Mallory Santa Cruz: Inspiring the Future of Leadership through Mentorship & Collaboration

Mallory Santa Cruz, Vice President of Success in Education, helped launch the transformative Women Who Succeed program, which creates mentorship pathways for young women, reshapes leadership landscapes, and breaks barriers. Through real-life examples and expert insights, we explore how intentional collaboration fosters growth and empowers women to realize their fullest potential.

We also tackle the nuanced dynamics of mentorship, from bridging the gap between aspiring mentees and their mentors to understanding the keys to a fruitful mentor-mentee relationship. Delve into the importance of communication, trust, and intentionality as we discuss the Rising Leader series and how such programs enable women to shatter stagnation and actively pursue their career ambitions.

We explore the progress in creating leadership opportunities and cultural awareness while also recognizing areas for improvement, such as increasing female representation in politics and implementing family-friendly policies. Listen to the compelling stories from the "Elevate Her" luncheon celebrating the Political Development Series, and understand the vital role of mentorship and coalition-building in fortifying women's roles in political and professional arenas. Join us as we celebrate these inspirational narratives that underscore the transformative power of mentorship and collaboration.

Interested in signing up to be a mentor with Women Who Succeed?

Interested in our Southern Utah Event?

Interested in learning more about the Rising Leaders Series? 

www.wliut.com
@utwomenleaders

Transcript

Empowering Women Through Mentorship and Education

Speaker 1 0:05

Welcome to Elevate , a Women's Leadership Institute podcast where we showcase stories , celebrate successes and shift culture . Hello and welcome to Elevate . We are here for another podcast to celebrate our 10th year and we are excited to have Mallory Santa Cruz with us today . She is the Vice President of success in education . She is also on the board of Silicon Slopes Women in Leadership . Last year she was voted Utah Business 30 Women to Watch and she's also , first time , mom . I am , yeah , so welcome , so happy to have you here , happy to be here . Yeah , I want to dive right in . I feel like what you do and what we do have so many interlapping and interconnecting . I'd love to really dive into that . But first of all , I'd love you to introduce yourself , tell a little bit about you and especially something personal that we can relate to .

Speaker 2 0:58

Yeah , well , thank you for having me . Yeah , a little bit about myself . My background is in nonprofit . Before working with Success in Education , I was with the American Red Cross and did disaster management and then , about four years ago , I moved over to Success in Education and it's a really just interesting structure . It was started by the Garf family , so it's the Garf Foundation and we're celebrating our 20-year anniversary this year . Wow , congratulations , wow , congratulations , thanks . It's been incredible to see just over the years , how we've served Utah students and worked to help create educational pathways . But yeah , so originally what I came over for was Erin Trenbeth-Murray and Kathy Garf were building out the Women who Succeed program . So success in education is the foundation and then we have various initiatives , but Women who Succeed was a women's leadership program for high school and college age young women and they said you know we're going to be building this out . We'd love to invite you to come on board , and that was just something that was so passionate .

Speaker 1 2:00

It was an area of passion for me . Was that an instant ? Yes , You're like . Yes .

Speaker 2 2:03

Okay , yes , yep , and so that was back in 2021 . And I have loved it ever since . And , yeah , I you know , true to my roots of being passionate about building community . I serve on various boards . So I'm on the Red Cross board , I was on Discovery Gateway , children's Museum , silicon Slopes , women in Leadership and then , yeah , this last year I welcomed my first daughter . Yes , congratulations . And then something interesting about me I did my undergrad degree in recreation management . So my first few years of my career , I worked doing community recreation with cities and it was such a fun degree .

Speaker 2 2:46

I was just going to say I loved it yeah , and so I took a canyoneering class in college and it got me hooked .

Speaker 1 2:55

Interesting , so you liked to canyoneer , canyoneering , canyoneering .

Speaker 2 2:59

So it's like those deep slot canyons and rappelling and climbing .

Speaker 1 3:01

Very cool , very cool . I love that . And we have so many slot canyons and rappelling and climbing and it's very cool Very cool . I love that . And we have so many slot canyons so many . I haven't gone yet . My son just went and he loved it First time rappelling . So what a fun beginning . Yeah , yeah , I love it . It sounds like you're a dabbler . You've done lots of things in many different areas .

