BWF Spoke Updates - March 2025

In the Bolder Way Forward Framework, there are 18 specific areas of focus (spokes). Each spoke, a key topic area where change needs to occur, is also a movement with a strategy that functions to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Effective work within the spokes is needed to create more expansive and cohesive change overall. To learn more about each spoke’s leadership, bold vision and goals, thriving statements, partners, and ways to get involved, please click on the individual spoke webpages (linked below). The following are monthly updates on what is happening within each of the Spokes:

Childcare/Pre-K: The Spoke was focused on the legislative session in February and gathered with other advocates in support of “Child Advocacy Day on the Hill” early in the month. Two action alerts were sent to inform the BWF community of timely outreach to legislators regarding early childhood bills and appropriations requests. A monthly update was shared to keep the community informed (sign up for the Spoke’s monthly update - including statewide efforts from partners). The Spoke created an educational resource on social media regarding pending legislation which was shared by many partners. During the session, the Spoke Coordinator was able to meet weekly with childcare advocates to discuss active legislative efforts and strategies. See the Spoke’s public policy priorities for 2025 here.

Child Sexual Abuse: The Spoke has welcomed a new spoke leader, Matt Hartvigsen (Executive Director of Saprea). Spoke efforts have been focused on developing clear and concise one-pagers that will help raise awareness of the importance of prevention education. This includes research-based information about the importance of prevention training amongst educators, as well as the value of implementing prevention education curricula into Utah classrooms. The Spoke is planning many events for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Month in April, which will include a campaign to share important resources, a webinar on steps that can be taken to protect children, spotlighting partners, and raising awareness of the Spoke’s vision and goals.

Domestic Violence: In February, the Spoke continued to focus on policy issues at the state legislature. Funding decisions have just been announced, and unfortunately funding requests for domestic violence strangulation exams, as well as support for services after a victim has received a lethality screening, were not approved. The Spoke is updating their 2-page document, What Utahns Need to Know about Domestic Violence, with recent stats soon. In March, the 2024 National Domestic Violence numbers should be released, and they will update their goals and dashboards with the most recent data. A new resource from their partners at Timpanogos Legal Center has been added to the spoke webpage. Timpanogos Legal Center helps eligible Utah families in family law, protective orders, and housing cases. The Spoke is launching its BWF DV Spoke Newsletter in March (sign up for the newsletter here).

Entrepreneurship: The Spoke is creating four new Working Groups focused on Communication & Public Outreach, Women & Business Centers, Resources for Utah Women, and the UVU Entrepreneurship Center. Co-leaders for these groups are being identified, and individuals can reach out to Aubrey (Spoke Coordinator) at ajdk.hanks@gmail.com to get involved. The Women’s Business Center of Utah (Spoke partner) continues to update its list of women-owned businesses in Utah. A Proclamation about entrepreneurship in Utah will be available soon and the Spoke hopes to have more than 100 women business owners sign in support of the Spoke’s goals and efforts.

Finance: The Spoke is continuing to support financial education efforts throughout the state and events that promote financial competence in women. Spoke partner Empowering Financial Wellness (USU Extension) offered online training throughout the month and in-person budget seminars in Orem and Logan. The High School Financial Literacy Working Group is planning to be able to expand the Invest in Girls after-school courses in other high schools and online. The Corporate Outreach Working Group is reaching out to partners to determine what they are offering in the financial wellness space and discussing ways the Spoke can support their efforts. In conjunction with USU Extension and the Utah State Treasurer’s Office, the Spoke is preparing for Financial Literacy Awareness month in April with a variety of activities planned. To get involved, contact Angela (Spoke Coordinator) at atrawlings1@gmail.com.

Gender Pay Gap: The Spoke is thrilled to host a transformative event on March 25, 2025, celebrating Pay Equality Day with key corporation leaders to share success stories, hear from male allies, and discuss the vital role all of us play in closing the gender wage gap in Utah. The Corporations Working Group has worked tirelessly to ensure this annual event’s success. The Legislative Working Group supported and testified on behalf of HB 180, the Salary History Ban for Utah Executive Branch employees, which did not pass the House Government Operations Committee. The Communication/Education Working Group is meeting weekly to develop modules designed to educate individuals on compensation strategies and plans, with the aim of releasing them in the upcoming months. The Data/Research Working Group has submitted potential research proposals and requested training in using Census data. To get engaged with Spoke efforts and Working Groups, contact Emily (Spoke Coordinator) at emily@martinprisbrey.com.

