First Lady & Friends

Jared Quan (Award-Winning, Best-Selling Author) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox, to talk about being a 2023 ​Utah Governor Spirit of Service Award Recipient, his work with non-profits throughout the state, and his passion for inspiring others who are interested in reading and writing. Jared also shares some of his favorite authors and how his time driving for Lift to pay for expenses that accrue...

Sarah Allred (Director of First Lady Initiatives) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , to recap some of our favorite moments of the year which include the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, various service projects, and the ways we’ve been connecting with our youth to help promote positive change in our communities. Then we dive into our latest Care Communities project that we’ve b...

Celeste Edmunds (The Christmas Box Executive Director, Co-Author of Garbage Bag Girl) and Richard Paul Evans (Author, The Christmas Box Founder, Co-Author of Garbage Bag Girl) join Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , to talk about Celeste’s story of publishing ‘Garbage Bag Girl’, sharing her story of survival after being adopted by an abusive family as a child, and the hope and inspira...

Aaron Hall (Missionary Department Director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , to talk about how his upbringing taught him the importance of helping others, his journey to joining the Missionary department for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and various ways that parents can help prepare their children to be a successful service...

Curtis Bennett (Executive Director at One Kind Act a Day) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox, to talk about the creation behind One Kind Act a Day and how the organization is focused on introducing kindness throughout early education to create positive change in society, one kind act at a time. Then we dive into the science behind the psychological effects that follow negative thoughts and actions,...

Steve Young   (Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback) joined Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , and Governor, Spencer Cox , last month to share his experiences and views on solving conflict and disagreeing better with each other at this year's Fall One Utah Summit. The audio quality is less than what you're used to but we're sure you'll love the conversation!

Educator Well-Being: From Principles to Practice Podcast This podcast is brought to you by Utah First Lady Abby Cox and Western Governors University Senior Vice President and Executive Dean of the School of Education Dr. Stacey Ludwig Johnson, facilitated by Marty Carpenter of Northbound Strategy. This limited series focuses on supporting teachers nationwide by providing strategies and resources t...

Sarah Sun (Miss Utah 2023) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , to talk about her experience growing up as a Chinese-American in Cedar City, UT, Utah’s first monument honoring Chinese railroad workers that’s set to be displayed on the southeast lawn of the state capitol, and how her mother’s desire to be more fluent in English helped inspire Sarah to be passionate about her educat...

Corey Fairholm (Utah PTA President) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , to talk about how she initially got interested in the Utah PTA, the need for parents to be more involved with their children’s education to give their children the best chance at success, and why there are always opportunities to help serve our kids through the PTA. Corey also talks about how the PTA is bringing support...

Educator Well-Being: From Principles to Practice Podcast This podcast is brought to you by Utah First Lady Abby Cox and Western Governors University Senior Vice President and Executive Dean of the School of Education Dr. Stacey Ludwig Johnson, facilitated by Marty Carpenter of Northbound Strategy. This limited series focuses on supporting teachers nationwide by providing strategies and resour...

Michael Bonner (Teacher at the Ron Clark Academy, International Speaker, CEO of Bonnerville) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , to talk about developing ways for students to be passionate about the process of learning, how the Ron Clark Academy is transforming the classroom, and why pouring love into students is so important for their growth in and outside of the classroom. We also talk about the...

Saru Ramanan (Manager of Marketing and Communication at the Utah Nonprofits Association) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , to talk about feeling a sense of home as soon as she moved to Utah, bridging connections across different cultures and communities, and the root of her passion for working with nonprofits.  Then we talk about how nonprofits collaborating with each other have the ability...

Amy Antonelli (CEO of Humanitarian Experience, Inc.)  joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox , to talk about her experience working in the Silicon Valley boom, the impact that Steve Jobs had on her passion for creating positive change, and how a natural disaster completely shifted her mindset towards helping others. Amy also opens up about her experience working in the leprosy colonies that existed thr...

