9:30 AM

Keynote Speaker

 

Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez was appointed the seventh president of Utah Valley University in 2018, and is the institution’s first female president. Tuminez brings to UVU a broad and rich experience in academia, philanthropy, technology, and business. 

 

Her pursuit of education eventually took her to the United States, to Brigham Young University where she graduated summa cum laude in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and Russian literature. She earned a master’s degree from Harvard University in Soviet Studies (1988) and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in political science (1996).

 

Before assuming her current position, President Tuminez was a world leader in the fields of technology and political science, most recently serving as an executive at Microsoft, where she led corporate, external and legal affairs in Southeast Asia. She and her husband, Jeffrey S. Tolk, have three children. In her spare time, she enjoys running, dancing, and martial arts.

10:00 AM

How Writing Saved My Life: A Love Story

 

Ann Dee Ellis is the author of three young adult titles including This is What I Did:, Everything is Fine and The End or Something Like That. Her middle-grade debut, You May Already Be a Winner was released in July 2017. Her books have received starred reviews and been featured on multiple lists.

 

She also is the creator of the 8-minute memoir project which encourages connection and writing for everyone. She teaches as an adjunct creative writing instructor at Brigham Young University and has taught at various writing conferences. She lives in the foothills of Utah and when she’s not writing, she’s hanging around with her husband and five energetic children.

 

10:30 AM

You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To

 

Sergeant Nisha King of the Provo Police Department started in Policing in 2004 in Killeen Police Department in Texas. While she was there, she was a member of the Riot Disturbance Team, FTO, and a Domestic Violence Detective. Sergeant King returned home to Provo and started with the Provo Police Department in March 2012. While employed with Provo, she has been on the Metro SWAT Team since July 2014, a School Resource Office at Dixon Middle School, a Patrol Sergeant, a RAD Instructor and taught numerous self-defense classes.

 

She has been on the PIO Team since 2015 and is currently full-time PIO/Recruitment/Equipment Distribution. Sergeant King possesses a Bachelors of Science in Sociology with a certificate in Criminology and is currently enrolled in Columbia Southern University working on a Master’s in Public Administration.

 

11:00 AM

Resilience on the Border

 

Carolina Núñez is the Associate Dean of Research and Academic Affairs and a Professor of Law at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. She researches and writes about immigration law, citizenship, and immigrant rights, with a specific emphasis on undocumented immigrants. Professor Núñez’s articles have been published in the Southern California Law Review, Wisconsin Law Review, and Utah Law Review. 

 

Dean Núñez also co-founded the J. Reuben Clark Law School’s Refugee and Immigration Initiative, through which law students provide legal assistance to women and children detained in an immigration detention center in southern Texas. 

 

8:30 - 9:30 AM

Breakfast & Welcome

 

Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi will be kicking off Provo Women's Day with a special welcome and a free breakfast. Tickets for this event sell out every year because of limited seating, so be sure to register to reserve your spot! Please note, signing up for the Mayor's Breakfast will also register you for the Lecture Series.