The Your Utah, Your Future Podcast

Utah will need 840,000 new homes in the next 30 years. 

The future of the Great Salt Lake hangs in the balance. 

And education remains central to long-term opportunity. 

In this special episode, Amy Upchurch interviews Envision Utah’s newly appointed CEO, Jason Brown. After more than a decade leading key initiatives, Jason shares his journey, the philosophy behind the “Envision Utah process,” and why he believes the future of our state is one big group project. 

The future isn’t something that just happens. It’s something we build together.

In this episode, we're joined by Alysia Ducuara, Executive Director of Get Healthy Utah, to explore the organization’s mission and the statewide partnerships that make their work so impactful. Together, they dive into how Get Healthy Utah is helping families, schools, workplaces, and communities integrate healthier choices into everyday life — and why this matters for Utah’s future.

From rural towns to urban centers, Get Healthy Utah is driving measurable change across the state. Did you know that only 20% of Utah children get enough physical activity? That’s just one of the powerful insights you’ll hear as we uncover the data, stories, and strategies behind this year’s Common Good Award recipient.

Tune in to learn how small, meaningful shifts in daily habits can create healthier, stronger communities for generations to come.

In this episode of Common Good Awards Spotlights, host Amy Upchurch sits down with James Yapias, Senior Director of the Salt Lake Education Foundation, and Dr. Kim Hansen, Assistant Professor of General Pediatrics at University of Utah Health and Medical Director of the West High School Clinic—one of this year’s Common Good Award recipients. Together, they share the story of how an old football locker room was transformed into a modern, fully functioning clinic serving students across the Salt Lake City School District. The conversation explores the critical gap the clinic fills in adolescent physical and mental healthcare, the obstacles and opportunities they’ve encountered, and what parents, educators, and community partners are saying about this powerful collaboration.

Special thanks to the Salt Lake Education Foundation and University of Utah Health for making this possible. 

In this season-opening episode of Common Good Awards Spotlights, host Amy Upchurch sits down with representatives of the Great Salt Lake Collaborative—one of this year’s Common Good Award recipients—to explore their work documenting and protecting one of Utah’s most critical natural resources. Heather May, Ben Winslow, and Anna McEntire share insights from more than 1,000 journalist stories on the Great Salt Lake, the catastrophic consequences Utah faces if the lake dries up, and the latest research and solutions that offer hope for its future. This conversation sheds light on the power of collaboration, storytelling, and community-driven action in safeguarding the places we all depend on.

Purchase tickets to the 2025 Common Good Awards here: https://envisionutah-bloom.kindful.com/e/cga-2025

The first five years of a child’s life shape the foundation for a lifetime of learning. In the final episode of our four-part education series, we explore the science of early brain development and why simple, everyday interactions—like talking, reading, and playing—are so powerful.

Join experts Dr. Quang-Tuyen Nguyen, Dr. Neal Davis, Maria Soter, and Kelly Noorda as we uncover how brain-building experiences during early childhood impact everything from school readiness to lifelong health and success. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, or simply care about Utah’s future, this episode will change the way you think about early learning.

In this episode of Common Good Award Spotlights, we sit down with Zach, a dedicated "Friend" (mentor) from Friends of the Children–Utah, to explore the incredible impact of this groundbreaking mentoring program.

Friends of the Children is reshaping the future by pairing youth facing the greatest challenges with professional mentors who stick by their from the preschool years to high school. From nurturing diverse talents to empowering informed decisions, they’re changing lives and breaking cycles of systemic barriers—one relationship at a time.

Join us to hear Zach’s inspiring perspective and discover the love, support, and generational change happening within this circle. It's a heartwarming journey you won’t want to miss!

In this episode of Common Good Award Spotlights, we’re honored to feature the Stella H. Oaks Foundation, recipient of the 2024 Common Good Award! 

Discover how this incredible organization is empowering single mothers to overcome challenges, achieve their educational dreams, and create lasting change for their families and communities. Through scholarships and support, the Stella H. Oaks Foundation has transformed the lives of over 700 women, providing over $2.5 million in scholarship awards to mothers pursuing careers in nursing, business, computer programming, social work, and more.

Learn about the profound ripple effect of educating mothers and hear inspiring stories of resilience and impact. As the saying goes, “When you educate a mother, you educate generations”—and the Stella H. Oaks Foundation is proving just that.

🎧 Tune in to celebrate this remarkable legacy of hope, empowerment, and transformation.

📢 Don’t miss the chance to attend the Common Good Awards! Tickets are still available—grab yours here: https://envisionutahcga2024.planningpod.com/

Welcome to our newest podcast series, Common Good Award Spotlights, where we celebrate the remarkable individuals and organizations honored at our annual Common Good Award ceremony.

In this inaugural episode, host Amy Upchurch sits down with members of the Utah Shakespeare Festival to explore their impactful work. From innovative community engagement initiatives to making Shakespeare resonate in 2025, discover how this award-winning organization continues to leave its legacy and make a mark on the modern world.

The Common Good Awards take place annually in Salt Lake City, and tickets are open to the public. Tune in to learn more about the festival's contributions and what makes them a standout in this year’s ceremony!

Special thanks to Michael, Emily, and John for speaking to us on behalf of the Utah Shakespeare Festival! 

Tune in for Part 3 in our series on education in Utah, which is all about higher education! In today's episode, we're exploring the top challenges facing high school graduates who are contemplating whether or not to pursue higher education. We sit down with Utah’s higher ed leaders and others at the forefront of helping high schoolers pursue higher education. They share valuable insights on the current landscape, strategies to inspire students, and the barriers they face in shaping the next generation of learners.

We’ll clarify what falls under the umbrella of higher education and how much it actually costs to attend. Insights from our 2023 high school survey are included in this discussion and we explore what they reveal for both students and educators.

Special thanks to our guests: 
Geoffrey Landward — Utah’s Commissioner of Higher Education 
Deneece Huftalin — former President of Salt Lake Community College 
Rachel Everitt — Director of the Utah College Advising Corps 
Rick Folkerson — former President of the Success & Education Foundation. 

Thanks as well to Trisha Dugovic who helped us keep our facts straight on the Utah System of Higher Education, and of course, to Steph Ott, Envision Utah’s own Senior Education Project Manager.  

Tune in for Part 2 in our series on education in Utah, which is all about teachers! In today's episode, we're doing a deep dive into one of the top challenges facing the teaching profession today—Utah’s teacher shortage. We sit down with the experts to talk about what the teacher shortage actually looks like, its' impacts across the profession, and a few of the other top challenges teachers in Utah are facing today. 

Then we look at the Vision for Teacher Excellence: a detailed analysis of the top recommendations for improving students’ outcomes in Utah, including strategies to not only stabilize the teaching profession but optimize it as well—and the right compensation is the key.
 

Special thanks to our expert guests for joining us in this episode: Aaryn Birchell, English teacher at Uintah High School, Nain Christopherson, Language Arts and Reading teacher at West High School, Mary Burbank,  Director of the Urban Institute for Teacher Education in the College of Education at the University of Utah, and Keith McMullin, CEO of the Deseret Management Corporation.