A Bolder Way Forward's 2026 Restructure Information

A Bolder Way Forward Leaders and Advocates,

As the Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP)—the backbone organization for the A Bolder Way Forward (BWF) initiative—I wanted to personally share an important update regarding several structural changes now underway. As a reminder, BWF is housed within the UWLP, which has recently transitioned into USU Extension, part of the university’s statewide outreach division.

UWLP has always centered its mission on producing high‑quality, trusted research and sharing research‑based resources that strengthen the impact of Utah girls and women. More than three years ago, my team and I launched BWF to spark deeper commitment and engagement from individuals across the state who are ready to drive meaningful change. Since then, BWF has grown far beyond what any of us imagined—nearly 7,000 people engaged, hundreds of leaders and partners involved, and active efforts underway in all 29 counties. Your leadership has been essential to this progress, and we are deeply grateful.

Over the past several months, it has become clear that we need to restructure to sustain this work longer‑term and ensure UWLP remains a trusted research entity. Significant internal and external pressures, including staffing losses, fundraising challenges, administrative demands, and increasing scrutiny of initiatives perceived as political—have made the current model unsustainable. Because of this, UWLP will be refining its role within BWF. The movement will absolutely continue, but with a structure that better aligns with our core mission and capacity.

What does this mean moving forward?

1. Spoke advisors, at minimum, will continue to play an important role by guiding UWLP on needs, research, calls to action, and potential partnerships. Advisors will also decide if they would like to continue similarly, particularly if there is not another coalition or partner doing their specific work. BWF can still be home for spokes, as needed.
2. Spoke coordinator positions will be phased out. This was an incredibly difficult decision, and we are ensuring a thoughtful transition.
3. Impact team leaders are invited to transition into UWLP advisory roles. If determined, they are welcome to keep the work going, but UWLP will only be able to assist with minimal administrative support. 
4. County‑level work will continue, but the structure may vary by community. UWLP regional coordinators will help ensure research, resources, and tools reach every county. A UWLP team member can coach, as needed, from time to time.
5. UWLP will focus more directly on producing research and delivering resources statewide, rather than coordinating the full BWF infrastructure. We will be able to maintain and strengthen webpages for spokes, counties, and other parts of the movement.
6. Branding will shift slightly so the connection between UWLP and BWF is clearer. Again, BWF is an initiative within the UWLP.

Even with these and other changes, our commitment to the systems‑thinking model remains strong. We will continue developing research and resources across all 18 spoke areas and ensuring they reach the individuals, organizations, and communities that need them most. We will also continue collaborating with partners and contributors throughout the movement, though our capacity for administrative support will decrease substantially. Still, it is important for you to know that these adjustments will allow BWF to continue its work through 2030.

Below my signature, you’ll find a list of commonly asked questions along with our initial responses. Brie Sparks and I have held 17 online meetings to share this information—and additional context—with leaders across the BWF, and we have included the questions raised during those sessions as well. This blog post will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

We at the UWLP want you to know how much we appreciate your leadership, your partnership, and the heart you have brought to this work. The progress we have made together is real, and it will continue. These changes position us to keep moving forward in a way that is sustainable and aligned with our mission.

Dr. Susan R. Madsen
Director, Utah Women & Leadership Project
Professor of Leadership – Extension
Utah State University

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Topic #1: Spoke Advisors, Subspokes, and Working Groups

Q: What do you hope Spoke Advisors and Working Group Leaders will do moving forward to support UWLP/BWF?

1. Spoke Advisors will primarily provide guidance to UWLP staff on needs, research, calls to action, and potential partnerships. They are encouraged to collaborate with aligned partner organizations to advance shared goals and maintain momentum. Subspoke and Working Group Leaders who wish to continue contributing can transition into Spoke Advisor roles. They are also welcome to make a difference at the county level and continue their work there.

Q: Without a coordinator, how will current spoke efforts continue? Are advisors expected to be a point of contact for the public?

1. Spoke Advisors may choose whether to meet regularly or simply advise UWLP as needed. They are not designated as public contacts, unless they would like to be, but can maintain momentum through partnerships.

Q: Is it up to the Spoke Advisors and County Leaders to organize efforts and communicate with volunteers if they choose to continue efforts and initiatives?