Speaker 2 3:25

Yeah , you're a dabbler . You've done lots of things in many different areas . Yeah , yeah , I love finding something new . That is exciting that I can just dive right in . Yeah .

Speaker 1 3:30

Okay , so let's talk . So success in education has many initiatives under it . One of them is Women who Succeed , which you're very involved in and also helped create from the beginning . Will you tell us a little bit more about what it is and what the purpose of it is ?

Speaker 2 3:48

Yeah , absolutely . And to your earlier point you know we I feel like have such overlap in serving women in Utah , and so we have really appreciated having Pat Jones on our board , and her insight has been so valuable . I'm so glad .

Speaker 1 4:04

Yeah , we really love her . She speaks very highly of you and your organization and of Kathy and Erin .

Speaker 2 4:08

Well , thank you , the feeling's definitely mutual . But yeah , a little bit about Women who Succeed . So , as many may know , bob Garf was one of the very first people in the state of Utah to pass from COVID-19 back in March of 2020 . And so Kathy Garf , who had been involved in the family business , suddenly came into kind of managing the helm and leading the family initiatives . And she personally I mean she has daughters she felt that there was such a need for building the next generation of female leadership in Utah that they would be ready , they would be prepared to , you know , head the ship head their companies and , as many may know , we also .

Speaker 2 4:52

as the state of Utah , we're about ranked , you know , the worst state in the country for women .

Speaker 1 4:58

Yes , it's hard to shake off .

Speaker 2 4:59

Oh , yeah , exactly . And so starting from a young age , helping these girls to be prepared , you know , for whatever their life's pathways may have in store for them . So we do that through a few ways . We have a mentorship program and we've had about a thousand high school and college age girls go through our mentorship program .

Speaker 1 5:20

That's amazing A thousand people in since 2021 .

Speaker 2 5:24

Since 2021 . Yeah , okay , and it is so personalized . So the girls they apply , they learn how to do things even from the application process , like we teach them how to write a bio , how to present themselves . Then they go through an interview process to be selected for the program and we have girls statewide from Sanpete , navajo Nation , uinta Basin .

Speaker 1 5:47

I love that . Yes , who might not have the opportunities ?

Speaker 2 5:50

Yeah , Exactly and then based on their industries of interest , based on what they're looking to pursue academically , professionally . We connect them with our Women who Succeed members and we have about 150 , 160 members each year and they are women who are leaders in their industries , leaders in their communities . And so , for example , we had a girl , Kenley , who was from Hooper , Utah , and she was interested .

Speaker 1 6:21

I love that you said that right . Yeah , Hooper .

Speaker 2 6:24

And she was interested in going into finance and so she was able to get connected and had a mentor who was on the executive team at Maverick who connected her with an internship and then a position at Maverick in the accounting department and helped her navigate some of the pathways up at the ? U made the Dean's List is graduating in finance and was able to get a job . Wow yeah .

Speaker 1 6:50

That is so cool for so many reasons Right . One thing that we talk about often on this podcast is you have to practice leadership . Yes , it is a skill .

Speaker 2 7:26

Yes , those personal relationships really play such a valuable role in these girls' growth and so having someone who is meeting with them regularly . We have a curriculum that's designed to help support things like learning about financial literacy , learning about public speaking , about all of these different areas Really practical sounds like , yeah , really practical . And then also , you know , we have the mentorship side . We also focus on internships , scholarships and creating networking opportunities to build their social capital as well .

Speaker 2 7:56

So those are the four main pillars in how we work to support young women . I love it so .

Speaker 1 8:01

I was looking on your website and I have a 15 year old daughter . So there's junior mentors , mentors and then mentees , and it's an eight month program . Is that right ? So tell us a little bit about the nuts and bolts of it . For those who are wanting to either be mentors or have women they think would be girls , they think would be good mentees , yeah , so it's a really interesting waterfall structure .

Speaker 2 8:24

So we have our Women who Succeed members , who they can be involved in a variety of ways . They can be in our podcast , they can be keynote speakers , host workshops , but probably 60% of them choose to mentor and then they mentor college-age young women because those are young women who are getting ready to enter into industry that's how they can best support .