Health Across the Lifespan: The Adolescent Health Sub-Spoke is coordinating with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (Spoke partner) on the Utah Health Improvement Plan, which includes goals to increase mental, physical, and economic health protective factors. This plan aligns with the Sub-Spoke’s goal to increase the number of youth with a trusted adult that they can talk to. The Prevention Sub-Spoke is working with various mammography providers of mobile scans to coordinate an event at West High School this fall, which will include tying the importance of cancer screening into the high school youth health curriculum and encouraging students to talk to their parents about screening. The Spoke is seeking additional co-leads for the Adolescent Health, Access, and Mental Health Sub-Spokes. To learn more about these opportunities, contact Amy (Spoke Coordinator) at amy.z.anderson@usu.edu.

Higher Education Attainment: The Spoke is excited to welcome Eric Davies and Mallory Santa Cruz as new Spoke Leaders, who will co-lead the Spoke along with Bryn Ramjoue. Eric Dahlin is a sociology professor at BYU. His research and teaching activities center on the social impacts of innovation. Mallory Santa Cruz is the Vice President of the Success in Education Foundation (Spoke partner). She helped launch Women Who Succeed, a statewide initiative empowering young women through mentorship, scholarships, and educational attainment. With the new leadership team in place, the Spoke is thrilled to move forward with initiatives regarding raising FAFSA rates, exploring campus initiatives to better serve parenting students, and helping women and girls see themselves in higher education. To get involved and learn more about opportunities to engage in a working group or serve as a County Spoke Rep, contact Carly (Spoke Coordinator) at cjericks@gmail.com.

Home & Family: The Spoke is planning an upcoming think-tank for its co-leads to discuss current needs for Utah families. The Home & Family County Rep Community (CRC) met for the first time this month and the Spoke is excited to engage with each county to provide resources and support local events and efforts. The new Single Mothers Sub-Spoke worked diligently on HB 0463, which helps with child support collection. The Spoke held a giveaway for the upcoming Spoke book club meeting (which is on March 20 at 7 pm) and is looking forward to this meaningful discussion about Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) by Eve Rodsky. This book offers a solution to burnout/exhaustion from childcare and domestic chores by creating a system that benefits both partners. Anyone, including partners, is welcome to register for the free virtual book club here.

K-12 Initiatives: The Spoke is preparing to launch an Early Numeracy Campaign (“Math Matters”) in March educate parents, grandparents, and caregivers on how they can make every day a math experience for toddlers and Pre-K children. This campaign focuses on sharing ways to incorporate numeracy skills into everyday activities, such as counting snacks and taking a walk to counting rocks, sticks, or flowers. As Utahns engage in “Math Matters” activities with their children, videos will be shared via social media to help increase awareness and encourage others to participate. County Spoke Reps will be helping to spread this campaign across the state. To get engaged in this initiative, contact Laney (Spoke Coordinator) at laneysconnection@gmail.com.

Leadership Development: The Communications Working Group has established a website to host monthly Spoke newsletters. Sign up to receive a copy in your inbox and stay on top of Spoke updates and events. The Best Practices for Organizations (Women) Working Group is planning an event in April (details and information will follow in next month’s update). The Women College Students Working Group will be holding an event for members at the end of March to coincide with Women's History Month. The Best Practices for Organizations (Girls/Young Women) Working Group is collaborating with Rowland Hall Private School to begin a Leadership Development Program for middle and upper school students. This initiative—a pilot program— will equip students with essential leadership skills, preparing them to step into their potential and make an impact in their communities. If you know of a school that would be interested in developing a similar program, contact Laney (Spoke Coordinator) at laneysconnection@gmail.com.

Organizational Strategies & Workplace Culture: The Spoke is thrilled to have sent out the first edition of the Organizational Strategies & Workplace Culture Spoke newsletter! This month’s newsletter introduced Spoke Leaders and shared highlights from our previous roundtable event, spotlighted specific pregnancy policies as a “best practice of the month,” and shared ways to engage in the Spoke. The Spoke is currently reorganizing Working Groups and hope more will join the efforts to empower employers to take strategic action and create policies favorable to women and families. The Spoke Leaders are looking for two individuals to co-lead the Research & Best Practices Working Group, which plays a key role in identifying and gathering the best workplace policies and strategies that companies across the country are using to elevate women and embrace family-friendly practices.  To receive the Spoke newsletter or learn more about Working Group opportunities, contact Kristen (Spoke Coordinator) at klee.abwf@gmail.com.

