Big Changes at Utah AWP

Exciting changes are coming to the Utah Chapter of AWP! After a year of dialogues and learning on the topic of “Dismantling White Supremacy” we have taken notes and are making some structural changes to our chapter. Utah AWP is committed to mobilizing the power and passion of our membership to support activism and advocacy that promotes our vision of equitable access to mental health and wellbeing for all. 

In 2022 we will be launching two new groups of Utah AWP, an Activism Caucus and a BIPOC Advisory Council. These two groups will help guide our focus on initiatives that will transform Utah’s mental health system to address structural oppression and discrimination. If you are interested in joining either of these groups, please submit your expression of interest at this link. We are looking to build and recruit Implementation Collective members and caucus participants. 

Changes on the Implementation Collective  

Our Implementation Collective is growing and changing as we embark on these changes at Utah AWP. Chapter co-founder and long-time Implementation Collective Member (affectionately known as IMP’s) Donna Hawxhurst has retired her position as Co-Coordinator after 26 years as an active member of our chapter. On behalf of Utah AWP, we extend a huge thanks to Donna for her years of mentorship, activism, and wisdom. Donna will continue to be an active member of Utah AWP as an IMP Emerita. Current IMP Amber Choruby Whiteley will take over as a Co-Coordinator (CoCo) with current CoCo Denise Francis Montaño. 

We are thrilled to welcome a new IMP, Katherine Aguilera, into our collective as the Membership Coordinator. Katherine joins us with years of programming design and implementation experience, you can learn more about her and our current Implementation Collective on our website.

Honoring Dr. Susan L. Morrow

On Saturday, December 22, 2018 Dr. Susan L. Morrow, PhD, 76, died peacefully at her Salt Lake City home. Dr. Morrow, or Sue as most of us called her, co-founded the Utah Chapter of the Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) and left her mark on every individual and community she touched.

Sue with her spouse Donna

Utah AWP Co-Coordinator Dr. Denise E. Francis-Montaño shared the following about Sue’s legacy. “Sue helped me see myself, a Black woman, and others in a different light, from a non-deficit perspective. She was part of a sister circle who helped me understand and practice true inclusion and social justice. Sue walked the non-deficit approach talk; she modeled looking for and finding the strengths and abilities in me as a student. She took the time to instruct my academic writing, something no other faculty in my undergraduate years did. As an unwavering feminist multicultural faculty, practitioner, trainer, presenter, mentor, human; Sue collaborated with many to bring creative ways of having difficult dialogues to the table i.e., Pie and more Pie.”

Susan Lyons, Utah AWP Programming Coordinator and founding member shared the following  about Sue and her role in Utah AWP, “Until Sue and Donna moved to Salt Lake City, I had never heard of AWP. I was a feminist therapist without a community. AWP has made a positive  difference in my professional and personal life. We would not have an active AWP chapter in Utah if it had not been for Sue, and Donna. Sue contributed so much, as a mentor to many students and to the feminist, multicultural  and LGBT community. It is hard to believe that she is gone. She will be greatly missed.”

On Sunday, January 6th those who loved and learned from Sue gathered all over the country to raise a glass in her memory. Many shared photos of their toasts to Sue (see below) on social media.

Sue’s obituary can be found here. Text from her obituary is included below.

Dr. Susan L. Morrow, PhD, 76, died peacefully at her Salt Lake City home on Saturday, December 22. Sue was born November 18, 1942, to the late Helen and Howard Rodekohr and was elder sister to Steve and the late Chuck Rodekohr.
She married her spouse, Dr. Donna Hawxhurst, in 2014, after 38 years as life partners, collaborators, and activists in their community and beyond.

Sue was a lifelong advocate for equality, social change and cross-cultural understanding.  She was Professor Emerita of Educational Psychology from University of Utah, where she taught from 1993 to 2019, after receiving her Ph.D. from Arizona State University in 1992. She was well known in her field of Feminist Qualitative Research, Counseling Psychology and Social Justice and received many awards throughout her career.  She was an active member of both national and local Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) chapters and co-coordinated three national conferences.

Beyond her life as an influential educator, mentor,and groundbreaking scientist, she was a mother to Andrei and Christina.  She was Second Violin in the Tempe, Arizona Symphony Orchestra and could be heard playing her violin at home in duet with Donna at piano. She had a strong connection to the natural world and deep love for the Grand Canyon and Colorado River made her heart sing. Sue was known for her joie de vivre, amazing hugs, laugh, strength and kindness.

She is remembered by the many people whose lives she has touched, including her spouse, Donna; son, Andrei Hedstrom; daughter, Christina Hedstrom; brother, Steve Rodekohr; daughter-in-law, Sherry Hedstrom; heart daughter, Gabrielle Freedom; granddaughters, Raine Hedstrom and Michaela Freedom; as well as her sisters-in-law and seven nieces.