Speaker 2 8:47

And then we actually pay college-age mentors $2,000 to then mentor high school girls . Oh , beautiful , okay . And so they've recently gone through the college application process . They are a little bit more relatable to the high school girls , but it's also teaching them . Your time is valuable , your expertise is valuable , and so we want to compensate you for that . And then we have a junior mentee program , and so this is for seventh to 10th grade girls . These are girls who are in that stage of building confidence , interest in career exploration , figuring out really their sense of identity , and so we do that less through small groups . We found that that can be intimidating when you're 14 .

Speaker 2 9:31

For sure , and so we more do group mentorship , we do workshops , we have a curriculum for them . So yeah , we have our junior mentee program , college age mentors and then our mentor group .

Speaker 1 9:43

Oh , thank you so much for explaining that . Two things you said that caught my eye , um , caught my ear , is one I love that you pay people for their time . So often , as women , we give our expertise away for free , um , which is a great thing , but it's also good to be paid for what you know or your time , so I love that that's included in it . And then also , last time we had two female engineers and they talked about how it was people in their lives , in junior high , in high school , who said you can do this . You , I am a woman in this industry and you can do it too . So I love that you're even reaching down to seventh grade , because it really begins early .

Speaker 2 10:27

It does . It does , and I think , especially for young women . I mean , there are so many statistics related to how they feel about their competencies and their capabilities in STEM fields math , science and so that younger age group is really so critical .

Speaker 1 10:44

Yeah , very good , and we have an event coming up together . Yes , we're kind of pairing off on that . It will be next week , november 7th and 8th , down in Southern Utah . Do you want to share a little bit more about what we're doing on Thursday night ?

Speaker 2 10:59

Yes , so it's kind of kicking off . On Friday there's a conference through Women's Leadership Institute and a number of other entities , and so the night before we'll be doing a service project and every year Women who Succeed does an event . It's one of our signature events called Girls Give Back , and it's more regionally based . We love to have girls from Southern Utah meet with female leaders in Southern Utah that you don't necessarily need to leave your community .

Speaker 2 11:28

You don't need to come up to the Wasatch Front . But this event is a little bit more philanthropic , service-oriented , and so , together with Women's Leadership Institute and the Policy Project , we'll be starting off with a program , a wonderful panel of leaders from Southern Utah , and then kicking it off to kind of a pack-and-party event where we'll be packaging feminine hygiene products that will be distributed in the teen centers down in southern Utah .

Speaker 1 11:55

Okay , I love that and I love one reason why we started doing it is because , just what you said the regional impact . You don't have to leave your city or town if you don't want to Be a leader . Where you are , turn around and help other people become leaders . So we will put in our show notes how to register for that . Then the next day we have a conference from 8.30 to 2.00 . Unmute yourself Really , giving women tools to be able to participate in hard conversations , whether that is civically or professionally or in their personal life , because sometimes women don't have the confidence to have those conversations and we feel like it's really needed .

Speaker 2 12:37

I am so excited about the event and I'm so grateful that one you're putting it on and that we've been able to collaborate . I think , again , those topics are so needed and it's an area that a lot of women I mean they can feel alone in their insecurities and really feeling empowered and seeing other women who maybe have experienced the same . Yeah , some strategies , yeah absolutely .

Speaker 1 13:02

It's also a beautiful part . I think Utah is getting better and better at building coalitions among women , because there are so many people doing good work .

Speaker 2 13:10

Yes .

Speaker 1 13:11

But these two events , just like there are many partners that have come together and it's been really beautiful to watch . It really has and coordinating our communication like what are you doing and what am I doing and what are we doing together . So I've really enjoyed that .

Speaker 2 13:24

I have as well , and I think it really is reflective of , like you said , there are so many organizations and they've really kind of formed a coalition , but I've been impressed with the women's communication and collaboration and making sure that efforts aren't being duplicated . There's a lot of , you know , cross referring and really kind of digging into areas of specialization and I think that that's really needed , that we're pooling all of our collective talents , resources in a unique way to help fill gaps where they may exist .

