Mayor of Provo City

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Michelle Kaufusi is a Provo girl through and through: born and raised, graduated from Brigham Young University, always actively involved in community service—and eventually making history as Provo’s first female mayor.

 

Honored as Utah’s 2019 Informed Decision Maker of the Year and the 2022 Utah Valley Chamber Champion, Mayor Kaufusi continues her regional leadership with appointed positions as the vice president of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, chair of Utah Municipal Power Agency, vice chair of Utah County Council of Governments and vice chair of the newly established Utah Lake Authority. She’s a busy lady!

 

Mayor Kaufusi’s leadership has also translated to national accolades for Provo City. Most notably being honored as the nation’s Best-Performing City in both 2021, 2022, and 2023 by the distinguished Milken Institute. As the fourth largest city in Utah, Provo is cleary “hitting above its weight” with distinctions such as the #1 Safest Big City, #3 Best Run City and #3 Best College City.

Co-Founder of Thread Wallets
 

McKenzie Bauer is an entrepreneur who co-founded Thread Wallets in 2015 with her husband, Colby Bauer, in Provo, Utah. With the innovative idea of creating stylish and functional carry accessories, they aimed to empower individuals to "carry on" through both their products and the lifestyle they advocate. Serving as the Chief Marketing Officer until spring 2021, McKenzie played a pivotal role in driving the company's growth, leading it to become one of Utah's fastest-growing companies and earning a spot on the Inc. 5000 list twice.

 

Beyond her professional achievements, McKenzie is deeply committed to social impact through The Carry On Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization founded alongside her husband to teach mental health skills and resilience to youth via action sports. The Bauers recently acquired the historic Old Rock Church in Provo to house both Thread Wallets and The Carry On Foundation, reflecting their commitment to their community and mission.

 

An advocate for women in business, McKenzie actively mentors and supports female entrepreneurs, hosting quarterly meetups and fostering a culture of empowerment.

 

Singer-Songwriter

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Madilyn Paige is a singer-songwriter who has performed for audiences throughout the United States, Canada and Japan. At age 16 she was a Top-20 finalist on Season 6 of The Voice, where she was mentored by Usher, Blake Shelton, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Since then, Madilyn has performed at famed venues, such as The Stadium of Fire, where she was featured at a Carrie Underwood concert; performed and received mentorship with Jessie J, and has opened for Rachel Platten, American Authors and Jason Derulo. 

 

In addition to performing, Madilyn does motivational speaking across the world, as well as coaching other aspiring vocalists. Madilyn’s current focus is songwriting and releasing original music.  Last year she released her EP titled “Another Kind of Love,” and most recently her single, “Patience.” Madilyn has big plans this year with more original music and shows to come.

 

Refashion Designer

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Sarah Tyau is a mother to 3 kids and a Refashion Designer, who has amassed more than a million followers across her social media and featured in People, Yahoo, CNN, Buzzfeed and more. She takes outdated clothes and upcycles them into new, but not only does she teach you how to upcycle old clothes, she will inspire you to upcycle one’s mental health, beauty, self confidence, parenting and spirituality. 

 

Trailblazer Award

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Janice Kapp Perry was born in Ogden, Utah, raised in Vale, Oregon, and currently lives in Provo, Utah. She and her husband Douglas have five children, 13 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren. Through the years they have also welcomed many foster children into their home.

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Janice received her musical training at Brigham Young University in Provo and has been writing and recording gospel music for over 40 years. Her hymn As Sisters in Zion is in the LDS hymnal and she has ten songs in the Children’s Songbook. She has produced 108 albums of recorded music (including some in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin), two full-length musicals, and many sacred cantatas and musical firesides. During the last 20 years, she has dedicated herself to hymn writing with a variety of text writers and has written close to 400 hymns.

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Janice served as Relief Society President in her Provo ward and retired from singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 1999. The Perrys served a full-time mission to Santiago Chile from 2002-03, and traveled the world giving musical firesides until Doug passed away in 2018. In 2008 BYU Broadcasting filmed a 60-minute documentary of her life entitled Janice Kapp Perry: A Life of Service and Song.