A Note from Erin,
Last weekend I spent my time in the mountains and was in awe of the beautiful colors surrounding me. My heart was filled with joy as I looked upon my family, the sunshine, the mountains, and brilliant leaves. It was a time of both reflection, gratitude, and fun. I am grateful for all that I have been given and for the friendships I have formed with all of you over the past few months. I have learned about your families, your dreams, your careers, your fears – and you have inspired me. Whether it is by looking at your social media posts, chatting with you over a meal, or in a Zoom meeting you are teaching me an important lesson about not taking myself too seriously and that I need to laugh more!!
Members Spotlight
Michelle Love-Day
Michelle’s style of hands-on learning, encouragement, and realness has helped students to overcome their barriers to success. Michelle has worked with teachers to inspire and establish great reading practices in the classroom. Through her company, Love-Day Educational Consulting, she shares information and ways parents can work with schools, advocate for their children, and how they can assist in creating a rich diverse literacy environment at home and in school. As she began to see the need for black students in Utah, she created an online, weekly school called RISE Virtual Academy in August 2020.
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Katie Amundsen
Katie Amundsen leads the Alumni Relations & Development Office at the David Eccles School of Business, where she’s been Assistant Dean since 2019 and a member of the University of Utah staff since 2005. Originally from the Midwest, Katie earned her undergraduate degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Arts in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Katie is the proud mom of two daughters, Stevie (9) and Jemma (4), and enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, watching live music, and Pilates.
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Alexandra Acuna
Alex is a 5th-year Biology major at the University of Utah. She is exploring pursuing a career in medicine. Alex has been actively involved in Women Who Succeed and has provided immeasurable feedback for our program. Alex joined Women Who Succeed because she believes in the power of strong female mentorship. She has enjoyed being a part of this group and this community. A “Fun Fact” about Alex is that she has traveled to over seven countries.
Your Dollars Have Impact
Our network continues to grow, and we are excited to announce as we wrap up recruitment that we are 134 women strong and, in the process, received $87,275 in membership donations. Additionally, we have received $82,800 in sponsorship dollars bringing our collective revenue to $172,075 to date which is helping fund our mentorship program, scholarships, and networking events. What a generous show of support for the good work we are doing – our gratitude goes to you!
Our next campaign for dollars kicked off on October 4 with an exciting sponsorship opportunity! Please join us for a spectacular night of the arts at Eccles Theater for the coveted production of Hamilton during the run dates of December 28, 2021 – January 23, 2022. Because of the special relationship that the Garff family has with Eccles, we can offer you a complete VIP experience that includes the Garff Family Suites and accompanying seats which can host groups of up to 29 people. This is a great chance to host your friends, family, and business associates with a unique Broadway experience while you also support our mission. Please watch for an email that outlines the three Sponsorship Tiers, as well as a video from me inviting you in for a quick sneak peek of the theater. Tickets are sure to go fast so don’t hesitate to reserve your night! Please call or text Jennifer Bean at 801-244-8088 or email jenniferb@sieutah.org. She is available to coordinate the details and reserve the following sponsorship nights:
HAMILTON SPONSORSHIP TIERS:
3 suites + 29 seats – $30,000
2 suites + 20 seats – $20,000
1 suite + 10 seats – $10,000
BROADWAY AT THE ECCLES SPONSORSHIP TIERS (excluding Hamilton):
3 suites + 28 seats – $15,000
2 suites + 10 seats – $10,000
1 suite + 9 seats – $7,500
Event
Event Recap: Living Outside of Your Box
Thank you to all who were able to join us for the virtual event, Living Outside of Your Box, on Thursday, September 30. This was an opportunity for our women’s network to consider how we become better leaders in the circles we are in by knowing ourselves better. One of the ways we can do this is by developing skills that boost our self-awareness – knowing what limits us and keeps us living inside our box or expanding ourselves by living outside of our box.
Our small group break-out session was a fabulous way to share our ideas on this and learn from each other, and in doing so, get to know one another better. We hope you enjoy learning more by reading the book Leadership & Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute. We mailed a copy to everyone on our roster, but if you didn’t receive it, please reach out to us with a better address that we can keep on file, and we’ll send a copy your way! Thank you to all those who made our event wonderful: Kathi Garff, Bob at Quick Wits Comedy, and our producer at The Virtual Hive, Brea Sorrells. If you missed it, catch up on the conversation by clicking the following links:
Living Outside of Your Box Virtual Event Recording – https://youtu.be/Hv5osp1k0zw
TED Talk – How to Tap Into Your Self-Awareness with Tasha Eurich – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-tap-into-your-self-awareness-and-why-itn/id1544098624?i=1000536767254
Girls Give Back
Join us for a fun evening at Traeger Grills Headquarters on November 10, 5:30 pm -7:30 pm. Here we will get together with members and mentees for a creative evening while packaging organic menstrual products for low-income girls in our community. This is a great chance to give back to your community as we jump into the Holiday season.
A special thank you to The Andrus Family Foundation for sponsoring this event!
*Pending Covid numbers we have a backup plan for a virtual event for the same day and time. We will keep you updated on any changes!
To register: https://wwsgirlsgiveback.eventbrite.com
Mark Your Calendars
Diamonds on Ice Signature Soiree
February 3, 2022: A reminder that our annual fundraising event, Diamonds on Ice Signature Soiree, has been moved to February at O.C. Tanner Jewelers
Mentoring
Many thanks to all who participated in our feedback sessions, sharing your thoughts, and guidance. To greater reward and incentivize mentees, we are incorporating mentorship engagement into their eligibility for scholarships and internships starting Oct 2021 through May 2022. A copy of our Expectations & Eligibility overview may be found HERE. The critical piece to measuring the success of this model is that we are asking mentors to track attendance on a spreadsheet once a month on our Women Who Succeed: Tracking Worksheet. Feel free to bookmark this document and return to it regularly!
As we met with members, it was also uplifting to hear the many positive experiences mentors and mentees have already experienced. Below is a highlight from Liz Whitney and her group of three mentees:
Members Spotlight cont.
Michelle Love-Day cont.
Mrs. Love-Day serves on many Boards including the University of Utah, the Hale Centre Theater Board of Trustees, the Access to Justice Commission, and the Conviction Integrity Board. She enjoys acting on stage and in commercials (Talent Management Group) and is a member of the Actors Equity Association.
She is passionate about schools being student-focused, equitable, and a place where all students feel that they are welcomed and have an adult they can believe in and who believes in them. In 2019, she ran as a candidate for Bluffdale City Council and is the proud mother to 5 children and wife to a supportive husband.
Michelle joined Women Who Succeed because she had been a part of Success in Education’s “Road to Success” program as a principal. She saw the extrinsic motivation that SIE provided and was intrigued. She believes women mentoring other women is so important and needed. Michelle believes we need to encourage one another and uplift each other often.
A “Fun Fact” about Michelle is that her second language is Spanish which she learned in college and through studying abroad in Spain.
Katie Amundsen cont.
She initially joined Women Who Succeed because she wanted to help younger women understand the importance of hard work, personal integrity, networking, and life-long learning. She wanted to help young women think beyond skills they might learn in the classroom and look at their careers holistically in terms of skills important for personal and professional growth. As a mother to daughters, Katie wanted to be an example of someone who works hard, has integrity, and seeks out information and individuals for personal and professional development. Katie says, “It’s been an incredible honor to be a part of a group of diverse and supremely talented women.”
Fun fact: Katie’s favorite band is Ween, an experimental rock band from New Hope, PA originally formed in 1984. She has seen them live likely close to 50 times and has never been disappointed! or biking with her dog, Cooper.