Political & Civic Representation: This month, the Spoke welcomed Brittany Parks as a new Co-lead for the Civic Engagement & Advocacy Sub-spoke. The Spoke also held a partner-focused event at the Capitol to connect with partners and affiliate organizations to hear about their challenges and successes, current needs, upcoming events, and discuss other ways to support and raise awareness of each other’s efforts. In advance of the BWF Annual Summit in June, the Spoke will be focused on better amplification of partner voices. To accomplish this, a partner directory will be created with key partner details, and the Spoke will help to amplify partner events through social media. If you are interested in engaging or partnering with the Political & Civic Representation Spoke, contact Britney (Spoke Coordinator) at britneym.bwf@gmail.com.

Poverty & Homelessness: During the 2025 Legislative Session, the Spoke followed two bills regarding homelessness: HB329 amends and enacts provisions for homeless services, and HCR006 is a resolution to urge federal government housing and homelessness agencies to implement reforms to housing assistance programs. The Spoke Coordinator is connecting with Local Homeless Councils across the state to build relationships and engage individuals within working groups. Co-leads are being sought for the Poverty, Homelessness, and Communication Working Groups – if you are interested in volunteering to lead efforts in these areas, please contact Nancy (Spoke Coordinator) at nancygriggs@ogdencity.gov.

Sexual Assault: Spoke partner UCASA held their Advocacy Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, February 4, advocating to create a safer Utah and stand together to end sexual assault. This was a great way to get involved and make an impact during the Legislative Session. The Spoke has formed a Start by Believing Sub-Spoke (co-led by Sherry Huang) to support this statewide effort. The campaign’s Instagram page is now live and has many educational postings to help raise awareness and transform the way we respond to sexual and gender-based violence. The Sub-Spoke will launch online Pledge requests as they get closer to Start by Believing Day on April 2nd. Reach out to Danielle (Spoke Coordinator) at danielle.rosales30@gmail.com if you’d like to be involved or learn more about this Sub-Spoke and campaign. 

Sexual Harassment & Gender-based Discrimination: The Spoke is continuing to work on compiling a resource list for victims of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Along with creating this list, the Spoke’s Working Groups are continuing efforts to gather qualitative data regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. This will entail gathering anecdotes from women across the state. Spoke Leaders are planning an event to take place at the beginning of May to kick-off Sexual Harassment Awareness month, which will include BWF Partner organizations. More information and details will be available soon – contact Brooke (Spoke Coordinator) at brookepiippo21@gmail.com to stay informed about this upcoming event.

STEM Fields: The Spoke is working to map STEM-related events across the state to increase outreach with persons and potential partners similarly working to increase opportunities for women and girls in Utah. In February, the Spoke was able to have a presence at two Spoke Leadership Partner events, BioHive Live and SheTech Explorer Day. At SheTech Explorer Day alone there were over 3,500 high school girls and 1,000 industry mentors and role models in attendance, which provided great visibility for BWF and the Spoke with both current and future professionals in the STEM fields. The Spoke welcomes outreach regarding future events to help inform and create STEM related opportunities for women and girls in Utah and increase our statewide engagement going forward. The Spoke is continuing outreach to identify potential co-leads for the Engineering and Mathematics Working Groups. To collaborate on events or to learn more about co-leading a working group, reach out to Ashley (Spoke Coordinator) at ashleyp.bwf@gmail.com.

Workforce Development: The Spoke is focusing on aligning with partner organizations and their work to amplify their efforts. Working Groups are being restructured to to better support moving the needle on specific goals. Tech-Moms (Spoke Leadership Partner) has expanded their reach to include rural cohorts throughout the state. This online program aims to bridge the gap in tech education and workforce opportunities by providing accessible training to those living in remote communities. The Spoke is planning an in-person event in conjunction with other BWF Workplace Spokes. Additional information will be available soon – please contact Angela (Spoke Coordinator) at atrawlings1@gmail.com to learn more.