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies. 

While Heather has a diverse business and public service background, her passion is education innovation and public policy. She has been a long-time supporter of traditional district schools and public charter schools. In 2013 and 2014, Heather served on the Utah State Board of Education, representing District 9. One of her current projects is driving women returning to finish their higher education degrees and is involved with the Women’s Leadership Project through UVU. 

Heather is a strong advocate of second language learning and served as Community Liaison for two Arabic language teachers, under the Federal Department of Defense, Critical Language Program (TCLP). While serving on the board, she was invited to attend an educational summit in China. Upon returning, she proposed a Chinese Dual Immersion program be adopted in the school. Her daughter will be among the first graduates of the program.  

As an experiential learning proponent, Heather serves as a Board Member of the Space EdVentures Foundation. The new foundation is building one-of-a-kind replica of a space ship inside a school. Core curriculum will be taught in an interactive environment while kids develop soft personal skills and achieve academic benchmarks. Heather also serves on the board of the Disaster Discovery Museum. 

In addition to her business endeavors and community service, Heather loves to travel, sing, dance, and learn. 

James H. Davis is a Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship, the Chairman of the Management Department, and the Director of Executive Education in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.  Prior to Utah State, he was the John F. O’Shaughnessy Professor of Family Enterprises and Professor of Strategic Management in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame beginning in 1991 for over twenty years. He has also been a professor on the graduate faculty of Purdue University and the German International School of Management and Administration.  He launched and directed the nationally ranked Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Notre Dame from 1998 through 2008. He won “Outstanding Teaching Awards of the Year” at the University of Notre Dame six times and at Purdue two times. He also received The University of Notre Dame President’s Award for his contributions to the university in 2005. The Academy of Management Review recognized his trust research as the most influential theory article of the decade. He earned his Ph.D. in Corporate Strategy from the University of Iowa, MBA from Idaho State University, and M.ED and BA from Brigham Young University. He has guided strategic planning and positioning, and been a keynote speaker with many major national and multinational corporations throughout the world including: General Electric (Europe and USA), Bayer (Germany), Lockheed Martin (USA), Owens and Minor (USA), Continental Tire (Germany), Sennheiser (Germany), LanXess (Germany), Owen Miner (USA), the NFL Players Association (USA), National Council of State Housing Agencies (USA), Panama Canal (Panama), Seminarium (Chile), Ikamva Labantu (Africa), etc. He has been a secondary education teacher, a school psychologist, and a regional mental health coordinator for the Head Start Program. He has numerous publications on strategy, trust, stewardship theory, social capital, corporate governance, and family business. He is the author of two books: Social Capital: Multidisciplinary Perspectives and Growth Simply: The Three-Circle Model.

Jonyce Bullock is an Advisory Partner at Squire & Company, PC. Jonyce holds Masters of Accountancy from Brigham Young University and is a member of the UACPA and AICPA. Jonyce is currently serving as the Past-President of the UACPA. She also serves on the AICPA Champions Task Force for the Women's Initiatives Executive Committee.

Jonyce is passionate about promoting women and girls in the community and greatly enjoyed working with the Utah Women and Leadership project on the "Cents and Sensibility" event in 2015. Jonyce has been awarded the AICPA Women to Watch – Emerging Leader award. She has also been recognized by Utah Business Magazine as a 30 Women to Watch leader and a Top 40 under 40 Accountant by CPA Practice Advisor. Jonyce also volunteers as the National Board Treasurer for the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America; a Non-Profit serving individuals with Celiac Disease and other forms of Gluten Intolerance. Jonyce and her husband Greg have two children and reside in Orem, UT.

Katie Garrett manages digital media services at the Utah Education Network. She has a Bachelor's Degree from Utah State University in Broadcast Journalism and currently is pursuing a graduate degree in Instructional Design and Education Technology at the University of Utah.

At UEN Katie is responsible for various statewide digital media initiatives including: digital content repositories, accessible online video and media production to support Utah Women and Leadership Project. Katie enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys.

Kenneth L. White (USU) has been a faculty member in the Department of Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences at Utah State University (USU) since 1991.  Prior to this, Dr. White was a member of the faculty in the Department of Animal Science at Louisiana State University.  He was appointed Vice President for USU Extension, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, and Director of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station at Utah State University July 1, 2013 following a national search process.  He received his bachelor’s of science in animal science from Brigham Young University in 1979, and his master’s degree in animal science and PhD in physiology from the University of California, Davis in 1982 and 1986, respectively.  He has been actively involved in directing a competitive research program throughout his 34-year academic career.  As an independent researcher, he has generated over 17.5 million dollars in extramural funding to support research in Animal Reproduction and Embryonic Development. In 2006 he was recognized as Researcher of the Year, in 2007 he was honored as Undergraduate Mentor of The Year, and in 2011 as Utah State University’s Outstanding Graduate Mentor. In 2013 Dr. White received the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology in Academics in recognition for his research program and efforts to establish a School of Veterinary Medicine in Utah.  He has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles in journals such as Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Development, Biology of Reproduction, Reproduction, Molecular Reproduction and Development, and Cloning and Stem Cells.  He led the nuclear transfer (cloning) team that produced the world’s first cloned equines, which resulted in the birth of three identical mule foals.  During this same period, he received the first Best of State Statue (BOSS) Award for Agriculture given in recognition of his nuclear transfer work. He has also been invited to speak at symposia in various countries, including China, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Peru, and Ireland, in addition to many universities throughout the USA.  He also was one of the primary leaders responsible for establishing the USU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Liz Darger is the Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) at Brigham Young University. She is the sports administrator for six athletic teams and the spirit squads. She also oversees human resources, gender equity, student-athlete welfare, and athletic department diversity and inclusion efforts. She is also a campus Title IX liaison. 