Speaker 1 13:58

Yeah , that abundance mindset , exactly . Yeah , I love that you brought that up . Okay , so one other area that we overlap you mentioned a lot about mentoring and we have our programs where we bring in women and help develop them so that they can get promoted , work on their career path , often women

Effective Mentorship and Intentional Collaboration

Speaker 1 14:18

. It's so interesting because the statistics , whether you just ask local women or nationally , want a mentor , but when you ask either who has a mentor or who will be a mentor , the number is much , much lower . Yes , that's very ironic for me . So tell us , as you've put all these women through , what makes a good mentor and what makes a good mentee ?

Speaker 2 14:43

That is such a great question and I think I'm going to start off saying that sometimes there's a misunderstanding of what a mentor is . I've heard lots of stories from women of saying I want to give back . I have a young woman who's been an intern , or their professors , who was in their class , who they've barely spoken to these girls , and the girl will come up and say will you be my mentor ?

Speaker 1 15:08

And they say right .

Speaker 2 15:11

Yes , I don't know what that means but okay , and then the girl says okay , great , and then it never really evolves from there . So they know that they need a mentor . But the understanding of what that relationship looks like I feel like can be a little bit confusing or ambiguous From seeing anecdotally some of that qualitative data that it's someone who is willing to be supportive , have some hard conversations saying you know , this is the path that you're on , are your current actions lining up with that , holding them accountable ? We see that a lot with our high school and college age girls of you know you made a commitment . Let's help you be accountable to that . Interesting and that has been really interesting and when I started out that was an area that I hadn't expected . But showing that through example I think can be so powerful . I think that honest , earnest commitment to a mentee that it's not a once in a while type of commitment , it's ongoing . There's that Relationship building .

Speaker 1 16:27

Yes .

Speaker 2 16:29

Yes , I think that that is incredibly valuable . Yes , yes , I think that that is incredibly valuable . That's part of why our program runs eight months during the course of a full school year . It's not just one or two meetings , it's developing that ongoing relationship . Sometimes it can take a little bit of time to develop that vulnerability or to really get to know one another , and so I think the duration and long-term commitment is a huge component .

Speaker 1 16:54

I love that and I think I don't know if it's for everyone , but I think most people have a hard time asking for help . Yes , and so the ability to have someone who's on your side , who you can be vulnerable with and say the wrong thing , or they'd be like hey , this is how we do it , or this might be a little bit better . Um , build that trust and confidence is really a beneficial skill that we don't , as a whole society , don't teach very often . Yeah , we just think people will have it .

Speaker 2 17:26

Yes , so I love that you're focusing on that .

Speaker 2 17:29

Yeah , absolutely . And I think , as a mentor , looking at it from the other side , is sometimes you don't want to impose , you don't want to , you know , not overextend yourself , but kind of insert yourself where you haven't been asked , and so that can also be uncomfortable , and so I think that's where that open , honest communication really comes in of what support is needed . You know , what does that role , what does that relationship look like and Like ? It's up to you to reach out , it's up to you to like we'll give you some guidelines but you need to drive this .

Speaker 1 18:07

Some mentors do Like they just take people by the hand and take them wherever they go . Is that what you found in your program ? Is that mentees need to ask and participate and do those ?

Speaker 2 18:30

things . I would say it's definitely a flux . It's a little bit of a give and take . We really try to empower and encourage our mentors to be the driving force behind the relationship . Just because of the age , demographic , of the girls that we work with .

Speaker 2 18:47

Having someone who's 17 , 18 years old is different than someone who is entry-level working to move up to mid-level management Excellent point and so we do encourage them to really strongly take the lead . But simultaneously we talk to the girls and we repeatedly encourage them , we help them discover what that looks like . To ask for what you need to proactively say I'm looking at completing this internship . Do you know someone in this company ? Yeah , would you be willing to role play an interview with me ? And so I think , ideally one . A mentor really does , to some degree , I think , have a responsibility to provide kind of that leadership , I would say , within the relationship . But the mentee should feel empowered , encouraged to also help speak up for their needs , what they're wanting out of that relationship , to ensure that they're both kind of on the same track .

Speaker 1 19:45

Yeah , and that they're getting something out of it . Intentionality is something that is built into all of our programs now . Yes , because many women just get on autopilot . They find a great job , they stay in it , or they stay at home with their kids and then , when their kids are raised , they're like well , I'm just going to stay here . But intentionality of what do you actually want and not surround you with people who can help you get that ?

