A Note from Erin,
A concerning issue with women is wage disparity in the workplace that often begins early in a young woman’s career. Not countering and negotiating a salary early on can have huge financial implications for women in the workforce. I have seen over and over again in my career young women being thrilled to be offered a job and not being bold enough to counteroffer and negotiate a higher salary or benefits. I hope you pass this scenario on to other women, your mentees, and teach other young women the importance of negotiating.
Scenario: You are 25 years old, and you accept a job for $75,000. Your male counterpart negotiates for $15,000 more per year. You both receive a 3% raise for 30 years. Placed in a conservative 3% money market account…
At age 65, he will have earned $1,519,686 more than you!
Members Spotlight
Rhonda (Pitchford) Nicoloff
Rhonda was born and raised in Indianapolis, IN. After graduating from the Business School at Indiana University, she began working for a railroad material supplier where she spent 27 years and retired from that company as President and Owner in 2019.
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President Astrid S. Tuminez
Katie Amundsen leads the Alumni Relations & Development Office at the David Eccles School of Business, where President Tuminez (pronounced too-Mee-nez) was appointed the seventh president of Utah Valley University in 2018. Born in a farming village in the Philippine province of Iloilo, she moved with her parents and siblings to the slums of Iloilo City when she was 2 years old, per parents seeking better educational opportunities for their children.
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Olivia Bean
Olivia, who goes by “Liv”, graduated from Cottonwood High School with high honors and a high understanding of Early Childhood Education. Liv was a part of the Chinese immersion program but during high school opted out to continue with other interests she has. Liv was involved in student government which was a big part of her senior year.
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
We are so grateful to our newest donors, Tanner Glass & Hardware, KeyBank, dōTERRA, Zions Bank, and the Cicero Group for supporting our good work! These dollars drive our mission and fuel our activities – you make Women Who Succeed possible! We have several excellent opportunities to engage your time and dollars in the coming months:
- Broadway at the Eccles Sponsorship: Join us for a world class VIP experience in the Garff Family Suites with packages starting at $5000 for 10 seats + suite access or for larger parties, reserve 3 suites + 29 seats for $15,000. The lineup of shows is wonderful this year!
- Diamonds on Ice Sponsorship: Become a sponsor of our annual signature fundraising event or loosen your purse strings to purchase one of several unique auction packages while you’re there! All proceeds will support our mentorship program and boost our scholarship fund.
- Ken Garff Hole in One Challenge Sponsorship: $3000 is all you’ll need to hold your spot at our first ever Women’s Only flight at the Ken Garff tournament at Thanksgiving Point in May 2022. Golfers mark your calendars and perfect your swing!
For more information about how you, or your company, can support our efforts with a financial donation do not hesitate to reach out to Jennifer Bean at jenniferb@sieutah.org.
Girls Give Back Recap
A special thank you to Kristin Andrus and the entire Traeger Grills team for hosting us and going above and beyond for our event! We had such a fun night networking, packaging menstrual products for girls, and having a peach galette demo by Mandy Tanner, pastry chef who Traeger Grills flew in all the way from Nashville, TN! We were also thrilled to have Jill Johnson, the owner of Paint Mixer, host a station where we created gratitude cards for special women in our lives. At the event we also raised dollars for scholarships through opportunity drawings which one of our generous WWS members, Yasmin Khan, donated products from her amazing skincare line, Khalm Skincare. Thank you to everyone who attended, and we cannot wait to see you all at our next in-person event in February, Diamonds on Ice!
Mean Girls Recap
We are excited to announce that Diamonds on Ice Signature Soiree, will be Saturday, February 5, 2022. Please mark your calendars with this NEW date! Slip on your favorite little black dress to enjoy an evening of hors d’oeuvres while you wait to see if you picked the same number that reveals the sparkling Grace Diamond from inside one of the frozen diamond ice cubes. We are excited to host you at O.C. Tanner Jewelers where you will have a chance to donate toward an opportunity to win one of our other exciting packages. Join us to raise the important funds needed to support mentorships and scholarships for our young women!