In addition, Darger serves on a variety of committees, including the BYU homecoming committee, BYU Women's Conference Committee, the West Coast Conference Executive Committee, WCC Championships and Sport Administration Cabinet and the NCAA Common Ground Leadership Team. She is also an active member of Women Leaders in College Sports. Darger was recently presented the “Emerging Professional Award” from the Utah Women in Higher Education Network, the Utah affiliate of the American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Network. Darger earned a B.S. in Family Sciences from BYU (2000) and a M.S. in School Counseling Psychology from BYU (2004), and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in educational leadership. Before BYU, Darger worked at Utah Valley University from 2009-2015 as an assistant women's basketball coach where she twice helped the women's basketball team earn the highest GPA among all Division I schools. Previous to UVU, Darger worked at Timpanogos High School 2005-2009 as a guidance counselor, girls varsity basketball coach, and athletic director. Darger is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and currently serves on the Young Women General Board.

Marsha Judkins is currently an adjunct professor in the Quantitative and Mathematical Reasoning Department at Utah Valley University and serving as an elected Representative in the Utah State House. Prior to being elected, she worked extensively as a volunteer in her community and neighborhood schools. Marsha has a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in math, and a master's degree in public administration. She raised seven children and elected to be a stay-at-home mom. She has always been an active volunteer, giving her time to PTA, coaching, community building, and nonprofits, and also worked part time as a children's librarian and as a substitute teacher. With her focus on children and education, Marsha saw a need to improve communication and understanding between parents, teachers, and the School District. In 2012, she ran for the Provo School Board and was elected to a four-year term. Realizing the State legislature's power over education and feeling that the legislature needed more diversity and a wider variety of perspectives, she ran for and was elected to the Utah State House in 2018. Marsha is currently serving her third term and represents House District 61 (west Provo and southwest Orem), where she has lived in a working-class neighborhood for the past 34 years. She is dedicated to being a strong voice for families and for those who are most vulnerable while serving on the Social Services Appropriations, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, and Health and Human Services Committees. 

Nubia Peña is the Director for the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs where their mission is to promote an inclusive climate for Utah's growing diverse community through training, outreach and youth leadership development.

She is a national training consultant dedicated to bringing awareness to intersections of trauma and the School-to- Prison Pipeline, an epidemic that targets our most vulnerable youth by streamlining them into the juvenile justice system.

She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in May 2016. During that year, she was selected as one of 25 law students in the nation to be recognized and highlighted for her social justice activism in the National Jurist, a leading news source in legal education. Due to Director Peña’s longstanding commitment to youth rights, empowerment, and leadership development, she was selected as the recipient of the National Juvenile Justice Network 2019 Emerging Leader Award.

In addition, Director Peña is certified by the National Juvenile Defender Center as a Juvenile Training Immersion Program facilitator. She has actively sought to bring awareness to issues of violence and systemic oppression through her personal faith-based and professional endeavors.

Paul Clayson’s career has spanned work as a business executive, CEO, board member, public speaker, and senior political advisor. He has extensive experience operating in the US and multiple countries throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Paul currently serves as CEO of AgilePQ, a Salt Lake City, Utah based IoT security software company. 

Paul’s private consulting company, Valuation Impact, is an executive mentoring and consulting company focused on advising start-up, growth stage, and mid-sized companies (to $4 billion) globally, largely in technology and manufacturing industries, to establish and grow value to exits. Using his experience as CEO of four disruptive technology startup companies and as chairman or a member of the board of directors of multiple other business, civic and political entities, Paul’s focus incorporates best practices, focuses on process development for replicable quality, and rapid time to market. Paul has received numerous awards and recognitions for his business and civic work. He is an experienced and talented public speaker and presenter and has given hundreds of public speeches and presentations in his career. He has authored a book on organizational startup, growth, M&A, and exit preparation. 

