President and CEO of United Way of Salt Lake, Bill Crim, received the “Pioneers of Progress” Education Award for his commitment to improving education outcomes and access to basic needs resources for Utah kids and families. The Education Award was received alongside the Mayor of South Salt Lake, Cherie Wood, reflecting their close collaboration in developing community programs and services through Promise South Salt Lake.
“That’s one of the unique things about this whole endeavor is it’s making a legitimate promise. It’s not simply saying we wish or we hope. It’s saying that’s achievable,” Bill said in an interview with KUTV 2 News.
The Days of ‘47 website highlights Bill’s contributions to the community:
“[Bill] joined UWSL in 2004 to help lead its transformation to an organization focused on creating economic opportunity through collaborative, aligned action – and became CEO in 2015. Bill was instrumental in building UWSL’s public policy influence and helped develop Promise Partnership Utah, the nationally recognized partnership infrastructure for improving cradle-to-career education outcomes. In 2013, Bill helped facilitate the first ‘pay for success’ transaction in the country for early childhood education, helping make high-quality preschool available to thousands of additional low–income children in Utah. Bill is a frequent speaker on the topics of collective impact, outcomes financing, and the power of data and shared accountability for results to transform communities.”
Bill was recognized at a gala on July 17 at the Grand America Hotel as part of the ‘Days of ‘47’ celebration alongside five other recipients, including Mayor Wood. The Days of ‘47 Board of Trustees selects the award recipients each year, honoring “individuals who are influencing our state through their leadership in business, art, academia, philanthropy, humanitarian service and science.”
The “Pioneers of Progress” Awards were covered in the following media:
- KUTV: “2025 Pioneers of Progress: Bill Crim & Cherie Wood (Education)”
- KSL.com: “Pioneers of Progress celebrate modern-day trailblazers”
- Deseret News: “Pioneers of Progress celebrate modern-day trailblazers”
Written by Jenna Fischer, Content Strategist