Your Dollars Have Impact
During this season of thanksgiving, my gratitude is extended to all of you! As members, you have donated toward our mission, you have spread the good word of Women Who Succeed, and connected us to the resources in your circle – you are making this work possible. This is also a wonderful time to consider year-end giving. Your donation is tax-deductible and will go a long way to making our programming sustainable in the coming year. I look forward to arranging the details of your gift and naming you as a sponsor of these upcoming opportunities:
- Broadway at the Eccles Sponsorship: Join us for a world-class VIP experience in the Garff Family Suites with packages starting at $5,000 for 10 seats + suite access or for larger parties, reserve 3 suites + 29 seats for $15,000. The lineup of shows is wonderful this year!
- Diamonds on Ice Sponsorship: Become a sponsor of our annual signature fundraising event or loosen your purse strings to purchase one of several unique auction packages while you are there! All proceeds will support our mentorship program and boost our scholarship fund.
- Ken Garff Hole in One Challenge Sponsorship: $3,000 is all you will need to hold your spot at our first-ever Women’s Only flight at the Ken Garff tournament at Thanksgiving Point in May 2022. Golfers mark your calendars and perfect your swing!
- Scholarship Fund Development: Our Women Who Succeed Scholarship Program is now accepting applications from our eligible mentees. To reach our goal to award $42,000 in scholarship dollars we are actively raising funds.
For more information about how you, or your company, can support our efforts with a financial donation do not hesitate to reach out to Jennifer Bean at jenniferb@sieutah.org.
We HEAR Her Podcast
Our Women Who Succeed have been busy sharing their stories, insights, and lessons learned in our We HEAR Her Podcast Series. Listen here and subscribe to our weekly episodes released on the following platforms:
Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-hear-her/id1593067124
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0gF5UkGzoYEYU6LjYqk9Mn
RSS https://rss.com/podcasts/wehearher/
Members Spotlight cont.
Rhonda (Pitchford) Nicoloff cont.
Rhonda joined the Young President’s Organization (YPO) in 2007 where she is still an active member. One of Rhonda’s proudest career accomplishments during her railroad career tenure was graduating from the Harvard Business School after completing their three-year Owner President Management (OPM) Executive Education Program in 2017. After her railroad career she started REBL Consulting, has been actively working on continuous self-improvement, and adding experiences to her routine that bring her joy.
Rhonda and her husband Bill moved from Indiana to Salt Lake City, Utah in 2001 along with their two children, Emily and Luke. They love the mountains and the outdoors. Rhonda loves to travel, especially to San Diego where her two children currently live for work and school.
President Astrid S. Tuminez cont.
Her pursuit of education eventually took her to the United States, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and Russian literature from Brigham Young University (1986). She later earned a master’s degree from Harvard University in Soviet Studies (1988) and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in political science (1996).
Before UVU, President Tuminez was an executive at Microsoft, where she led corporate, external, and legal affairs in Southeast Asia. She also served as vice dean of research at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She has worked in philanthropy and venture capital in New York City and is a permanent member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of Russian Nationalism Since 1856: Ideology and the Making of Foreign Policy and many other publications. She and her husband, Jeffrey S. Tolk, have three children. In her spare time, she enjoys running, dancing, and traveling.
President Tuminez said she joined Women Who Succeed because as the first female president of Utah Valley University, she firmly believes that our students have unlimited potential. She said, “Women Who Succeed and its parent organization, Success in Education, share UVU’s belief in the transformative benefits of high-quality education. The leadership team at Women Who Succeed is unlocking potential each day. Their work to empower young women and provide resources to help them succeed is vital. Nobody can stop you from dreaming. To believe in what is possible, whatever the hurdles and challenges, requires a support system. Sometimes all it takes is a vote of confidence from someone else to get started on the journey to realizing your potential. This is what Women Who Succeed and UVU work toward each day — instilling confidence in tomorrow’s generation and leading them into the future.”
A “Fun Fact” about President Tuminez is in 2020, she was set to run a half marathon. As race day neared, the event was cancelled due to COVID-19. However, she ran the race route anyway. Several UVU student-athletes joined her at different legs of the trip, and, together, they got it done!
Olivia Bean cont.
For future plans, she is planning to attend Utah State University this upcoming fall to further her education in Early Childhood Education. During her pastime, she loves going on the annual family trip to Colorado, which includes hiking, four wheeling, and getting caught in storms at the worst times. Prior to this year, Liv loved to play soccer with friends, competitively, and for her high school. Unfortunately, she is not able to play now due to having a metal bar in her chest. Liv loves hanging out with her friends over the weekend. When she is not hanging out with family or friends, you can catch her watching Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, or any movie.