1. Local leaders and Spoke Advisors are welcome to continue efforts, if they choose to do so under the BWF framework, but will do so more independently than was done previously. UWLP will continue to help connect individual advocates and organizations with efforts in the 18 spoke areas. Efforts at the county level will be grassroots and may prioritize specific calls to action or spokes. UWLP will still offer research-based calls to action for counties and community members to consider. UWLP team members are available to coach on occasion, if needed.

Q: How will we know how each spoke chooses to move forward?

1. Each spoke webpage will be updated with this information and will include opportunities to connect with ongoing efforts and initiatives.
   

Topic #2: County Coalitions & Regional Coordination

Q: How are County Spoke Reps and County Working Groups going to move forward? Will they have a contact at the county level?

1. Spoke reps can lead efforts in counties, but they will not be coordinated by UWLP. County structures may vary based on local advocates’ decisions and will be grassroots.

Q: Are County Coalitions still working directly with and supported by the UWLP?

1. UWLP will share research and resources, and local coalitions will determine their own structure and priorities. UWLP team members will be able to coach on occasion.

Q: Will UWLP Regional Coordinators still coordinate BWF efforts?

1. BWF Regional Coordinators will transition into UWLP Regional Coordinators. They will share research and resources across the state and ensure county-level contacts remain connected. Local organizing efforts will be up to county leaders.

Q: Are you still releasing each spoke's calls to action to the county coalitions for them to decide where to act/focus?

1. Calls to Action will be shared with county leaders and on the UWLP/BWF webpages so that organizations and individuals statewide can make a difference in each of the 18 areas of focus.
   

Topic #3: Research & Metrics

Q: Will the UWLP Fall Survey continue since that is the consistent metric to measure progress?

1. UWLP will continue to measure and track Utahns’ perceptions across the 18 spokes through the Fall Survey. This may shift to a bi-annual survey, but data collection and dashboards will continue through 2030.

Q: How will goals shift as there won’t be coordinated/tracked efforts within the spokes?

1. UWLP will continue to track statewide progress in the 18 spoke areas. Some goal language will shift to research-based goals for Utah instead of output goals for BWF/UWLP.

Topic #4: Branding & Website

Q: Will the BWF website continue to exist?

1. All spoke and county webpages will remain and be revamped to serve as a hub of resources, research, and opportunities to engage with aligned organizations and efforts. There will be branding adjustments to show a clearer connection between UWLP and BWF.

Q: How should we use the BWF branding moving forward?

1. UWLP branding will be more prominent, with the UWLP logo appearing on materials. BWF will still exist but with a clearer link to UWLP. As efforts shift to grassroots, the BWF logo may be used broadly, with the UWLP logo being added when collaboration occurs.

Q: Will this new structure be reflected on the main BWF page?

1. There will be updates throughout the UWLP and BWF webpages, with a clear framework document available on the BWF landing page.

Topic #5: Funding & Support

Q: Did the legislature withdraw funding from BWF?

1. No, legislative support is tied to UWLP’s role as a research entity, which remains central.

Q: Can you give some examples of how donors didn’t want to contribute to upstream efforts?

1. Donors preferred funding downstream work (direct services) rather than upstream systemic change, making spoke coordinator roles unsustainable. Donors often want to see the immediate impacts of their work, such as number of families that receive support, instead of supporting efforts with longer-term systems change.

Topic #6: Engagement & Next Steps

Q: How will people (volunteers, advocates) get involved in the future? Who do they reach out to?

1. They can connect with UWLP directly or through Spoke Advisors and County Coalition leaders who choose to continue local efforts. UWLP will share research and resources statewide, and grassroots engagement will remain essential.

Q: What do we do as volunteers?

1. Continue sharing UWLP research and resources, implementing calls to action, supporting local priorities, and collaborating with partner organizations. We will be developing systems and processes that we hope will be able to track efforts in all 18 spokes efforts, while not adding greater administrative work for the UWLP Team.

Q: Will we have the annual BWF Summit in 2026?

1. We hope so, but we are limited in free space with the capacity to host such an event. We will be reviewing feedback from individuals across the BWF to determine what types of gatherings would be most helpful. UWLP will continue to host some gatherings. As we determine capacity and funding moving forward, we will provide updates on potential BWF gatherings in the UWLP newsletter.
   
   

For additional questions, please contact Amy Anderson (amy.z.anderson@usu.edu), who is the UWLP Community Connector.