Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders of Utah for 2023. Compared to the national average, Utah’s economy continues to perform strong largely due to its growing population. This year’s awardees are leading within some of the state's largest industries including financial services, healthcare, information technology, education, and more. We acknowledge these individuals for not only their professional achievements, but their personal strength, tenacity, and resilience.
This year’s awardees include Hannah Williams, Chief Operating Officer of Almora Advisors, whose background with Goldman Sachs, The New York Community Trust, and the David Rockefeller Fund have provided her with a unique outlook on wealth accumulation and distribution. Awardee Lindsay Bayuk, Chief Marketing Officer of Pluralsight, oversees the company’s global marketing organization and leads the development and execution of their go to market strategy for its products and services. Also awarded is Suzette Blakemore, Vice President of Enterprise Sales at FranklinCovey, who leads 160 salespeople and is accountable for 20% annual growth and almost $160 million in annual sales revenue for the business consulting and talent management company.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Leaders of Utah for 2023.
3. Hannah Williams
Chief Operating Officer, Almora Advisors
Hannah Williams is a philanthropic leader and champion for the nonprofit sector. She currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Almora Advisors, a national consulting firm for nonprofits, foundations, and corporate grantmakers. In this role, Williams leads business development in the Western US by helping clients strengthen their fundraising, board governance, and strategic planning efforts. A business-savvy thinker, Williams also manages the company’s budget and accounting systems. A women-led firm, Almora Advisors was founded on the principle that all organizations should have access to high-quality, high impact consultants. From 2021 – 2022, Williams and the leadership team grew revenue by 329% and doubled the number of clients served. Williams first joined the company in 2020 as Director of Strategy and Evaluation.
Williams works in Community Engagement and Responsibility at Zions Bank and previously worked in communications and grantmaking capacities for The New York Community Trust and David Rockefeller Fund. She received her undergraduate degrees in economics and finance from Westminster College in Salt Lake City and her master’s degree in nonprofit management from Columbia University in New York. Williams serves on numerous boards and committees, including the Westminster Honors College, Utah Philanthropy Day, and Utah Nonprofits Association.
5. Kate Moss
Senior Vice President & Market Executive, Bank of America
Kate Moss is a Senior Vice President and Market Executive for Bank of America. She first joined the organization in 2018 as a relationship manager. Moss develops and executes Bank of America’s local strategic plan across all lines of business. She also manages the local market's philanthropy, sponsorships and community relations; executes national initiatives; develops and coordinates leadership team communication, protocols and visibility. She influences business integration and robust employee engagement to deliver one company to clients and communities.
Prior to joining Bank of America, Moss served as an executive director for Susan. G. Komen Utah and before that she served as a marketing communications manager for YWCA Utah. Moss was briefly an adjunct professor for the University of Utah where she graduated with an MBA and undergraduate in sociology. She serves as a board member for the Salt Lake Chamber, with the United Way of Salt Lake and for the Women’s Business Center of Utah.
8. Suzette Blakemore
Vice President of Enterprise Sales, FranklinCovey
Suzette Blakemore is the Vice President of Sales for FranklinCovey’s enterprise division where she leads 160 salespeople and is accountable for 20% annual growth and almost $160 million in annual sales revenue. At FranklinCovey for 10 years, Suzette has served in multiple positions from productivity practice leader to managing director. She is a subject matter expert for FranklinCovey’s communication advantage series and is well known for her practical approach to achieving and sustaining high levels of effective productivity. Suzette is also a beloved speaker, editor, and co-author of a best selling book.
Prior to joining FranklinCovey in 2012, Suzette spent over 20 years in corporate work moving from a top producing salesperson to executive team member. Suzette has held leadership roles in learning development, business development, franchise development and sales. She has worked with executives at Fortune 500 companies and small business owners in the US, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brazil, Russia, Japan, and the UK. She is passionate about people, business strategy and motivated to help others achieve success.
Suzette has served on multiple board and peer committees and enjoys volunteering wherever she can. She has three adult children and 3 grandchildren. When she isn’t spending time with them, she, and her husband John love to travel. Some of her favorite places include Australia, Costa Rica, Italy, Ireland and much of the US. Suzette is an avid reader, scuba diver, baker, and Malamute mom.
13. Julie Castle
Chief Executive Officer, Best Friends Animal Society
Following her magna cum laude graduation from Southern Utah University, Julie Castle and some friends made a brief stop at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary while on vacation in the mid-90’s. Forever transformed, Julie decided to forgo a career in law for a low-paying, high-demand job working in a remote Utah canyon helping animals in need.
