BWF Spoke Updates - May 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 Childcare/Pre-K Programs Spoke started the month planning and attending the Utah Women at Work event with the other Workplace Spokes. The Spoke Coordinator networked with individuals, discussed challenges inherent within early childhood care and education, and presented ways to get involved. In addition, the Spoke Coordinator met with two key partners to discuss near-term efforts in this space and ways in which we could support them. The Spoke continues to do outreach work around the Utah Childcare Solutions and Workplace Productivity Plan, sending it to members of the community and is preparing for upcoming events and initiatives. Finally, the spoke sent out a comprehensive newsletter highlighting news, events, and initiatives from statewide partners. Stay in the loop on early childhood by signing up for the spoke’s monthly statewide update here. 

Child Sexual Abuse: In April, the BWF Movement-Wide Awareness Campaign was focused on Child Abuse Prevention Month, which was a great opportunity for the Spoke to connect with partners in the child sexual abuse space and find ways to amplify and support one another’s efforts. The Spoke promoted several events across the state and partnered with Generationall for their “Healing Generations in Utah” event. Several passionate and engaged individuals attended, and the Spoke hosted a booth to share information about A Bolder Way Forward as a whole, as well as the Child Sexual Abuse Spoke’s purpose, goals, and key resources. The Spoke Coordinator has been conducting outreach with spoke members and contacts to identify opportunities for re-engagement with past participants and share resources and information. The Spoke has updated the “What Utahns Need to Know” document and is working to revamp the resources section of the Spoke webpage, which will result in a large, organized list of resources from the Spoke and partner organizations.  

Domestic Violence: In April, the first-ever Domestic Violence Spoke newsletter was launched. It was a great success with 67% of subscribers reading the email! The next newsletter will be sent out in May; if you are not yet on the list, please subscribe to newsletter updates here. The Spoke is working to finalize the creation of a Religion & Domestic Violence Subspoke. Thanks so much to all the volunteers working on this so far. More volunteers and leaders are needed – if you are interested in getting involved in this new Subspoke, please reach out to the Spoke Coordinator (Carey) at carey@careyvanwagoner.com. The Dear Utah campaign is still running, and individuals are encouraged to submit stories here. In addition, the Spoke is supporting the Start by Believing campaign, which is part of the Sexual Assault Spoke. This campaign is working to create a culture of belief and support for survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and child sexual abuse. Take the pledge to Start by Believing here! 

Entrepreneurship: Spoke Leaders Ann Marie Wallace and Tara Spalding joined UWLP Founder Director Dr. Susan Madsen for a podcast published on April 10 titled Understanding Entrepreneurship in Utah. This podcast episode discusses awareness, understanding, and attitudes about women and entrepreneurship in Utah. The Spoke is continuing work on the Utah Women Entrepreneurship Proclamation (to be published/launched later this summer). Working Groups are being formed within the Spoke to focus on the following areas: Communication & Public Outreach, Utah Women’s Entrepreneur Network, Utah Capital Connect, University & Community Entrepreneurship Support, and Utah Women Entrepreneurship Proclamation. Spoke Leaders are looking for passionate individuals to co-lead these groups. If you are interested in getting involved, please complete this form or contact the Spoke Coordinator (Crystal) at crystal.bwf@gmail.com.   

Finance: April was Financial Literacy month and there were many initiatives and courses throughout the state to bring public awareness to the importance of financial education. Utah was ranked the 13th state in the nation for financial literacy, which recognizes the emphasis and tools that support financial education here. This month, cities such as Riverton and Ogden and Washington County signed proclamations promoting financial awareness and literacy. Many Spoke Partners also shared valuable resources this month, including the Utah Treasurer’s Department, which released a free financial literacy toolkit available to all. In addition, USU Extension’s Empowering Financial Wellness and Mountain America Credit Union offered free financial literacy courses, and Utah Money Matters launched a finance book club on Instagram. 

Gender Pay Gap: A recording of the Spoke’s Equal Pay Day event (hosted by the Corporations Working Group) will be online for viewing very soon. Please check the Spoke’s website to access the link for viewing the event and to find inspiration. The Communication/Education Working Group continues to meet regularly to develop educational modules focused on compensation strategies and plans, with a goal of releasing them in Quarter 2 of this year. This Working Group is setting up appointments with women’s groups statewide to share these modules. If you are interested in having them present to your organization or group, please contact Emily Prisbrey (Spoke Coordinator) at emily@martinprisbrey.com. Additionally, the Data/Research Working Group has been working with other spokes to present research ideas at upcoming meetings with various research groups at the University of Utah to support future Utah-specific data research projects. The Legislative Working Group met for a post legislative session recap and is looking to collaborate with other workplace spokes on future legislative efforts. 

