Rebecca Chavez-Houck

What has been your involvement with Utah Women Run?

I have served on the Utah Women Run (originally Real Women Run) steering committee since its inception at the YWCA Utah some twelve years ago.  A number of former women elected leaders, including former Salt Lake City Mayors Deedee Corradini and Jackie Biskupski, former Utah State Representative Sheryl Allen and myself, as well as committed community and institutional women leaders, were called together by then YWCA Utah CEO Anne Burkholder to address the dearth of women running for elected office.

A number of us had been involved with an initiative back in the early 1990s, associated with the Utah Women’s Political Caucus (the caucus has long since been disbanded), to have 100 women run for political office.  The election of then-Congresswoman Karen Shepherd was part of that effort.  Unfortunately, as the years went by, there was less of a concerted effort to recruit, train, and support women to run for office and even to help them position themselves for governmental and community boards and commissions. 

The original steering committee realized that by not building a bench of women candidates for leadership in our community we were faced with a situation where fewer and fewer women were serving in elected office and that something had to be done.  In addition, Sheryl Allen and the late Deedee Corradini were actively involved in a similarly situated national effort that was geared to expanding the roster of women running for office by the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. This was the genesis of the Real Women Run initiative.

Why is it important for you to be on the board?

I have tried to infuse intentional inclusion into the board by initiating the Kaleidoscope event, which, prior to COVID, was held the evening before our annual winter training.  I wanted to have an event that would provide a safe space where women from communities in the margins (women of color and members of the LGTBQIA+ community) could gather to share their experiences running for office.  The challenges of misogyny, fundraising barriers, and navigating political party processes, are often amplified for women from Utah communities in the margins. I wanted to make sure that (in addition to continuing to work on these concerns in our traditional offerings of our winter and spring trainings) there was a time set aside where these issues could be addressed.

Do you have favorite memories of being on the board?

I have loved serving with the many women who have been a part of our steering committee/board over the years, as well as our training presenters, who give their time and expertise, without compensation, because they believe in our mission and purpose.  I have learned so much from our presenters, both local and of national acclaim, as well as from our participants, who through their campaign experiences provide helpful feedback on what we can do better.  I love the content of our podcast and webinars that we offered the past couple of years when we had to put our in-person trainings on hold.  The value prospective candidates and leaders gain through these forums where experienced women share their experiences, both the successes and challenges, is in my estimation, invaluable.   

What do you think the impact of this organization has been during your years on the board?

The role our trainings and support have played in growing the number of local women electeds (i.e., city councils and mayors) is something that shouldn’t be underestimated.  We sometimes get caught up in the fact that we can’t seem to break the glass ceiling related to statewide and congressional representation (a problem here in Utah for sure), but miss the amazing local wins that have been happening over the past decade.  It’s always a source of pride for me to see how many local races are won by our alumnae, who are often women of color or from the LTBQIA+ community.  We’re breaking down so many barriers at that level of government.