As employee number 17 at Best Friends Animal Society, Julie worked her way up the ranks to become the organization’s first female CEO in March 2018. In between she helped build the organization into a $130M, 800-employee strong national leader in animal welfare. Julie started her tenure as CEO with the bold commitment to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by the year 2025.
Prior to her CEO role, Julie served as Best Friends’ chief development & marketing officer, doubling the organization’s revenue and support within a four-year span. Under her leadership, Best Friends earned the Harris Poll EquiTrend Non-Profit Brand of the Year four times, including most recently in 2018.
Julie has championed the concept of multiple non-profit organizations, private and public municipalities and the corporate foundation sector putting aside competitive interests and joining forces to publicly tackle a shared social problem. Named by InStyle magazine as one of the Badass 50 Women Changing the World in August, 2018, Julie has spoken at TedX in Salt Lake City, Columbia Business School, the BUILD Series in NYC, and headlines the closing session at the Best Friends National Conference every year. Julie lives with her husband Gregory Castle, a Best Friends’ founder and CEO-emeritus, and their two dogs in Kanab, Utah.
14. Rikki Hemsley
VP of Learning and Talent Development, Wasatch Property Management
Rikki Hemsley is the Vice President of Learning and Talent Development for Wasatch Property Management. She has spent the last 23 years developing her career in property management, from starting as a community leasing agent to director of training and regional vice president.
Rikki has received the designations of CPM and ARM through IREM, denoting her expertise in the multifamily housing industry, and currently serves as a member of their board of directors. She has helped develop strategies for training and talent development that have ensured success for Wasatch Property Management employees' growth and development. Inspiring others to believe in themselves and tap into their full potential is her true passion.
15. Laura Peifer
Employee Benefits Consultant & Vice President, GBS Benefits
Laura Peifer has nearly 30 years of healthcare industry experience and joined the GBS Benefits team as an employee benefits broker in 2011. Formerly with Wise Provider Networks (WPN) as a principal consultant, she handled the negotiation, contracting, and management of custom healthcare networks. In her specialized role she worked with many high-profile and Fortune 500 companies.
At GBS Benefits, Laura works with large corporate clients headquartered throughout the country. Laura has experience with both fully-insured and self-funded arrangements. Her clients appreciate her strategic approach which is centered on developing cost-saving strategies. She has partnered with the Associated Builders & Contractors to create an exclusive health insurance pool for businesses looking to avoid community rating.
Laura has been a repeat recipient of the prestigious Chairman’s Circle Award recognizing the top 10 insurance brokers within the nationwide Leavitt Group organization. Within the community, she is a member of Women Who Succeed, a program that provides mentoring, scholarships, and internship opportunities to girls and young women in the community. Laura also serves on the board of Kids Read! and co-founded the Kids Eat! program providing meals to children and families at home and after school in Utah. Laura earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah, is a member of the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women, and is licensed in health, life, and disability Insurance.
18. Laura Stireman
Regional Vice President, WCF Insurance
Laura Stireman the Regional Vice President of Utah at WCF Insurance. Laura has been with WCF Insurance for 25 years and has held a variety of positions from claims to sales. In her current role, Laura focuses on assisting agencies with WCF’s staged growth into multi-peril products along with leading and coordinating many aspects of sales operations, including core functions, procedures, incentive trips, and feedback councils.
Laura most enjoys the opportunity to work with people from varied backgrounds. She loves to volunteer and currently serves on the Utah Black Chamber Board. She also volunteers with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and Judge Memorial High School. When not working or volunteering, Laura enjoys traveling, hiking and exploring.
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20. Aubrey Bates
COO, Dentive
Having served in senior leadership positions for more than ten years, Aubrey Bates made an unconventional choice to depart from the corporate arena and pursue her individual interests. Prior to her migration, as the Chief Operating Officer, she spearheaded Dentive, a rapidly expanding dental service organization, to achieve numerous significant milestones and accomplishments. These include creating a platform to facilitate a distinctive joint-ownership business model, acquiring over 70 locations across nine states, and partnering with a prominent middle-market PE firm, HGGC. Aubrey’s executive expertise encompasses a broad range of enterprises, ranging from startups and nonprofits to multi-billion-dollar global organizations, all with a shared need for innovation, rapid transformation, and substantial expansion.