Call for Scholarships

The Utah Chapter of the Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) is dedicated to supporting education and leadership opportunities for our members. Membership fees are collected to support scholarships to the national AWP conference, held annually each March.

The Utah AWP Implementation Collective (IMPS) is now accepting applications for scholarships to our members who hope to attend the 2017 AWP Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin March 2-5, 2017. The conference theme is “What Color is you Collar? Privilege, Power, and Social Class.” You can obtain information on the 2017 AWP conference site at http://www.awp2017.org/ .

The full call for scholarships, including instructions on how to apply, can be found below. We welcome your applications by or before December 19^th. 

Utah Association for Women in Psychology

AWP Conference Scholarship Information & Application

AWP Conference 2017, Milwaukee, March 2nd–5th

The 2017 AWP Annual Conference will be held in Milwaukee the first week in March. Follow the link below for complete information & the call for proposals, available on the conference webpage and accepted until November 1, 1016. The conference theme is “What Color is your Collar? Privilege, Power, & Social Class.”

There are a number of scholarship options for the AWP Annual Conference.  Scholarship support from national AWP includes discounted shared hotel rooms, options for volunteer exchange by providing services on site, reduced conference fees for people with limited financial resources, and possible assistance through cash reimbursements, depending on the conference site. You can obtain all of this information on the 2017 AWP conference site at http://www.awp2017.org/ . From the conference website you can get information about applying for financial aid by accessing the registration information on the top bar of the page.

Utah AWP hopes to provide financial support to those who would otherwise have difficulty attending the AWP Conference.  The amounts awarded will be based on number of qualified applicants, amount requested, and need. We would hope to support as many applicants as possible. In submitting your application please be mindful of our hope to make this conference available to those who could not attend without some level of financial support   You must be a Utah AWP member (this is a separate membership from national AWP) in order to apply for a conference scholarship. To become a member of Utah AWP, visit the Utah AWP website at www.utahawp.org . If you are unsure of your membership status you may contact Mindy MacDougall (mindymac@sisna.com).

Priority for funding will be given based on financial need and membership in Utah AWP. Students, people of underrepresented groups, first-time AWP Conference presenters, other AWP Conference Presenters, and individuals who have contributed through service to Utah or national AWP will receive special consideration.

***********************************************

To apply for scholarship funds from Utah AWP, please provide the following information in an email directed to Donna Hawxhurst (dhawxhurst@sa.utah.edu)  before December 19, 2016:

Name:

E-mail Address:

Are you a Utah AWP member?

Have you submitted a proposal to present at this year’s AWP Conference?

Title of proposed or accepted presentation:

Are you a first-time proposer/presenter?

If you consider yourself to be a member of an “underrepresented group,” please describe (Optional):

Briefly describe your need for funding for this conference (e.g., limited income due to student or retirement status; sole support of children or parents; limited income profession; partial employment, etc.).

How much scholarship money are you requesting?

What other sources of funding have you applied for or have you been informed you will receive? Please include amounts.

Donation Drive Day 5: Why Utah AWP Matters (to me)

As we near the end of our Utah AWP donation drive, after 4 days of posts about the many programs and resources Utah AWP offers, we hope you understand why we ask for your monetary support. For those of you who have not yet taken the step to become a member or make a donation, I would like to talk more personally about why Utah AWP matters to me.

I became active with Utah AWP as a graduate student in 2012. My immediate experience was relief. Going into my third year of graduate school, I was already feeling burned out and unsure about my identity as a clinician. While I loved the idea of being a therapist, when I put theory into practice it was falling short. I knew I wanted to work one-on-one in the micro-level clinical setting, however I wasn’t sure what to do about my passion for activism and systemic change. When I engaged with others in my field about these issues, I felt like a “Debbie Downer.”

When I found Utah AWP it felt like home. My identity as a therapist was validated, and over time I have found opportunities within AWP to grow and expand my skills as both a clinician and an activist. I have learned how to identify my orientation as a intersectional feminist practitioner. I have found community.

In March of 2014 I attended a national AWP conference in San Francisco where I had the pleasure of connecting with my AWP community and meeting the incredible Angela Davis (pictured above). This has been a highlight of my career, and it would not have been possible without my connection to Utah AWP.

I support Utah AWP because it has allowed me to holistically approach the work that I do, and I want others to have similar experiences. Please consider becoming a member or making a donation today. Your money will provide scholarships for the 2015 national AWP conference, providing connection and community for professionals or students with limited means.

Share in the comments below why Utah AWP matters to you, and don’t forget to visit our donation drive page to become a member or make your donation today!

