Team & Contact Information

Dr. Susan R. Madsen is the Extension Professor of Leadership at Utah State University. She is also the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project and is leading a statewide social change movement titled, A Bolder Way Forward. Professor Madsen and her team have written many Utah research and policy briefs, white papers, research snapshots, partnered reports, newspaper editorials, and other resources. They host many events each year to support the mission of their work.

Susan is also a well-known global scholar, authoring or editing nine books and publishing hundreds of articles, chapters, and reports. Madsen’s research has been featured in the U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Parenting Magazine, Chronicle of Higher Education, Cosmopolitan, and The Washington Post, and she is a regular contributor to Forbes. She is a well-known speaker in local, national, and international settings. For example, she has presented at the New York Times, Argentina Parliament Palace, House of Commons in England, Lithuania President’s Palace, Costa Rica Parliament, and NGO sessions at the United Nations. he serves on or advises many nonprofit, community, and education boards and committees, including the Envision Utah, South Davis Communities that Care, Utah Financial Empowerment Coalition, Governing Group, and others. Dr. Madsen received a bachelor’s degree from BYU, a master’s from Portland State, and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She and her husband Greg are the proud parents of four adult children and six grandchildren.

For more detailed information about Dr. Madsen, see her detailed bio and her CV. For more information about her writing and speaking, check out her LinkedIn articles, UWLP "In the News," speaking and consulting website, and her Forbes articles. Also, join her on social media: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Brie (Brieanne) joined the Utah Women & Leadership Project as the Statewide Impact Manager at the start of 2024, and transitioned to the role of Associate Director in 2026. She is a key strategic partner in planning and executing research, resources, and events that align with the overall mission and goals of the UWLP and its current initiative, A Bolder Way Forward (BWF). This includes setting goals, implementing strategy, project planning, office/team management, developing and maintaining relationships around the state, tracking outcomes, dissemination of progress, and fundraising.

Prior to joining the UWLP, Brie managed graduate medical education programs as an Academic Manager of Neurology Fellowships at the University of Utah. Previously, she worked for the Utah Clinical and Translational Science Institute (also at the University of Utah), engaging diverse communities and stakeholders in health research discussions, presenting nationally and locally on community engagement, and facilitating conversations that impacted a variety of health research projects and publications. During this time, Brie also served as an appointed member of the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Council on Diversity Affairs.

Brie completed her MBA at the University of Utah and has a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Idaho State University.  As a former educator and theatre director, her communication and organizational expertise serve her well in facilitating conversations, improving processes, and project/people management. She has a passion for learning and fostering partnerships and finds her greatest joy in serving others.

Deborah is passionate about making a difference. Having grown up in Santa Maria, California, and having spent time in Arizona and South Carolina, she now calls Utah home. She has a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from Brigham Young University. She was previously a project manager at the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, taught ESL at BYU, SUU, and Utah Tech, has worked on political campaigns, and has volunteered extensively with public schools, church, and the community. She enjoys traveling and cares deeply about helping people. 

In her role as UWLP’s Local Outreach & Resource Manager, Deborah works directly with Dr. Susan R. Madsen on her local level research agenda and social impact goals. Specifically, she collaborates in the planning and implementation of statewide research, resources, and events. She develops local partnerships across Utah, including creating county coalitions for A Bolder Way Forward. She also creates new resources for all Utahns, researching and writing reports, and coaches individuals and teams on related topics and initiatives. 

Dr. Yvette Young is a Sociologist and Demographer who is passionate about conducting rigorous research and using data to catalyze positive societal change. In her role as Research Manager for the Utah Women & Leadership Project, she works with Dr. Susan Madsen to plan and implement research focused on the status and needs of Utah women and girls. 

Dr. Young has a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Utah. Before joining UWLP, she was a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, located in Rostock, Germany. In that position, she investigated the long-term effects of war on health, mortality, and population structures, including the gender composition of supportive and dependent populations. Prior to that, she was a postdoctoral researcher for the Vietnam Health and Aging Study, where she studied how experiences of war differentially impacted the lifelong physical, psychological, and cognitive health of older Vietnamese men and women. For her doctoral dissertation, Dr. Young worked closely with refugee service organizations in the greater Salt Lake metropolitan area to design research that could inform local programs and policies. Through this collaboration, she conducted quantitative analyses of administrative records and organized focus groups to understand the economic attainment of refugees in Utah, particularly their acquisition of living-wage employment. 

Yvette has published her research in top social science and health journals, including Gender & Society, Social Science & Medicine, International Journal of Epidemiology, and Population Research and Policy Review. She has presented her research at academic conferences around the world and shared her findings with a variety of community stakeholders in Utah and abroad.

Outside of work, Yvette enjoys spending time in the outdoors with her family and friends. She loves international travel, hiking and rock climbing, and encountering new and interesting sea creatures while diving in tropical waters. 

Samantha serves as the Project Assistant for the Utah Women & Leadership Project, where she supports the team’s research and mission by keeping day-to-day operations running smoothly. Her work spans financial management, publishing various resources, coordinating events and workshops, and maintaining the UWLP website. She enjoys contributing behind the scenes to help ensure UWLP’s research and resources are accessible, organized, and impactful. 

Samantha is a proud Utah State alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in Human Experience Design and Interaction. She has a background in small business and nonprofit administration, and loves being part of organizations that strive to make a difference in their local communities. In her free time, she loves curling up with a good book, crocheting, visiting and volunteering at her local farmers' market, and spending time outside with her partner and their two dogs.

Amy Z. Anderson is the Regional Outreach Coordinator for A Bolder Way Forward, focused on supporting five counties in Northern Utah and the “Health Across the Lifespan” spoke.

With a background in hospital administration, her career includes work with Advocate Health Systems and the American Hospital Association's Institute for Diversity. She has resided in Logan since 2004, serving on multiple non-profit boards and community councils including Cache Community Connections, the Cache Interagency Council, Women in Business, Loaves and Fishes Community Meal, Logan High Community Council and others. Prior to joining UWLP, Amy served at Sunshine Terrace Foundation as Director of Outreach in 2013 and continues to work as a Spiritual Counselor for Sunshine Hospice.

Amy was elected as a Logan City Council member in 2017 and reelected in 2021. Appointed to the Utah Commission on Aging, she advocates for healthy aging throughout the state. Among her civic duties, she is the Chair of the Bear River Local Homeless Council and on the board of the William A. Burnard Warming Center, addressing the needs of the unhoused in the community.

As Regional Outreach Coordinator, Amy will strive to strengthen the impact of girls and women throughout the state with an emphasis on healthy aging across the lifespan. In her spare time, she will squeeze in skiing, hiking, new recipes, friends and time spent with her husband, Allan, and their three adult children.

Sara is a strategic communications professional with a passion for storytelling and building strong reputations. She has worked across a wide range of industries and is known for developing results-driven public relations campaigns. Sara holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University and is accredited in public relations (APR). Outside of her professional work, she enjoys spending time with her family and is a wife and mother of four.