Paul currently serves as member of the board of directors of AgilePQ, and as Senior Advisor to Peace Field Limited, a Hong Kong based investment firm. He has served as a founder, Executive Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of HZO, Inc., a Salt Lake City based startup with disruptive advanced nano-materials technology, as CEO of QuantPower, a solar energy panel and tracker manufacturing company, and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of nCoat, Inc., an award-winning nanotechnology materials company. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Voyss Solutions, a North Carolina based cloud computing company, as Vice President of Fonix, a speak recognition and synthesis software company, and as a senior officer for prominent institutional investment advisory and research firms in Portland, Oregon. His businesses have been recognized globally for high innovation and rapid growth, winning such prestigious awards as Golden Stevie awards on two continents and CES innovation awards.  He has contributed to development of 16 patents.

Through his career, Paul has maintained a strong presence in political and government circles. Early in his career, he managed congressional campaigns and served as Chief of Staff to two U.S. Congressmen, and served the White House as a lead advance agent to two U.S. Presidents and their Vice Presidents.  His government and political involvement led him to participation on many boards, commission, councils and entities in government, charitable and civic activities. He currently serves on the board of advisors to the Utah Valley University Center for National Security, as a director of the Utah State Capital Investment Corporation, an advisor to the Stanford University TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy Entrepreneurship Program, an advisor to the Florida based Free At Last Coalition to amend the 13th Amendment to eliminate slavery and others. He has served as campaign chairman or on the strategic advisory board for three US presidential campaigns, three US senate campaigns, four gubernatorial campaigns and multiple US House and local political campaigns.

Rich and Leann Crandall are proud to serve as ambassadors to the Utah Women & Leadership Project. They are the parents of 13 children, including 10 daughters, and three grandchildren, which almost makes them experts on the value of post-secondary education for young women. Originally from the Gila Valley in southeast Arizona (the home of President Spencer W. Kimball and the world's most powerful binocular telescope) Rich and Leann sat by each other in 6th grade and then worked together at McDonald's in high school.

Leann brings personal experience to this advisory role having been a single mom with six children, no alimony, and no college degree. With determination and mettle, she enrolled at Rio Salado Community College in 2010, earning her associates degree and then attended Arizona State University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2013 with her Bachelor's degree in Family and Human Development. While attending college she taught math and PE full time for an Arizona charter school. Rich served seven years in the Arizona Legislature as both the Senate and House Education chairs until resigning his Senate seat to accept an appointment from Governor Matt Mead to become the Director of Education for the great state of Wyoming. He earned his MAcc degree from BYU, graduated Summa Cum Laude with an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and is finishing his Ed.D. in Education Leadership from Northern Arizona University. Rich and Leann are partners in Crandall Corporate Dietitians, the nation's largest consulting dietitian firm, and CN Resource, a specialty consulting firm that audits and reviews USDA child nutrition programs. They currently split their time between Mesa, AZ and Lehi, UT.

Rep Rosemary Lesser has represented House District 10 in Weber County since Jan 2021. She was a member of the first class of women at the University of Notre Dame. Following her graduation from Notre Dame, she attended the Uniformed Services University (the only military medical academy in US) where she earned her MD. She specialized in Obstetrics and Gynecologic Surgery. She served in the US Air Force for 15 years before moving to Ogden in 1992. In 2008, she became the President of Ogden Women’s Clinic, a legacy medical practice in Northern Utah. As a physician specializing in women’s health care, she has seen the impact of inequality on the lives of girls in Utah and is proud to serve as an ambassador of the Utah Women & Leadership Project and a Bolder Way Forward.

Mr. Winthrop Jeanfreau has spent the past 30 years starting and selling businesses, including: Aperion Audio, Shred-it in Oregon & SW Washington, WRLD Enterprises, Kameleon International, InCon Enterprise, and Cambric Graphics. As a result, Mr. Jeanfreau has extensive experience successfully guiding emerging and rapid growth companies. 

Throughout his professional career, Mr. Jeanfreau has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to identify opportunity, marshal appropriate resources and successfully grow new companies to maximum profit. Mr. Jeanfreau is a graduate of the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in Communication, a minor in Management, and the University of Oregon with a Master's Degree in Business Administration. Currently, Mr. Jeanfreau is the CEO of iMpact Utah, a state sponsored initiative supporting Utah manufacturing and rural businesses. Prior to this current endeavor, Mr. Jeanfreau was the Director of the Business Resource Center (BRC) at the Orem Campus of Utah Valley University where he provided executive management training on revenue growth, capital acquisition and how to remain a relevant contributor to enterprise. Concurrent with his appointment as Direct of the BRC, Mr. Jeanfreau was the Director of Executive Education at UVU. Prior to his appoint to the BRC, Win was the Director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). As Director of the iMpact Utah, the BRC and SBDC, Winthrop is responsible for strengthening Utah's economic fabric and quality of life by facilitating the success and prosperity of all business endeavors in the Utah valley. Toward that end Mr. Jeanfreau has developed a set of core competencies that are taught to business owners in classroom settings as well as one-on-one through his staff of gifted and experienced business counselors.