August 2025 Newsletter - A Bolder Way Forward

A Bolder Way Forward Advocates,

Good morning! This month, we are pleased to share the following new updates from A Bolder Way Forward (BWF):

Updates on Spokes, Impact Teams, and County Coalitions: We have published recent updates from Spokes and Impact Teams on our BWF Blog. These updates include information on key happenings, current initiatives, and specific ways to get involved. To learn what is happening within each county, you can read July's BWF County Coalition Updates. There are many exciting efforts happening across the movement, and we encourage you to connect with those that are of interest to you!

Movement-Wide Awareness Campaigns: Coinciding with “back-to-school”, this month’s campaigns are focused on education awareness. The Higher Education Attainment Spoke is focusing on encouraging Utahns to complete FAFSAs and apply to Utah colleges and universities. The K-12 Initiatives Spoke is highlighting the importance of attendance and the negative impacts of chronic absenteeism. As a BWF advocate, you can help raise statewide awareness and action by referencing the Higher Education Attainment campaign plan and the K-12 Initiatives campaign plan. Both include key messaging, calls to action, and resources to share with others. Next month, we will launch campaigns in honor of Personal Finance Awareness Month and National Voter Registration Day.

Young Leaders Clubs: As youth across the state return to school, we encourage them to get involved in A Bolder Way Forward Young Leaders Clubs. These are led by teens and supported by adult or college-age mentors. Hosted locally at schools or through organizations like 4-H, BWF Young Leaders Clubs are focused on leadership combined with community impact. This is ideal for teens who want to make a difference!

Campus Communities: To involve college students, faculty, and staff, Campus Communities are forming to raise awareness and provide opportunities to support the work of a BWF. Faculty, staff, and students have the power to spark change on their campuses, in their communities, and across the state. When they engage, everyone benefits! Faculty can reference this guide for ways to help drive change for girls, women, and families in their classes.

Welcome New Partners: This month, we are proud to introduce 9 new BWF Partners, which include: Rowland Hall, Gimme Beauty, Alpen Associates, Switchpoint, AAUW-Washington County Branch, Ladies Talking Love, Fathers and Families Coalition of Utah, BonCom, Utah Mechanical Contractors Association, and the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. Both Key Partners and Change Partners are vital to this work! You can learn more about becoming a BWF Partner here and contact our Partnership Coordinator (Kathryn Newman) at kathryn.newman@usu.edu to get involved.

BWF Towns, Cities, and Counties: In August, Salt Lake County and San Juan County both passed resolutions to support girls, women, and families and became the first BWF Counties. We look forward to having more municipalities join as a BWF Town, City, or County!

New UWLP Resources:

• Research & Policy Brief: The Status of Women and Entrepreneurship in Utah: A 2025 Update
• Research & Policy Brief: Utah Women in STEM Education: A 2025 Update
• Podcast: Utah Women, Voting, and Civic Engagement: A 2025 Update

Opportunity for Recognition: Nominations are open for the third and last cohort of 100 Companies Championing Women, a partnership with the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity to recognize organizations (businesses, nonprofits, and cities) with family-friendly policies and women-specific initiatives. This initiative aligns with the efforts of the Organizational Strategies and Workplace Culture Spoke and helps to provide data for UWLP research. If your company or organization is doing good things for families and women, apply now to be recognized!

Finally, visit the BWF Events page to view upcoming events from BWF spokes and partners and check out the UWLP community calendar for all events in Utah for girls and women. To get engaged with BWF, take this Interest Survey, and join us on our social media platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Subscribe to this newsletter here.

Share this newsletter to help spread the word. Now is the time, Utah is the place, for A Bolder Way Forward!