Women leaders in Utah share lessons through speaker series
Women in positions of leadership across the state are coming together for a collaborative, online speaker series to discuss lessons they’ve learned and challenges they’ve faced while succeeding in their fields. From careers in higher education to government, this series highlights the Utah women behind it all.
The Utah Women and Leadership Project, an initiative created by Utah State University professor Susan Madsen in 2009, is the steward of the Women in Leadership Executive Speaker Series.
“Our mission has always been to strengthen the impact of Utah girls and women,” Madsen said in an interview with The Utah Statesman.
The series includes seven free Zoom webinars that highlight women from different career and life backgrounds. Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, spoke as part of the “Strategic Voices: Women Leading Public Policy Change” panel on Jan. 21 along with Congresswoman Celeste Maloy.
“I came from a family that was very engaged in the civic square. I had a mother that was an avid reader of Newsweek and Time Magazine, and I had a brother that served in the Vietnam War,” Gochnour said in an interview with the Statesman. “In my early childhood, I was quite aware of what happens in our world and why it’s important.”
Gochnour’s early interest in the world and the policies that shape it encouraged her to pursue a variety of career passions in public policy. From advising Utah governors to writing published columns in local news publications to serving as the current chief economist for the Salt Lake Chamber, Gochnour said through it all, she never felt inhibited by the male domination of those fields.
“I grew up in a setting where you had an understanding that things weren’t always easy and that you were always going to have a bit of an uphill climb making yourself relevant and known,” Gochnour said. “The way I think of it is doors will open for you, and as they open, if you’re using your skills, knowledge and experience to make a contribution, it will be rewarded.”
During the public policy change panel, Gochnour, Madsen and Maloy discussed how women are reshaping the landscape of public policy and governance in Utah by participating as active members of their communities, finding fulfillment in their work and following research towards progress.
“When women aren’t in the boardroom, when they’re not in the C-suite, when they’re not actively involved in decisions, their perspective is not represented,” Gochnour said. “I think it’s a fair supposition to say that when you involve people from many backgrounds in decision making, you get better decisions.”
According to Madsen, research is a core foundation of the Utah Women and Leadership Project, the importance of which was a large point of discussion during the public policy change panel.
“What we know from the research is that you can get the best thinking, the best decision making, the best representation of community members from more equal members of men and women serving together,” Madsen said. “Throughout time, men have served in public roles, and women have served more privately, and we just haven’t gotten the best results from our society.”
Madsen, who serves as moderator at every speaker series event, said she continues to be surprised by how much she learns from the discussions.
“I have ‘aha moments’ myself,” Madsen said. “You read leadership books and you do various things, but when you’re actually listening to and hearing the life experiences and challenges from the leaders themselves, it’s just a really powerful kind of learning.”
One of Madsen’s goals for the series is to make panel discussions not only inspiring and educational but candid and real.
“These are more comfortable, real-life conversations than you would see at a conference or some of those other formal settings,” Madsen said. “It is such a good opportunity for students, especially women but men too, to learn from amazing women leaders in the state.”
At the time of publication, Madsen and the UWLP will have three more panel discussions left in the series. Panelists will include a former chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court, two wardens leading correctional facilities in Utah and the seventh president of Utah Valley University. Discussions will revolve around justice, law, leadership in times of crisis and the role women play in navigating it all.
“It’s good to have men, but we have to have more women. We need more and more women to say ‘Hey, I belong in this space,’” Madsen said. “There are other things we can do to make sure our voices are heard, and I think that’s critical moving forward.”