2020 has been a challenging year particularly with COVID-19. Our long established personal and professional routines have been upended. The boundaries between the different domains of our lives have become increasingly blurred. We are navigating work, home life, schooling, care responsibilities, faith, health and finances in ways that we probably never imagined. Women, in particular, have been impacted significantly and potentially contemplating life changes that will have possible long term implications for careers. Join us for a panel discussion which will explore strategies to help us navigate multiple dimensions of our professional and personal lives in the COVID-19 era and beyond.

Moderator:

Mary Anne Berzins, University of Utah

Mary Anne Berzins is the institutional representative for the University of Utah and has worked with UWHEN since its creation. She is the current Past Chair of the UWHEN Board. Berzins has extensive HR experience in a wide range of industry sectors and joined the University of Utah in 2004. She is passionate about leadership development, mentoring and coaching. Berzins presents and facilitates workshops in a wide range of settings, loves working with individuals and groups to advance their success and the multiple opportunities she gets to interact with so many amazing, higher education colleagues brings her great joy.

Panelists:

Shalini Kesar, Southern Utah University

Dr. Kesar is an associate professor of information systems at Southern Utah University and Director of MS- Cyber Security & Information Assurance (CSIA) program. She has found a niche in Southern Utah and become a role model while enhancing awareness by motivating females in considering technology in their education and career. Her main outreach projects are in southern Utah rural audiences where skills and resources are limited. Kesar was recognized as 2016 Education Excellence Award by Women Tech Council. The event recognizes technology-focused women who are innovators, leaders and key contributors in STEM fields.

Bonnie Andersen, Utah Valley University

Dr. Andersen is the only female faculty member in Physics at UVU. She is passionate about the goals of UWHEN and helping make science more accessible. She is the past president for the UVU UWHEN. She participates regularly in outreach events, such as SheTech. In 2017, she organized the first UVU Science Camps for children 7-12. Andersen has had low vision all of her life, which prevents her from driving. Additionally, she has been a single mother for the past seven years to two children, one of which has ADHD. She finds joy in her faith, gardening, and running.

Ruchi Watson, University of Utah

Dr. Watson, MBA, Ed.D. is Managing Director of the Goff Strategic Leadership Center and faculty member in the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy at the University of Utah. She also serves as co-chair for the university’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and was founding chair of the UofU Chapter of UWHEN. Prior to working the UofU, Watson spent 10 years in the corporate sector at Fortune 500 companies. Watson graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BS in chemical engineering and earned an MBA from Northwestern University. Watson holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

Wendy Fox Kirk, Weber State University

Dr. Fox Kirk is Department Chair for Business Administration & Marketing (Goddard School of Business & Economics). She researches gender, power and identity in relation to women’s careers. She was selected as ILA’s 2019 Outstanding Emerging Scholar. She publishes Gender in Management: An international journal; Human Resource Development International and, Advances in Developing Human Resources. She has chapters in Handbook of research on gender and leadership and, Theorizing women & leadership: New insights & contributions from multiple perspectives. (IAP.) She is also a consulting editor for the Journal of Leadership Studies, and the Journal of Education for Business.

Katie Mazzie, UHEAA

Katie Mazzie, MPA, serves as Manager of Outreach and Scholarships at the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA). She has dedicated her career to improving access and equity in higher education, both through her work with UHEAA and in her previous position working in the Salt Lake City School District’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program for aspiring first-generation college students. Mazzie received her Bachelor’s degrees in History and Political Science and her Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Utah.

 

Membership Reminder 

You are a UWHEN member if you are employed by any of the following: Brigham Young University, Dixie State University, Ensign College, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, Salt Lake Community College, Snow College, Southern Utah University, University of Utah, Utah System of Technical Colleges, Utah State University, Utah State University – Eastern (Price), Utah System of Higher Education, Utah Valley University, Weber State University, Western Governors University, and Westminster College.