Aubrey's expertise extends beyond being an advocate for operations and efficiency; she is also renowned for her practical approach to strategy, coaching, leadership, and organizational development. Her diverse experience, combined with her enthusiasm, determination, and insightful comprehension of cultural and organizational nuances, creates an exceptional blend of skills. Aubrey has been honored with numerous awards during her career, including recognition by Utah Business Magazine as one of Utah's most accomplished and influential women, and acknowledgment by Utah Valley Magazine as one of the top 40 professionals under the age of 40 who are propelling the future of business.
Motivated by her aspiration to effect change, Aubrey has redirected her attention from the corporate sphere to the community. As a woman with numerous interests, she has resumed working directly with individuals and organizations as a highly sought-after consultant, coach and mentor. Additionally, she is the founder of a startup that equips single mothers battling cancer with the resources and knowledge to establish a home-based business. Alongside her spouse, Aubrey is augmenting their expertise and qualifications in holistic, functional and integrative medicine, pursuing their vision of creating a haven for wellness.
21. Mairi Leining
Chief Executive Officer, People's Health Clinic
Dr. Mairi Leining is the Chief Executive Officer of The People’s Health Clinic (PHC), a national award-winning, free, community clinic that serves as an essential safety net for the uninsured residents of Summit and Wasatch Counties, Utah. Most PHC patients are undocumented residents who live below the 100 percent Federal Poverty Level and are not eligible for government subsidies. In 2021, the clinic provided over 13,000 patient encounters for community members in need.
Dr. Leining is also an MPH candidate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an adjunct assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah. She received her medical degree from Georgetown University and completed her residency training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School.
22. Natalie Okeson
Vice President of Corporate Responsibility & External Affairs, Clarke Capital
Natalie Okeson is the Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and External Affairs for Clarke Capital Partners, a family office headquartered in Utah’s Silicon Slopes. In her role, Natalie drives the corporate responsibility efforts of her company while enhancing the efficacy of those of its portfolio companies. Natalie serves as the Executive Director of the Labor and Honor Foundation, the private foundation of the Clarke family.
Natalie’s previous roles include serving as the northern Nevada director for US Senator, Jacky Rosen; executive director of PHOCUSED, a health and human services advocacy nonprofit in Hawaii; director of development at Utah Valley University; and she spent several years in legislative affairs, national campaigns, and higher education public service and outreach.
Natalie holds an MA degree in nonprofit management from the University of Georgia, an MA in political science from Virginia Tech, and is pursuing a graduate certificate in corporate sustainability and innovation through Harvard. She sits on the board of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, two public school’s community councils, and was a BusinessQ Magazine 40 Under 40 recipient in 2022. Natalie and her husband, Todd, have three children and live the commonly uncommon life of a Division I men’s basketball coaching family.
23. Robyn Burkinshaw
Founder & CEO, BlytzPay
Robyn Burkinshaw is the Founder and CEO of BlytzPay, a FinTech startup focused on payments technology. She is a highly motivated, driven executive with a passion for improving financial access for everyone.
Robyn has held several prominent positions in both law firms and fintech startups prior to founding BlytzPay. She began her career as a business development executive at an established law firm, where she quickly grew the practice capacity by 80%. She then moved on to create the Orange Marketing Group, her own agency that specialized in home financing. Lastly, Robyn became part of another fintech startup before founding BlytzPay in 2016.
Since launching BlytzPay, Robyn has spearheaded initiatives on every level from growing their customer base to creating innovative payment mechanisms. Her success can be attributed to her ability to navigate complex legal systems while still managing a resilient team culture. Moreover, she is determined to use technology as a tool to provide accessible banking services and options to all communities, including those who have historically been excluded from traditional banking systems.
29. Krista Parry
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, SisterUp
Krista Parry is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SisterUp. SisterUp elevates the voices of female connectors, thinkers and builders that are making a positive impact in society through its podcast and media network and its management division.
Previously, Krista served as the chief operating officer at CRUDE, a soap-free skincare company. Before that, she served as a senior vice president of partnerships and media for POWDR where she helped evolve the company from a resort operator to a premier active lifestyle brand. Krista holds an undergraduate degree in communication, journalism, and related programs from Utah State University.
31. Sarah Harding
Chief Marketing Officer, Holistic Spirits
Sarah Harding is the Founder of Crunchy SuperMom, a holistic education resource and productivity program for women. She specializes in social media marketing, email marketing, systems creation, metrics analysis, technology and brand development. In addition to creating proprietary systems for entrepreneurs, Sarah has consulted on numerous digital projects for CRMs, mobile apps, website development, content marketing strategy and affiliate marketing. Her success in the network marketing industry was primarily due to her expertise in social media marketing and training/onboarding systems. Through her leadership coaching program called Simple Systems with Sarah, a social selling success system, she has been able to teach others how to duplicate her success in the network marketing industry.