Speaker 2 20:06

Yes , instead of just being on autopilot and we this year had a couple of our female staff go through the Rising Leader series that you started and they have absolutely loved that and it's been cool to see them approach their work , approach their career , with that intentionality and see the takeaways from it .

Speaker 2 20:29

So thank you for offering that . That has been really rewarding to see and for them personally . And then , along with that , I think it goes back to the elevate her challenge of it needs to be intentional . So often if it's not an intentional focus it can fall by the wayside . I mean even things like the gender pay gap or , you know , promoting and hiring senior level women leadership within a company . So that intentionality , I think , in every step of the process is really important .

Speaker 1 21:03

Yeah , thank you so much for sending your women to Rising Leaders . Oh , they loved it we loved having them and I appreciate the feedback . And also , you're absolutely right with Elevator Challenge . Like the whole point of Jibble Eye is to help women and companies be deliberate , because often we want to do things but if they're not like first , first on the top of our mind , we might not get to them . Yes , right , it's always a tomorrow .

Speaker 2 21:28

Yeah , and and I I mean I think we've heard that statistic of you know men applying for roles , you know they need to feel that they meet about 60 percent of the qualifications , versus women who feel that they need to meet 100 percent , and so and more Exactly , and so , with that deliberateness , I think that there is a lot of messaging on both sides , from male allies , from women within , through that mentorship , having those sponsors and companies to help really affect change .

Speaker 1 21:59

Interesting . So I went to a conference this past weekend and one of the exercises we did is we're all in a room and the first 10 people you had to ask a request of them , like you know , will you introduce me to someone who will , will you give me 10,000 , you know what ? Whatever it , will you help me publish a book , whatever it was . And the first 10 people had to say no . And the 11th person , whatever the request was , you said yes , Wow . And then you started asking another 10 people , just to normalize the no , yes , and to realize what a feeling of yes is Like when you say yes to someone and you give them your time and your presence and your expertise . That is a gift it is . And you learn that no is just no and just go on to the next thing . And I think that's also really important for these women and these men to know .

Speaker 2 22:49

Right , yes , yeah , that is such a cool unique activity yeah Within the conference . I really love that .

Speaker 1 22:58

Yeah , because sometimes on the man's side he's like do I open the door , do I not ? Can I talk about this , can I not ?

Speaker 2 23:05

So , just normalizing it for all of us , we're just working through this together Right , and that those first two or three no's , that can feel so demoralizing .

Speaker 1 23:13

So demoralizing and like maybe I shouldn't do it or it's a bad thing , and that confidence to push through , exactly .

Speaker 2 23:38

So I love that . Yeah , okay , let's see From your work with women and in the nonprofit space for so years we've already touched on this , but the coming together of coalitions , the number of women's organizations that are truly working together , I think has been a huge step forward

Advancing Women in Utah Leadership

Speaker 2 23:57

. I mean , there's Women's Leadership Institute , there's Tech Moms , there's Women Tech Council , boulder Way Forward . I think Boulder Way Forward was a huge step . Silicon Slopes , women in Leadership , women who Succeed yes , all of these entities that are coming together to support women in different ways has been really really cool to see . I also think just awareness , awareness of cultural components , awareness of how to make additional options available for women , of really reaching through to the next generation .

Speaker 2 24:34

I think that those are huge strides that we've made as a state . I think some areas that we still have opportunity . One is elected female leaders in office . Yes , I think that that is a huge step on both sides of the table , both political parties . Having women elected is a really important step for us . I would also say family leave policies in the state of Utah , where we are a state that really prioritizes family . I think until we have that , it's going to be a challenge for women where they feel they need to choose between a family and a career .

Speaker 2 25:13

And so those family-friendly policies I think can be very important . Additionally , I would say , continuing the awareness , but from the male allyship side , and that's an area that I think Women's Leadership Institute has done such a tremendous job and I think , as it continues over the years , that perspective of you know we're not here to take away from men , we're not here to tell men what they're doing wrong , but simply that abundance mindset that there's enough opportunity for all , that there are a variety of experiences and talents and skill sets that everyone benefits from by women coming forward and having leadership opportunities .

