I was able to join The Utah Women & Leadership Project as a designer on the project described below by the creator, Dr. Susan Madsen. The photography is by the incredibly talented Justin Hackworth.

"Utah Billboard Idea (Shaping Utah)
I wanted to share a statement I made at the fabulous, "Beauty Redefined" event at UVU on Thursday evening (nearly 600 people attended) that I'm getting positive feedback about. After Drs. Kite spoke so well about women, media, and body image, I shared a few closing thoughts at the event. Well, I shared something I've been thinking for the last 6 months but never articulated it before. Every time I drive from Utah County to downtown SLC, I see a billboard on the east side of the freeway that just turns my stomach. It says "Shaping Utah," and it has the arches from southern Utah behind a very thin woman laying on her back in a white bikini. It is an advertisement for plastic surgery (you have probably seen it).

Every time I see it (and first have to get over how sad it is that young girls may see it and think about the need to change their bodies BEFORE the need to graduate from high school and college)--I THEN think of how wonderful it would be to have billboards around the state that say "Shaping Utah" and then would have pictures of women graduating from college (with graduation caps), or pictures of a women in the legislature, or pictures of women working hard in the home raising children (just a few ideas). In my opinion it is the amazing, strong Utah women who are and WILL truly shape Utah in our future. Our goal needs to be to help more women graduate from college and then to help prepare them to more confidently contribute assertively and fully in whatever realm they would like (e.g., home, church, community, business, nonprofit, political). Picture the power of those billboards--emphasizing the strengths of women from within (head, heart, and hands) instead of outward appearance. We somehow need to help Utah women understand how amazing they are from within instead of continually emphasizing outward appearance. That's what I believe, and I'm sticking to it!!!"