Prior to launching her own company, Sarah was an instructor for several business and psychology institutions offering business psychology and organizational psychology courses for business professionals. She wrote for numerous digital media outlets like Psychology Today, LiveSTRONG, and was a top creator for DemandMedia Studios as an expert in health, wellness and psychology.
33. Darcy Douglas
Vice President of Global Program Management, Taulia
Darcy Douglas is an accomplished financial technology executive with over 25 years of experience in leading organizations. As Vice President of Global Program Management, she is responsible for overseeing the achievement of the company’s top growth initiatives and organizational goals. This includes identifying and managing cross-initiative dependencies, defining standards and processes for successful completion of those initiatives, and identifying and managing risk.
Darcy also understands the importance of company culture and has a passion for mentoring and empowering the employees at Taulia, Inc. She created the Taulia LIFT program that includes a mentoring program, guest speakers, employee-led training/sharing of their skills and talents, and a support group focused on the women of Taulia. She also created the Taulia Leadership Program, a year-long program, focused on 4 to 5 individuals, to create and develop the future leaders of Taulia.
Darcy has an undergraduate degree in project management and is a Project Management Professional (PMP). In her free time Darcy enjoys being in the mountains of Utah with all of the activities that those surroundings provide.
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36. Heather Curtis
Medical Director & Attending Psychiatrist, Bingham Healthcare
Heather completed medical school at the University of Utah, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, UT. She then completed an internship in internal medicine at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. Heather returned to the University of Utah to complete Psychiatry Residency at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute, now Huntsman Mental Health Institute, in Salt Lake City, UT. During residency Heather was certified in Global Mental Health, Complementary Medicine practices, & Traumatology with emphasis on veteran trauma & sexual violence.
Also during training, she pursued advanced psychotherapy certifications and was trained in Acceptance & Commitment Therapy by Vijay Shankar, PsyD who supported creation of I Thrive Incorporated, the 501c3 nonprofit organization Heather created serving survivors of trauma and sexual violence. In support of Heather’s work in traumatology & global mental health, she pursued complimentary & integrated medicine training abroad including advanced training in Eastern wisdom, tantric spirituality, yoga, meditation, & breath-work in both Thailand & India. She volunteered to provide PTSD group therapy to veterans and was published twice in mindfulness with the Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Medical Center PTSD & Whole Health programs in addition to previous publications with the University of Utah Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and ‘Rubor,’ the University of Utah School of Medicine Medical Humanities Journal.
Post residency Heather has worked with her nonprofit and as an inpatient medical director where she has supervised teams of therapists, social workers, & APRNs to provide inpatient hospital care to psychiatric patients. She is presently serving as medical director and attending psychiatrist for Bingham Memorial Hospital, Idaho’s largest critical access hospital, via on-site and tele-psychiatry services.
Heather resides in her home state of Utah in downtown Salt Lake City where she continues as executive director of her 501c3 nonprofit, I Thrive Incorporated. Heather is currently enrolled in the California Institute of Integral Studies Psychedelic Therapies and Research certificate program and is pursuing mentorship in Integrated Medicine by a practicing Integrated Medicine Psychiatrist. She is currently working with our local governing and licensing bodies to ensure the safe implementation of the legal psychedelic sciences in Utah and beyond and will be studying with the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma this spring.
37. Angie Adams
Director Clinical Operations, Intermountain Healthcare
Angie Adams is the Director of Clinical Operations of Intermountain Healthcare, the nonprofit system of hospitals, surgery centers, doctors, and clinics that serves the medical needs of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Adams has spent the last 22 years with the organization. She started in 2001 serving as a critical care registered nurse before moving on to various roles including operations manager, clinical manager of ConnectCare and compliance manager. Adams graduated from Western Governors University with an MBA in business administration and management and from the University of Utah with an undergraduate degree in nursing science and psychology.
38. Cornelia Scheitz
Senior Director of Programs & Business Excellence, Autodesk
Cornelia Scheitz is the Senior Director of Programs and Business Excellence at Autodesk. In this role she is responsible for aligning and empowering teams across Autodesk to deliver platform services that help their customers succeed. She first joined the company in 2016 as a product manager. Before her career in the software technology space, Scheitz was a VP of science at Transcriptic. She earned a PhD in genetics from Cornell University, an MS in human molecular genetics from Imperial College London, and an undergraduate degree in biochemistry & cell biology from Jacobs University Bremen, Germany.