Speaker 1 25:59

Yeah , it's really interesting , as you're speaking , the parallel between how we talked about women coming together yes , right , and with an abundance mindset , and we have resources to share , as well as our work that we do with men of the exact same thing . Yeah , so maybe both genders have things to learn in this area .

Speaker 1 26:18

Yeah , I would agree I would agree that Utah has made lots of strides , especially in terms of pathways for women , because there's no one size fits all . I remember writing a post about what does success look like , because my career has been very nonlinear , right . I've consulted , I've been full time , I've been part time , I've stayed at home , you know , for large sections of time . But success is what we create , and that permission part , or whatever the word is for that , I think is really important in order for companies to grow and build good teams and have women's perspectives perspectives and that I'm really glad that you brought that up , because I think that is the direction of the workforce .

Speaker 2 27:07

I think in the past it was very traditional . You would stay with the same company for 15 , 15 plus years .

Speaker 1 27:15

Yes , get your gold watch or whatever it was .

Speaker 2 27:16

Yes , exactly , and you would commit to an industry , you'd commit to a job title or role , and there wasn't that flexibility , whereas now , just the inherent rate of technology innovation , you know , the majority of jobs that are going to exist 10 years from now aren't currently even created at this point , and so I think that creates a lot of new on-ramps and off-ramps for women in their careers , where they can take a few years off to raise their children in those young ages , but then they have an easier on-ramp back into the workforce , and so that'll be really interesting to see and to navigate and , I think , also communicating to young women that their careers likely won't be as linear as prior generations and that that is a huge opportunity . I love that . As prior generations , yeah , and that that is a huge opportunity . I love that you say opportunity .

Speaker 1 28:08

Yeah , I love that .

Women Empowerment and Mentorship Growth

Speaker 1 28:10

I want to pivot a little bit and talk about family . Yes , I didn't know when you talked about women who succeed , about Kathy Garf , in Bob's passing being able to take over . What a transitional time .

Speaker 2 28:27

Yes .

Speaker 1 28:28

Right and her daughters and saying what can we do to help women ? You being a first time mom we just talked about parental leave who are some influences in your life that have helped you become who you are ? Who have been your mentors to help you do ?

Speaker 2 28:46

this . I love this question . I think there are a few different areas of my life . Professionally , Erin Trenbeth-Murray has been a huge mentor to me . It's amazing and I think she's a great example of actively leaning in and actively working to seek connections , to seek opportunities to really be a champion . To provide that feedback , I've worked with her . I actually worked with her at the Red Cross Okay yeah , she was the chief development officer there and I really suddenly came into a leadership role . That was really intimidating .

Speaker 2 29:20

It was an area that was different than my background and I mean she was just such a champion and I was able to look to her and problem solve through situations . And then coming over to Garth Philanthropies , I again I feel like she's just been very proactive in that mentorship role and it's really created that trust where I feel that I can go to her and ask and kind of speak up for what I'm looking for , how I can um receive support . That would be beneficial . So that's been really cool . Professionally , I I'd also say Kathy Garth um , seeing how she um is so kind and how she leads with kindness and also clarity and being purpose driven , it has been a really unique opportunity to work closely with her and so I've really enjoyed that . And then , personally , I come from a family where I have all sisters .

Speaker 1 30:19

It's an all girl family .

Speaker 2 30:21

And so you know , looking to my mom and seeing my mom and how she was so strong in a lot of different life situations , and that example of resiliency and growth mindset and how that has passed along to myself and my sisters , I think that was my first real example of ?

Speaker 1 30:43

Did you know that when you were growing up , or just as you've looked back on your mom , you're like man she was resilient .

Speaker 2 30:49

I would say it was probably my teenage years . It was probably my teenage years and my mom was very open . I'd say it would go back to that deliberate and intentional effort of talking about why and how decisions are made . And one thing that was really cool , that was special about my mom , was she would tell me the stories of women in our family in past generations .

Speaker 2 31:14

Oh , that's so interesting , and so hearing the stories of her and her mom and her grandparents- and her great-grandparents and seeing that I came from this long line of not just women , of strong individuals , but also women who you know they went through different things , like the great depression and , um , my grandma almost lost her eyesight due to diabetes in the seventies and so I actually received her journals from the time that she had three young kids and thought she was going to be losing her sight and she passed before I was born . But getting to see and hear from her own words , my mom really intentionally created those opportunities for me to connect with my lineage .

