2023 Featured Speakers
Ready to expand your experiences and your mind?
Find Your Voice. Be inspired, learn, and make connections. Feel empowered.
Dr. Christy Kane
PsyD, CMHC, FYV Founder
Keynote: The Window of Trauma
Dr. Christy Kane is CMHC (Clinical Mental Health Counselor), successful business owner, author, and media contributor. As an experienced industry leader, Dr. Kane explores brain-based ways to heal our minds and relationships. She has appeared on KSL, NPR, UCAP, TEDx Park City, and has been a keynote speaker at several local and national conferences—Utah School Counselors Association, BYU Women’s Conference, and the National Association of Resource Officers to name a few.
Throughout her community she conducts parent nights for local schools, commonly teaching kids and their parents about the effects of electronics on growing brains. Her recent release Fractured Souls & Splintered Memories: Unlocking the “Boxes” of Trauma delves into childhood trauma and empowering individuals to heal from past experiences to embrace positive mental health.
Eva Witesman
Professor & Thought Leader
Keynote: Women Empowerment - Hope For Our Global Future
Eva M. Witesman is an Associate Professor, Stewart Grow Research Fellow at the Romney Institute of Public Management and the Academic Director of the Ballard Center for Social Impact. She has personally worked with over a hundred nonprofit and government organizations through teaching consultancies with students, public speaking and professional training efforts.
She is known for her hands-on, community-engaged teaching style and teaches courses using community-engaged consultancies with government and nonprofit agencies. She has traveled nationally and internationally as a guest speaker. She was featured in various articles, podcasts, and on television. Eva and her husband Owen are the parents of four children. They live in Springville where they care for 32 fruit trees, two dogs, a cat, several chickens, and about a hundred thousand bees.
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Shaunna Thompson
Actress & Podcaster
Finding Joy After Loss
Shaunna Thompson has been a local professional film and stage actress for 29 years. In her spare time, she works at several local high schools, coaching Shakespeare and serving as musical director for their musicals. She can be seen in “Yellowstone”, the Book of Mormon videos, and other various commercials and movies. She is the mother of two, and grandmother of three beautiful grandkids.
She has served with her husband for four years at the Provo MTC and has a podcast to train new Mission Leaders alongside members of the seventy. She is the announcer for the LDS Women’s Conference and the Young Womens President in her home ward. Six years ago, she and her husband lost their only son to drug addiction. They have currently adopted his son and are raising him as their own. Along with the great blessings of life, there have been many hardships and tears. She has learned priceless lessons about the value of seeking joy and is excited to share a few gleaned insights.
Nancy Cormack-Hughes
Pastor
Faith, Doubt and Everything In Between
Nancy is a native of the Bay Area, but over the past decades has lived in Southern California, Princeton (NJ), Edinburgh (Scotland), Philadelphia, rural Idaho, and Utah. She received her BA from Occidental College (Los Angeles) and her Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary. Ordained as Presbyterian (USA) clergy in 1990, Nancy has served as a church pastor, college chaplain, retreat leader, and guest preacher.
For a number of years, she was also a proud stay-home mom with her three daughters. After many years of hospice chaplaincy, she delved into the world of hospital chaplaincy, and for the past 5 years has served as the ECS Director of Spiritual at St. Mark's Hospital. In this role, she oversees the Spiritual Care department at 6 Utah hospitals. Nancy is married to the Rev. Phil Hughes, has 3 adult daughters, and a first grandchild coming any minute. She has run ten half-marathons, swan in open water races, and loves to be outdoors. Most of all, she loves good conversation in a coffee shop while sipping a peppermint mocha.
Samantha Nielsen
Life & Divorce Coach
Advocating for Yourself
Samantha is the happiest divorced woman on the planet! As a divorced mother of three, she has come to learn that divorce is a necessary resource, gift and tool. Many divorcees experience feelings of shame and failure when leaving a marriage. Samantha believes that divorce allows individuals to move beyond desperately hopeless situations and create new and better outcomes. "Divorce does not define me. I do." Finding the courage to leave a difficult relationship is one of the most difficult decision one can make. And yet, it's often the only way possible for individuals find realignment with their sense of self and happiness.