Creating and collaborating with diverse, innovative, and high performing teams is what energizes her. This, and the opportunity to work with brilliant and creative colleagues from analysts to engineers, is what brought her to Autodesk. Together they step up, roll up their sleeves and create the possibilities they know lie ahead to make a better, more sustainable world.
Autodesk is changing how the world is designed and made. Their technology spans architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media, and entertainment, empowering innovators everywhere to solve challenges big and small. From greener buildings to more innovative products to mesmerizing blockbusters, Autodesk software helps its customers make anything.
40. Karen Leonardi
Senior Director of Development, Dumke College of Health Professions, Weber State University
Karen Leonardi is the Senior Director of Development for the Dumke College of Health at Weber State University. She transitioned to philanthropy in higher education after dedicating more than three decades of expertise to the Utah health insurance industry. She devoted years of her career to Intermountain Health Care as a senior business development executive. Additionally, she worked as a senior associate and consultant at Mercer.
Leonardi exercised her entrepreneurial spirit, and founded Leonardi Benefit Design, Inc. in 2005. She built a solid practice with a reputation for exceeding her clients' expectations in strategic benefit planning.
A Utah native, community involvement is an absolute priority for Leonardi serving as a member of many local boards & foundations. She is a past chair of the Ogden Weber Chamber of Commerce and Women in Business. She also serves as a Spiker, an ambassador group for Ogden businesses. Her new appointments are Rotary Club of Ogden, Board of Trustees, Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo, WSUAA Alumni Executive Board and Commissioner, Utah Women in the Economy.
An exemplary leader, Leonardi was honored as chairperson of the year for the Ogden Weber Chamber and received the YCC Spirit of the American Woman award. Recently, she was honored with the UAHU Jim Haig Call to Action Award, an insurance industry recognition. Leonardi holds a master’s degree in organizational management and an undergraduate degree in communications and business from Weber State University.
41. Tracy O’Connor Mathiason
Director of Procurement Governance & Ethical Compliance, Dyno Nobel
Tracy O’Connor Mathiason joined Dyno Nobel in 2004 and currently holds the position of Director, Procurement Governance & Ethical Compliance. Dyno Nobel Inc. is a global leader in the commercial explosives industry. Established over 180 years ago, by Alfred Nobel who changed the world with his invention of dynamite and the detonator in the mid-1800′s and changed it again when he founded the world famous Nobel Prizes.
As a performance driven, multi-skilled senior manager and creative thinker, Tracy thrives on collaborating with cross functional and global teams to take the challenges seen in the big picture and turning them into opportunities for improvement. With 25 years of experience, 18 with Dyno Nobel, Tracy has acquired a diverse set of business skills and knowledge that include a keen understanding of identifying business needs and developing, implementing, and managing processes and programs to address them. She has had repeated successes in deploying processes to streamline corporate operations, increase efficiency and enhance profit performance.
Tracy is responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of procurement policies and procedure, governance, risk management, analytics, reporting, training, communications. category management, contracting, supplier due diligence, interface management. In support of ESG & Sustainability she is a key member of the global Dyno Nobel Human Rights Group, particularly in the development and implementation of an ethical procurement program in relation to human rights and modern slavery ensuring compliance to legislation.
Through various programs throughout her career, Tracy has mentored women both formally and informally. Dyno Nobel champions DEI and has recently been selected as one of 100 Utah Companies Championing Women, which is awarded by the State of Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. Tracy graduated with undergraduate degree, with honors from Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and holds CPP, CPPM certifications.
42. Jamy Dahle
Assistant Director of Booth Wellness Center, Utah Tech University
Jamy Dahle joined the UT Wellness Center in 2017. She graduated from Eastern Washington University in 2006 with a master’s degree in social work. Jamy has worked in outpatient treatment settings in direct practice, administration, clinical supervision, wellness programming, and outreach. She provides individual, couples/family, and group therapy and has received specialized training for trauma and substance abuse issues.
Jamy enjoys working with students on their new-found adventure at UT and can help address concerns with adjustment, trauma, LQBTQ+ issues, substance use, spirituality, anxiety, depression, overall wellness, and more. She is a certified QPR suicide awareness and prevention trainer, Prime For Life Trainer, as well as certified MRT instructor. Jamy is an adjunct faculty in FSHD at UT Tech.
