Utah Women & Leadership Project Event - Unlocking You Potential: Strenghts, Communication, & Networking

Join the Utah Women & Leadership Project for this FREE event! Discover how to build a strong network, ask for what you need, and discover your strengths!



Keynote- Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez

This event will begin with a brief plenary session where Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez, President of Utah Valley University, will share her insights on the importance of education and leadership for girls and women. Most recently, Dr. Tuminez was the Regional Director for Corporate, External and Legal Affairs for Microsoft in Southeast Asia. She has degrees from BYU, Harvard, and MIT. After the opening session, attendees will then join one of three workshops designed to help strengthen their own impact and also help them positively influence others to do the same (see page 2 for workshop details). Women (12 years and older) and those who influence them are invited (this means men are welcome too)!

Our evening will conclude with light refreshments as attendees dialogue about what they have learned. The event will live stream, and video recordings of the event will be available at www.uen.org and rebroadcast on UEN-TV channel 9.1.

What is Your Super Power? Discover Your Strengths as Young Women 
Dr. Susan R. Madsen (Professor of Organizational Leadership; Director, Utah Women & Leadership Project); Belinda Han (Director, The Center for the Advancement of Leadership, UVU) & Dr. Cynthia Wong (Educational Psychologist; Assistant Professor of Student Leadership and Success Studies, UVU) 
This workshop—designed specifically for young women in junior high, high school, and early college years—will focus on helping attendees discover and understand their talents, gifts, and strengths. This interactive workshop will help young women broaden their view of the variety of talents one may have, understand why focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses is more beneficial, discover some of their own gifts, generate ideas on how they can use their strengths to benefit others, and make a plan to develop their talents so they can strengthen their impact even more. Join three experienced and engaging presenters, all of whom have spent years working with teens and young adults, and get ready to gain the insights and tools needed to discover your strengths! As one author stated: “Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we raise them. May we be them.”

Asking for What You Want (& Not Feeling Guilty About It) 
Dr. Jessica Egbert (Executive Vice President of Strategy and Engagement, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions), Anjali Pai (Director of Staff Development, Salt Lake Community College), & Michele Bates (Vice President for Marketing, Kuali, Inc.) 
Whether you are managing a household, a team, or an entire organization, confidence, mindset, and communication are essential to achieving your goals. Women are traditionally seen as being strong communicators, but in Utah we are still lagging the nation when it comes to women’s leadership in all settings. One factor that may be holding women back is difficulty in knowing how to ask for what they want and need. What are the communication barriers that keep women from taking calculated risks, achieving their goals, and getting what they want? This workshop addresses scientific principles of communication and leadership as well as the socialized characteristics that may prevent us from bravely embracing the power of “Why not?” Come learn from three experts about how to flex your potential, communicate your needs, and get the results you want—at home, work, in the community, or in any setting!

Making Connections: How to Build a Strong Network for Women 
Dr. Christy Glass (Professor of Sociology, Utah State University) & Neylan McBaine (CEO, Better Days 2020; Writer, Blogger, Columnist) 
Networking is all about connection—connection to those in your community, workplace, and profession. Research shows that connections matter for professional advancement, community engagement, and personal fulfillment. Yet all too often women do not reap the full benefits of network connections. In fact, women often have weaker network connections than men and, as a result, they enjoy less support, information, and influence to advance their objectives. The aim of this workshop is to share evidence of the benefits of networking, the challenges and opportunities women face in the world of networking, and specific strategies women can use to build a strong network to achieve their personal and professional goals. Join our two expert presenters who bring insights from scholarly research as well as practical, real-world experience in business, community, and personal settings.