Samantha holds a degree in Interpersonal Communications, and is a Certified Life & Divorce Coach. While she spends the majority of her time meeting with clients in private one-on-one coaching sessions, she is committed to making a positive impact to others through purposeful connections and contributions within her community. Samantha is a well respected coach, speaker and podcast contributor. Empowering others to live the life of their dreams, through intentional self-care practices is one of her greatest joys.
Laurie Campbell
Writer, Artist & Counselor
Stages of Life - Wow, How Did I Get Here?
Laurie Campbell has been a writer, artist, and volunteer counselor for almost 30 years. She received a BFA from the Art Center of Design. In 2008, she received her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis in addictions. She loves to combine her interests with art therapy.
Laurie’s personal experiences also contribute to her wealth of knowledge concerning mental health since she has a history of PTSD, PTG (Post-Traumatic+Growth), bipolar, and addiction. Willing to confess she is now in her 60s (low 60s of course) she can relate to baby boomers as well as those of almost any age since she has already been there. She is married with two daughters, three granddaughters and a son at home who is on the autism spectrum (which has involved quite a learning curve)
Sarah Eliason
Founder, Educational Analyst & Relationship Educator
Nurturing Kinship: Lessons of Diversity from Research and the Natural World
Sarah Eliason is an educational analyst for the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, and a relationship educator. She received her Master of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Brigham Young University, where she specialized in critical inquiry, research methods, and relationship dynamics. Her relationship education research is published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies.
Sarah is the founder of where she educates young adults on healthy relationship practices. Being of Potawatomi, Germanic European, and Scandinavian descent, Sarah believes strongly that we cannot fully know who we are without knowing our Indigenous roots. She is passionate about current issues facing Native America, and helping others connect to their ancestral heritage so they can become better ancestors themselves. Sarah lives in Lehi, Utah with her husband Alex, and their two French Bulldogs Mango, and Papaya.
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Allison Dayton
Founder
Mothers will save the world: Using your voice to create a better world for our children.
Allison Dayton is the founder of the which she created to support Latter-Day Saints families with LGBTQ+ members. In 2017 Allison lost her brother, who was gay, to suicide. At the same time, her 17-year-old son began his own painful process of coming out. Looking for resources, she couldn’t find anything that embraced both her deep religious beliefs and her son’s identity. Lift and Love has grown to fill that much-needed space for thousands of families and individuals.
Allison knows the power of women to affect change for their families and communities. In her early career, she ran a successful jewelry company fueled by an all-women sales force and had the opportunity to work with women artists in Nepal, Senegal, and Mexico. Allison was honored to facilitate an LGBTQ+ Conversation Circle discussing the importance of women’s voices at the 2022 UN Women’s Conference.
She and her husband, Kenn, have three strong-voiced children and live in the mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah, with seven chickens, a dog, and open doors for family and friends.
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Rebecca Hoffman
Certified Family Life Educator
All Relationships Are Blended
Rebecca Hoffman is a graduate student studying to become a marriage and family therapist specializing in trauma-informed systemic therapy. She has a blended family with 11 children, four daughters-in-law, and soon-to-be 17 grandchildren.
Rebecca has experienced things such as the burying of a child, abuse, divorce, health issues, and abandonment. Her spirituality and therapy work has allowed her to heal and help others. She enjoys family time, public speaking, writing, podcasting, reading, and serving. Rebecca is an avid lifelong learner.
Conference Schedule
LIMITED TIME TO ACQUIRE TICKETS
We look forward to the opportunity to elevate conversations around critical issues, develop shared understanding, and enjoy inspiring words about women's mental health. Women of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds will gather to empower their mental health.