Curtis Bennett (Co-chair of JustServe) joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox,  to share his experience growing up in Mesa, AZ, and to talk about how mentors he gained in Mesa made an incredible impact on his work ethic.  Curtis also shares the lessons he and his family learned while living in Santiago, Chile, learning to be successful in the business sector, and why it's so fundamental to find a posit...

Mike Moon (Associate Director at UServeUtah)  joins Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox,  to discuss finding his passion for volunteerism, pursuing a career in higher education, and introducing volunteerism to students of all ages. We also talk about UServeUtah's impact on volunteerism throughout Utah, the bond built among communities when people come together to help serve each other, and the benefits we...

In this week's episode, Utah's First Lady Abby Cox is joined by Gov. Spencer Cox  to talk about some life updates, their recent trip to Atlantic City, NJ for the National Governor's Association where the governor was elected chair of the NGA, and the importance of building bipartisan relationships with other governors throughout the country. Then we talk about the 2023-2024 NGA Chair's Initiative,...

In this week's episode, Utah's First Lady Abby Cox is joined by Sharon Eubank (Director of Humanitarian Services for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) to talk about what she learned from teaching English as a second language in Japan after graduating from BYU, her passion for service and helping others, and the different types of humanitarian aid that she has been a part of througho...

In this week's episode, Utah's First Lady Abby Cox is joined by Katie Donoviel (Executive Director of the English Skills Learning Center)  to talk about why becoming a teacher was such an important goal of hers growing up, how she was introduced to the English Skills Learning Center and the English language learning programs that the ESLC provides for low-income adult immigrants and refugees. We a...

In this week's episode, Utah's First Lady Abby Cox is joined by Stephen LeFevre (Chief of Staff, Director of Strategic and Foreign Affairs with World Trade Center Utah)  to talk about his passion for international affairs, his experience with attending graduate school in New York City during COVID, and WTC Utah's impact on the state.  We also talk about WTC Utah's focus on making Utah a prominent...

In this week's episode, Utah's First Lady Abby Cox is joined by Kirsten Rappleye (Director of First Lady’s Initiatives) and  Sarah Allred  (Deputy Director of First Lady's Initiatives)  to talk about the First Lady's recent trade mission to Europe, attending the opening ceremonies for the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, and what our TED Talks would be if we were to give one. We also t...

Utah's First Lady Abby Cox  is joined by Dehenna Davison (MP for Bishop Auckland & Levelling Up Minister)  to talk about learning proper work ethic from her father at an early age in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, how the sudden passing of her father shaped her formative years, and becoming one of the youngest female Members of Parliament ( MPs ) at twenty-six years old. We also dive int...

Utah's First Lady Abby Cox  is joined by Julie Castle (CEO, Best Friends Animal Society) to talk about how rural Utah naturally embodies Utahns with an entrepreneurial spirit and the moment she decided she was going to give up her career in law and politics to move to Kanab and work for Best Friends.  Julie shares what her jobs were while working for Best Friends during her early years there, how...

Utah's First Lady Abby Cox  is joined by Pam Hayes (Founder, Stand 4 Kind) and Jay Francis  (Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Miller Family Philanthropy)  to talk about how Stand 4 Kind is tackling bullying in schools throughout the state, some of the programs involved within the curriculum, and the impact that cyberbullying and social media is having on our students. Then we talk...

Utah's First Lady Abby Cox and Utah Governor Spencer Cox join Liz Rivera (Director of Education) and Deborah Lindner (Director of Communications) with Utah Foster Care on the Fostering Conversations podcast this week to talk about all things Utah foster care. We've heard from countless foster families, teens and children about what the state of Utah can do to Show Up for Foster Care and in this we...

Utah's First Lady Abby Cox  is joined by Steve Wright ( Vice President at Boncom ) to talk about finding his passion for advertising at an early age, how he adapted to moving from Canada to Springville, Utah as a sixteen year old, and what he learned from moving to New York City after graduating from Brigham Young University. We also talk about Boncom's drive for advertising that focuses on making...