Health Across the Lifespan: The Spoke is working on collaboration and engagement with Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, University of Utah Health, Regence, and REDi Health, with a focus on sharing data and programming. The Breast Cancer Working Group (Prevention Subspoke) is planning an event merging education and access to screening mammograms at West High School this Fall, implementing curriculum on cancer screening so students can encourage their parents to schedule appointments. This Working Group looks forward to collaborating with the BWF Salt Lake County Coalition and K-12 Initiatives Spoke as the event moves forward. The Mental Health/Wellbeing Subspoke is working to identify ways to integrate Mental Health across the four age-related subspokes, and two additional co-leads are being sought. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Amy Anderson (Spoke Coordinator) at amy.z.anderson@usu.edu.  

Higher Education Attainment: In April, the Spoke Co-Leads worked to refine Spoke strategies and initiatives. The creation of new working groups will be officially announced soon, and there is a need for additional working group co-leaders for these groups. Specific volunteer opportunities for new initiatives are being discussed and will be available at the upcoming Bolder Way Forward Summit. If you are interested in working group leadership and volunteer opportunities, please reach out to the Spoke Coordinator (Courtney) at courtney.bwf@gmail.com.  

Home & Family: The Spoke dedicated time this month to strategizing how to best help families in the state. A County Rep Community meeting will be held in May, and the Spoke is currently inviting anyone who knows resources or organizations that help families to share them with the Spoke Coordinator (email Charlotte at charlotte.abwf@gmail.com). The Moms with Littles Working Group is working on outlining family-friendly best practices to share with Utah businesses and will soon be sending out a survey to better understand how businesses accommodate mothers with little children. The Single Mothers Subspoke also encourages any single mothers to join the Utah Single Mothers Coalition Facebook Group.   

K-12 Initiatives: The Spoke has been working hard to promote the Early Numeracy Working Group’s “Math Matters” Campaign. Many Spoke Partners are helping to spread the campaign across Utah, including the Utah State Board of Education and the STEM Action Center. The Spoke encourages Utahns to follow the campaign on the K-12 Initiatives Instagram Account, and is seeking additional participants to share reels (short videos) by posting on Instagram and inviting the K-12 Initiatives Instagram account to be a collaborator or by submitting videos on the Math Matters Campaign Reel Submissions form.  

Leadership Development: A new Girls & Young Women Subspoke has been formed and held its first event. Feedback from this event will be used to create working groups that will focus on the needs and interests of girls and their parents to create a stronger network of leadership development programs. Additional information about this new Subspoke will be available soon. The Spoke is holding ongoing focus groups at Rowland Hall High School to gather feedback and information about how youth would like to engage with leadership development opportunities and A Bolder Way Forward.  

Organizational Strategies & Workplace Culture: The Spoke, along with other workplace spokes, was involved in organizing and participating in the first Women at Work: Networking Event held at Entrata. It was a successful, informative event with many in attendance new to the Bolder Way Forward movement. Those in attendance learned about each spoke’s goals and initiatives then had time to network with others passionate about supportive women in the workplace. A new Research and Best Practices Working Group has been organized, and the Spoke is excited to welcome Patti Cook as a new co-lead along with members Ariell Hardy, Lisa Hillier and Rebecca Grey. This will be an instrumental group for the Spoke that will gather, analyze and share best practices from a variety of companies throughout the state. Pete Codella (Spoke Leader) co-wrote Opinion: Utah's Evolving Landscape-Empowering Women in Business, an excellent opinion piece in the Deseret News this month. Please take a moment to read and contact Kristen Lee (Spoke Coordinator) at klee.abwf@gmail.com to learn more about how you can make a difference. 

Political & Civic Representation: There has a been a change to Spoke leadership as Nina Barnes has stepped down. The Spoke and BWF appreciate all that Nina has done for this movement and are thrilled to welcome Brooke Scheffler (Director of Boards and Commissions, Utah Governor’s Office) as her replacement. This month, a meeting was held with Political & Civic Representation County Spoke Reps, which was a constructive gathering where important information was shared, and excellent ideas were collected to support and further Spoke efforts. Each subspoke has organized two working groups that will focus on data/research and organizations/resources. These working groups will be working to gather data related to Spoke metrics and goals, as well as continuing to help build out a partner toolkit that can shared at the upcoming BWF Summit. The Spoke is actively seeking co-leaders for these new working groups, and encourages those interested to contact Britney (Spoke Coordinator) at britneym.bwf@gmail.com.  

