Crossing the Divide: Making an Impact in Career and Community

The Utah Women & Leadership Project invites you step into a world of inspiration and empowerment by joining our 2025 ten-part webinar “Women in Leadership Executive Speaker Series.” This series is a celebration of dynamic and influential women who have shattered the glass ceiling landscape in Utah.

 For our last webinar in this series, Dr. Susan R. Madsen will moderate a discussion with Jennifer Smith (Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Zions Bancorporation) and Lavonya Mahate (Entrepreneur, Restauranteur, and Community Builder). This conversation will begin with a focus on the panelists’ career development and advancement journeys, and how they—and women more generally—must redefine their identities along the way. This panel discussion will also focus on a variety of topics that relate to foundational skills and abilities that advance women’s careers and the positive impact they can have in community work as well. This includes such topics as how to claim your achievements as women, build rather than leverage relationship, enlist allies from the start, and bring other women along in the process. Next, guests will share their passions and work in the community and the causes and efforts they are involved in that lift and support other women. This will include a discussion of how women can build bridges across communities and cultures. Join this webinar to learn about crossing the divide through making an impact in your career and community!