Salt Lake City — United Way of Salt Lake has announced its United for Change Changemaker award honorees for 2019. United Way will honor Scott Ulbrich, financial advisor at Baird, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, former member of the Utah House of Representatives, Wasatch Elementary, a UWSL promise partner school in Davis School District, and Comcast, a UWSL corporate partner as the 2019 Changemakers.

“United Way of Salt Lake is privileged to honor the 2019 Changemakers. These individuals and organizations exemplify the passion, long-term commitment, generosity, hands-on involvement and collaboration necessary to shift ideas to action,” said Bill Crim, president and CEO of United Way of Salt Lake. “By collaborating with United Way and many others to address our community’s toughest issues, these Changemakers have multiplied the effects of positive change and have made Utah a better place to live. We are grateful for their efforts that inspire the Changemaker in everyone.”

The 2019 Changemaker awards are given to business and civic leaders, and organizations that have worked with others to create measurable change in the community. Through dedication and teamwork, they create lasting impact, inspire action, and are a transformational force for good.

Scott Ulbrich, Financial Advisor, Baird

As an early pioneer of collective impact, Scott Ulbrich has helped transform the way organizations and sectors work together to solve problems. Having served on our board for nearly 20 years, he has been a dedicated champion of United Way of Salt Lake, and our efforts to create lasting social change on some of our community’s toughest challenges.

Mr. Ulbrich’s vision and commitment have helped to break down silos and bring partners together around a common goal, while his passion and hands-on involvement have helped impact the lives of over 200,000 kids and families in our region.

Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Former Member, Utah House of Representatives

Former Utah legislator Rebecca Chavez-Houck has been a long-standing supporter of United Way of Salt Lake’s pivotal public policy initiatives. With a passion for social justice and advocacy, and a desire to develop progressive public policy, she’s been a fierce advocate for many of our objectives — including early education, health care, and closing the disparity gap for Utahns.

During her time on Utah’s Capitol Hill, Rebecca represented Salt Lake City’s District 24 in the Utah House of Representatives from 2008-18, focusing primarily on public policy related to health and human services as well as voter engagement and access. She served as House Minority Whip (2014-16) and House Minority Assistant Whip (2012-14). Ms. Chavez-Houck now provides leadership coaching and community engagement consulting through her public affairs firm, Aspira Public Affairs, LLC.

Wasatch Elementary, Davis School District, UWSL Promise Partner School

Founded in 1946, Wasatch Elementary has a strong history of academic excellence. As leaders in great pedagogical practices, combined with the purposeful integration of technology, Wasatch strives to ensure that every student has a personalized learning pathway.

Through the leadership of the principal, teachers, and staff, Wasatch has made changes to instruction, incorporating mentors and tutors, to improve academic outcomes. This has all paid off in the form of higher test scores and closing achievement gaps, and the honor of being named as the 2018 ESEA Distinguished School of the Year. They have consistently ranked at the top in Davis school district for Kindergarten reading growth—#1 of 62 schools— and among the top two schools for Kindergarten through third grade reading growth.

Comcast, UWSL corporate partner

Each year, Comcast NBCUniversal employees and their families, friends, and community partners participate in Comcast Cares Day— the nation’s largest single-day corporate volunteer effort and an example of the company’s year-round commitment to community service. More than one million volunteers have joined in service to improve their communities around the world since 2001. In addition, since 2011, the company has connected more than six million low-income Americans to the power of the internet through its Internet Essentials program, including more than 88,000 low-income Utahns.

Comcast NBCUniversal rallies around our communities through their annual Employee Giving Campaign, and, nationally, has donated $100 million in support of United Way since 2001. Last year, Comcast Utah invested $2.1M in cash and in-kind services into the Utah economy.

United Way of Salt Lake will honor these outstanding organizations and individuals at the fourth annual United for Change breakfast on April 9, 2019. For event and RSVP information please visit uw.org/events.