Poverty & Homelessness: The Spoke is pleased to welcome Palak Gupta and Lea Palmer as new Spoke Co-Leaders. Both serve as Co-Directors of the USU Hunger Solutions Institute, where they have demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing issues related to poverty and homelessness through evidence-based strategies and collaborative leadership. Their experience and dedication will be instrumental in advancing the mission of the Spoke and expanding the impact of efforts in meaningful ways. In the upcoming month, they will work with current co-leader Karen McCandless to create a strategic plan for the spoke, which will include identifying co-leaders for working groups. To learn more and get involved, please email Nancy (Spoke Coordinator) at nancygriggs86@gmail.com.   

Sexual Assault: April was Sexual Assault Awareness month! People across the state reaffirmed their commitment to supporting survivors of sexual assault. There were many events that provided an impactful opportunity to connect with others dedicated to fostering a culture of belief, support, and advocacy. The Spoke hosted a Start by Believing Day Kick-off event that took place on the official Start by Believing Day, Wednesday, April 2nd. This event was hosted at the Capitol Rotunda to kick-off the three-year public awareness campaign to start believing survivors. We had a great line-up of speakers, including Dr. Madsen and our Spoke leader, Julie Valentine. KSL News published an article highlighting the event and A Bolder Way Forward. Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Utah State Capitol to support survivors and take the pledge to Start by Believing. UCASA (BWF partner) hosted many events for SAAM, including a Denim Drive, SAAM Awards, a Denim Day Rally, and a 5K run. There was also an excellent article published by one of our Garfield County Co-leads, Cheryl Cox for SAAM with information about Start by Believing and A Bolder Way Forward. A new webpage was created for the Start By Believing Utah Subspoke, and you can find many resources there, including links to follow the campaign on Instagram and take a pledge to start by believing! 

Sexual Harassment & Gender-based Discrimination: The Spoke has been focused on preparing for Sexual Harassment Awareness Month (May).  In honor of this awareness month, the Spoke is hosting an event titled Beyond Reporting: Prevention in Action, which will be held at the World Trade Center Building in Salt Lake City on May 19 from 11:30am-1:00pm. A virtual option (Zoom) will be available for people who would like to attend remotely. This event is focused on sharing information, resources, and research regarding sexual harassment in the workplace, and will qualify for CLE credit for attorneys that are in attendance. There will be expert panelists from partner organizations SAPREA, The Wolf and the Bee, and The Dignity Index, and the Spoke’s Research Working Group will be presenting research that has been compiled over the last few months. Registration is still open and we welcome all to attend! 

STEM Fields: The Spoke collaboratively organized a cross-spoke event in April to focus on current and potential member outreach and networking. Alongside other leaders and members of the Workplace Spokes (STEM Fields, Workforce Development, Gender Pay Gap, Organizational Strategies, Childcare, Sexual Harassment & Gender-Based Discrimination), this Women at Work: Networking Event was a successful and engaging opportunity to meet with other like-minded individuals committed to supporting Utah women’s success in the workplace. Thank you to Entrata for providing an amazing space for this event. The new K-12 STEM Ed Working Group Leaders are organizing and ready to start building a team of interested individuals to help move forward. The Spoke Newsletter for the second quarter of 2025 was released and is available to view here.The dashboard for the STEM Fields goals and metrics has been updated and is now available online. This interactive tracking tool shows the current status for women in key areas, and the updated Spoke goals and bold change that A Bolder Way Forward and the STEM Fields Spoke are working to make in Utah by 2030. To find out more on how to get involved, collaborate on events, learn about opportunities to lead or engage in a working group, or serve as a County Spoke Rep, reach out to Ashley (Spoke Coordinator) at ashleyp.bwf@gmail.com.  

Workforce Development: In April, the Spoke participated in Women at Work, a collaborative BWF networking event focused on the experience of women in the workplace. The event highlighted the amazing work being done throughout the state and allowed for networking and connections among the attendees. The Spoke bid a fond farewell to Robbyn Scribner as spoke leader and welcomed Heather Nemelke to the Spoke’s leadership team. The Community Resources Working Group is working with  BWF County Coalitions throughout the state to collect resources available that help women network, find jobs and obtain training so they can thrive in the workforce. To learn more, contact Angela (Spoke Coordinator) at atrawlings1@gmail.com.