43. Lori Samuels
Senior Director of Accessibility, NBCUniversal Media
Lori Samuels is the Senior Director of Accessibility at NBCUniversal. She leads strategic accessibility programs to institute best practices in inclusive design, provide training for digital product organizations, drive cultural maturity in disability inclusion, and fortify executive sponsorship. She is one of the global advisors for NBCUniversal’s MyAbilities Employee Resource Group to support disability inclusion in the workplace and authentic disability representation in media.
Lori grew up in Boston and moved to San Francisco just in time for the big earthquake in 1989.
She and her family now live in northern Utah, where they enjoy skiing, camping, hiking, and boating in the beautiful Wasatch mountains.
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44. Tanya Ludwig
Director Talent Acquisition, YesCare
Tanya Ludwig is a talent acquisition leader with expertise in aligning innovative solutions to achieve business objectives. She is accomplished in building high-tech, high-growth teams with a keen focus on leadership, full-cycle talent acquisition, culture, DE&I, and process improvement in fast-paced environments. Her happy places are healthcare, CPG, iOT, cybersecurity, AI/ML, engineering, product, design, and corporate recruiting.
45. Tiana Rogers
Senior Director of Impact Strategy, Sorenson Impact
Dr. Tiana Rogers is a serial entrepreneur, transformational coach, and applied social impact researcher; PhD–not MD, so she prescribes perspective not prescriptions. Dr. Rogers currently serves as Senior Director of Impact Strategy at the Sorenson Impact Center, located within the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. Her career has centered on helping large- and small-scale public and private entities use data to address and solve difficult social problems. Dr. Rogers is also co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of BLK Haven, an online mental health platform connecting Black people to Black clinicians.
Example brands and teams that Dr. Rogers has worked with include: Starbucks, Target, Netflix, the University of California Berkeley, JPMorgan Chase, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and the International Leadership Institute. She is a 2017 Outstanding Young Minnesotans Awardee, 2020 Visionary Leadership Awardee, Utah Business Magazine’s 2021 Inspirational Leader awardee, University of Utah’s 2022 Career Champion of the Year, and Girl Scouts of Utah’s 2022 Life Skills Girl Champion Honoree. Dr. Rogers is deeply passionate about making an impact and empowering underrepresented people in entrepreneurship, mental health, and wellness.
46. Brittney Starnes
Director of Program Management Office, Innovations in Nutrition and Wellness
Brittney Starnes began her professional career 12 years ago as an acknowledged leader who has proven as a successful woman in business. Today, she leads as the Director of Program Management for the INW Group. Best-in-class manufacturer across the spectrum of nutrition and wellness products, INW combines decades of groundbreaking biomedical research experience with a legacy of world-class production. Its unparalleled product development, marketing and sales solutions, and IP management are designed to drive the bottom line. The company offers a comprehensive suite of capabilities, including R&D, manufacturing, on-site laboratory testing, packaging, logistics, and more. Its mission is to provide nutrition and wellness products with the utmost quality, innovation, and customer care, and Starnes is an intricate part of driving the company’s success.
Starnes successfully started with the United States Air Force in 2010 as a chief, operations & program supervisor holding a variety of leadership roles at the Complex Headquarters in program management, human resources, software maintenance, process improvement, strategy, and contract oversight, landing her multiple civilian awards. As an accomplished leader serving in various positions within the offices of the United States Department of Defense, she had the opportunity to spread her wings, landing her most recent position joining INW Group. Starnes has successfully applied her highest level of education and leadership skills, in successfully standing up, The LAB Studios, and Green Ridge LLC, as director and CEO, allowing her to give back to her community in her spare time.
47. Nicole Barbaro
Director of Communications & Marketing, Heterodox Academy
Nicole Barbaro is a passionate writer, educator, and scientist with diverse experience in the nonprofit education sector working to improve higher education. Nicole currently works as the Director of Communications and Marketing at Heterodox Academy, where she leads their organization-wide communications strategy, and manages our external communications, owned content and all owned channels.
Nicole earned her PhD in psychology with a specialization in evolution and human development from Oakland University. She is an accomplished social scientist having published more than 50 scholarly journal articles, research reports and briefs, and numerous popular press articles in outlets such as Inside Higher Education and Behavioral Scientist. Nicole has also been an adjunct professor of psychology for six years, most recently at Utah Valley University.
View the complete list of awardees.