Her Story
About Elizabeth
I've been in my field for 25 years, and my background is definitely human resources. I always thought I wanted to be in that back end of things, kind of comfortable being almost like a paper pusher, just following the rules and doing that kind of thing, and I did that for years and years. Then I took some time off when I had children that were little. When I came back into the field, I worked for a small company, and they needed me to do a lot of forward-facing things going out in the community and talking to people, telling about our organization and what's going on. That for sure got me out of my comfort zone, but it kind of expanded my horizons as well. As much as I always thought that I just wanted to be behind the scenes, I think COVID kind of taught me that I want to be around people and I want to be out talking to people and telling them the great things that our community news is doing. It's still the operations side of things where my heart lies, but then it's really the community focus. We are a community newspaper that distributes to 250,000 homes every month, and it has a really huge reach. Everybody that we talk to, they just care so much about the community, and they were raised here, and their kids were raised here, and they just kind of want to know what's going on. Community at heart means so much to me. I've been in the same house for 23 years, and I always wanted to just be able to put down roots and be there instead of moving around. My background, for sure, is operations and human resources, but I just love the community aspect of what we do.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Elizabeth
01What do you attribute your success to?
I definitely think my family is supportive of me. I want to be able to show my children, who are now adults, that don't limit yourself, and don't let anything hold you back. Really just jump in there and do it, and don't let any stereotypes, male or female, hinder what you can do in life.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I had an ally that has just always been in my corner, and really supported me, and kind of said, yeah, why don't you try this, and why don't you do it? He hired me in one company as a recruiter, and then he's like, hey, why don't you try this? Why don't you do this? I hadn't even considered that I can expand my role without changing my role, and I can just learn stuff while I'm here. I don't have to go get a master's degree, and that's the only way I can learn. No, I can learn every single day.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say definitely don't be afraid. Don't let anything that you think hold you back. Get a seat at the table, and if you have something to say, say it. Don't wait, and don't worry if somebody's like, oh, somebody may not think that's smart enough, or it's not, because something that you're thinking about, someone else will jump in and say it, and then you're like, ugh, why didn't I say it? So don't be afraid if you have that seat at the table to just get in there and start talking and saying stuff, and I think sometimes we hold ourselves back from so many good things.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The wage gap difference between men and women is always a thing. There's a professor here in Utah, Susan Madsen, who does a ton of research about this. We're doing the same job as some men, maybe you have a different experience or more experience, and somehow the pay for women is just lagging behind.
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