Speaker 1 31:59

That really warms my heart . Really warms my heart . So you talked about the modeling that you and Erin do , like mentorship , and then you created this mentorship program . I love that . And also Sui Ling just did a big event and talked a lot about ancestry and the power of our ancestors . I loved that . And so for you to bring that up , it kind of gave me chills , because the women who stood up on the stage and claimed their ancestry and that you know we have strong people who came before us who've done the work . We can be resilient . There was something that just really resonated with me that I hadn't heard in the work space before .

Speaker 2 32:39

Right , but I think can be very powerful to think about no , I loved that and I loved the panelists that she had and the women who went up because their ancestry , their , their family stories were all so different , so different that it doesn't look the same way for every , every family , every person , and that that's OK . And then that's OK and it's beautiful .

Speaker 1 33:03

Yes .

Speaker 2 33:04

And so , thinking forward , you know you have children , and myself , as a first time mom , I mean there can be a lot of pressure , I think , in figuring out how you want to be there , how you want to set up your children for healthy , successful , happy lives , of course , and that that looks different for every family . The legacy that you leave is unique .

Speaker 1 33:25

Very cool . Well , this has been a delightful conversation .

Speaker 2 33:31

Yeah , thank you .

Speaker 1 33:31

You are so well spoken and I can see that they're in good hands with you and the mentoring that you do . If the women from our programs or if well , let's ask two questions the women from our programs want to sign up to be mentees , how would they go about ?

Speaker 2 33:47

that Great question . So we are just getting ready to open our applications actually , okay good timing it is . So they can just go to our website it's womenwhosucceedorg Okay and learn a little bit more about the program . We actually have a mentee tab where they can click , learn specifically about the mentorship program , what it entails , and apply there . And then for the women , same thing . We have a membership tab where they can learn more about what membership entails . Or they can reach out to me LinkedIn email and I'm happy to get them connected ?

Speaker 1 34:22

So that was the other part of my question is like our Elevate Her Challenge companies , when they start participating with us and understanding the power of these principles that we teach , do full companies , can they sign in as memberships , or is that an individual that signs up for membership ?

Speaker 2 34:38

We have a really interesting mix of both . We have a lot of individuals , but then in the last two years or so we've started to see groups of leadership teams or just , you know , multiple women in a company who really want to champion that Goldman Sachs , jp Morgan Chase University of Utah . So yeah , we have , we have a good mix Very good .

Speaker 1 34:59

I love that . We will share that . And , in closing , is there anything that we haven't talked about that you would love to bring up in terms of women building , women mentorship , what the future looks like , both personally and in the state ? Anything else you want to make sure our audience hears ?

Speaker 2 35:18

That is a great question . I mean I've really enjoyed our conversation . I feel like we got to cover a lot , but I think the future is bright . I think the future is bright for Utah women . I think that they have that strong leadership that they can look to for guidance . I think that there are incredible women in the state of Utah who are making huge strides , and so the next generation , I feel like , has a bright future ahead of them . But also , I think that there are policies being passed . I think that there are important steps that are being taken and so just encouraging women to lean in and I know that that's a little bit controversial , but lean in to opportunities that are available . Lean in , you know , take the uncomfortable steps , have that bravery and courage , because that is really how change is affected .

Speaker 1 36:11

Yeah , I love that you said that .

Women Empowerment and Political Engagement

Speaker 1 36:14

Um , for our elevate her luncheon that just happened to celebrate our 10 years . Um , we had alumna of our PDS program , our political development series , stand up and say what they've been doing since they graduated . That was incredible . You know city councils . One of the girls said that she was running for the HOA board right , which she'd never done , but for me that was so powerful to see women claim , because empowerment in the workplace is one thing , but then the policies that you talked about are also another layer that I think that we can shore up each other better in . Yes , absolutely . Thanks for bringing that up . Well , it's a pleasure . Let's get more mentors , mentees , let's build more coalitions for Utah .

Speaker 2 36:57

Agreed , agreed . Thank you so much , patti .

Speaker 1 37:00

Yeah , pleasure .