With warmth and solidarity,

Mara Haight, Utah AWP Membership Coordinator

Donation Drive Day 4 – Join the Utah AWP Community

Utah’s Association of Women in Psychology (UT AWP) is community.

Individual: My name is Amanda. I am a brown, Latina/Boriqua-identified, mixed heritage, mixed identity, cis-gender female.  I am currently a Certified Social Worker and an “IMP” (Implementation Team Member) for UT AWP.  I came across AWP in a time when I was feeling a void in my life, a void that was previously filled by strong people who held thoughts of social justice in their daily strides.  When I met UT AWP I will admit that I felt intimidated by the minds in the room, but I also felt immediately at home.  The niche that I was looking for, the void that I was feeling was suddenly filled.  Within this niche, I feel as though I can reach out whenever I need to in either a professional or personal capacity, to discuss the more raw parts of justice in our Utah community; it can at times, be a challenge.  I sincerely hope that this short statement might encourage you all to consider joining our collective.  Expanding the size of this niche will only encourage its potential to create change.

Micro: As a psychologist, a social worker, a counselor, a coach, a teacher, an advocate, an activist, or an interested community person, you are welcome to participate in the many activities that UT AWP has to offer.  There are a number of ways to get involved: you can attend a presentation or a conference, suggest a future presentation, conference topic or social, or represent Utah by attending our national conference!

Mezzo: UT AWP and its over 400 community connections often utilizes local resources to make presentations, conferences, and socials come to life.  We have many agencies to thank for this continued support – too many to mention – however, we do request that you all acknowledge yourselves if you are reading this.  Please give yourself a shout out if you are a member of a community agency that has recently supported UT AWP via our Facebook Page.  Link here: https://www.facebook.com/AWP-Utah-129070517177403/

Macro: UT AWP was created to support macro-level feminist, social justice work.  At national conference last year, Dr. Angela Davis said, “often what is the most marginal issue is actually the most central issue.”  Although AWP members across generations may have been lived differing experiences or meanings of feminism and/or social justice, this quote seemed to stick with all of us in some way.  It has aligned us in our work nationally and reminded us to find and focus on the “most central issue.”

We hope that you will join the Utah AWP collective at AWP’s national conference this year in Pittsburgh, PA! http://www.awpsych.org/conference/

As part of the UT AWP Membership Drive, we hope that you all will join our community. Become a member or make a donation by visiting our event page at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/awp-scholarship-drive-tickets-19676428728.

Day 2 of Donation Drive Week

One of Utah AWP’s most popular offerings is our community list serve. Our list, which serves over 400 members, allows us to connect individuals across disciplines at no cost. The list is used to facilitate referrals, share thoughts and readings, and ask questions to advance our practice.

While many similar lists limit use to paying members, Utah AWP values the open and accessible nature of our list. This means that out of our 400 plus members only 40 are paying members of Utah AWP.

If you are one of this non-paying members of the Utah AWP list serve, please consider donating to our organization today. If all of our list users donated just $10 we would exceed our fundraising goal of $3,000.

Day 1 of Donation Drive Week!

It’s donation drive week, and that means that we will be posting daily to highlight the many reasons to support the Utah Association for Women in Psychology. Join us as we raise funds to provide scholarships to our national AWP conference. Our goal is to raise $3,000 over the next 7 days. We know that we can make this happen, and we will need your support.

So you need a reason to support the Utah Chapter of the Association for Women in Psychology? How about our incredible programming?! The Implementation Collective of Utah AWP volunteers countless hours to organize and facilitate quality programming. All programs are free and open to the public.

A few of our past programs include:

• Film screening of Orgasm, Inc.
• Feminist Approaches to Trauma Therapy with Melinda Pettingill and Mara Haight
• Panel discussion on Mormon Feminism
• Anti-discrimination Response Training with Irene Ota and McCall Izatt
• Panel on Inclusion in Action
• Community-Oriented Policing with Sgt. Charli Goodman
• Coaching and Psychotherapy with Lyn Christian
• Panel on Understanding our Perceptions of Disability
• Yoga and Psychotherapy with Lisa Mountain and Leslie Czerwinski

Upcoming sessions for the 2015-2016 programming year include:

• January 8, 2016 – Multicultural Counseling with Karen Tao
• March 11, 2016 – Well-Being of Women in Utah with Anne Burkholder

If you value the fabulous programming sessions Utah AWP offers, please support our continued efforts by becoming a member today. If you are already a member, you can still show your support by donating an amount that fits the value you find in Utah AWP. We need your support to continue offering a space for feminist practitioners to connect, learn, and grow. We might even throw in an incentive or two with your donation. So check out our donation drive page and make your donation today!