On Saturday, April 14th, the top-10 finalists for the 2018 Youthlinc Utah Young Humanitarian Award will be interviewed at the Volunteers of America Youth Resource Center
Our interview judges are community leaders in service, education, business, and politics.
Erin Armstrong, Assistant to the President & COO, George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation
Erin Armstrong is a Utah native and a graduate of the University of Utah in Behavioral Science & Health and Gerontology. Her experience at the University grounded her interest in serving within the community. Currently she is serving as a board member at Red Butte Garden. Erin was a board member for the United States National Committee for the United Nation Women Utah Chapter. She also has been involved in scholarship fundraising and other projects with the Young Alumni Association at the University of Utah, serving as Vice President. Erin is the assistant to the President & COO at the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. She enjoys the many engaging associations and activities that stem from her involvement with the Foundation and its varied projects. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking throughout the state, cooking good food, and spending time with family and friends.
Paul Moody, Manager, Refugee Resettlement Services LDS Church Welfare Department
Paul Moody is the Manager of Refugee Services in the Welfare Services Department of the LDS Church. He has worked in Welfare Services for 21 years where he has been involved in helping people become more self-reliant. Prior to that he worked for the accounting firm of Ernst & Young. Paul’s time in Welfare Services has included working in Deseret Industries, providing support to Welfare Services’ divisions, and establishing a program to serve immigrants. He now works on ways to increase Church support to agencies who help refugees resettle in the United States. Paul likes to serve in the community and volunteers with his wife teaching citizenship classes. Paul is a CPA, an Eagle Scout, is married, has 4 children, 1 grandchild, and 1 chicken.
Beverly Christy, District Governor, Rotary District 5420
Bev currently serves as Governor for Rotary District 5420 (the state of Utah) and is a member of the Rotary Club of Dixie Sunrise in St George Utah. She retired from Westminster College in 2010, where she was Director of the Career Resource Center. Bev completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Utah and Masters of Arts from Westminster College. She is passionate about Rotary and the opportunity to support opportunities for youth to serve humanity.
Apollo Burgamy, Volunteer and Alumni Coordinator, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah
Apollo Burgamy is a U.S. Navy Veteran, that served as a Public Affairs Officer for more than a decade, primarily in the Asia Pacific region. He served two deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Additionally, he worked with NGOs in support of counter-piracy operations and humanitarian assistance missions. He participated in joint U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense service projects in Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. From 2010-2013, he served in South Korea overseeing the U.S. Forces Korea Navy Component’s Good Neighbor Program. In 2015, he transitioned to the nonprofit sector and is currently working as the Volunteer & Alumni Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah (BBBSU).
Mary Buehler, Community Engagement Program Manager UServeUtah
Mary Buehler is the Community Engagement Program Manager at UServeUtah. She relocated from New York in August of 2016 to pursue her love of the outdoors and gets out to hike, ski, run, and camp as much as possible. Since joining UServe, she has helped dozens of volunteer managers learn best practices on how to recruit and retain high caliber volunteers through UServe’s volunteer management trainings and resources. Mary lives by the quote “Giving to others is the greatest gift you can give to yourself” and hopes to inspire others to do the same. She loved her experience serving as a Youthlinc Mentor on the Peru-June team last year and is counting down the days for her Cambodia trip this summer!
Easton Bowring, 2017 Award Finalist
Easton Bowring was born and raised in Monticello, Utah, where he graduated from Monticello High School. Bowring was the 2017 Utah Young Humanitarian Runner-Up and loves serving. Bowring has been on three international humanitarian trips with Youthlinc, including two to Peru and Kenya. He is currently studying communications at Southern Utah University, and is involved in many different clubs and activities. Bowring is the sports photographer and journalist for SUU News and the University Journal. He is also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity where he serves as Historian of his chapter. Bowring loves his job where he works with adults that have special needs and gets to continue his work as an advocate for them.
Jacque Millard, Youthlinc Board Member
Jacque Millard is Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Intermountain Healthcare. She received her B.S. in Finance from Weber State University and her MBA from Westminster College. Jacque earned her Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1999. She joined Intermountain in 1993 and is currently responsible for investment portfolio management for assets in excess of $13 billion for all Intermountain entities and employee assets. Prior to joining Intermountain Healthcare, she worked for Workers Compensation Fund and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Utah where she was responsible for Treasury and Investment Management functions. Jacque has served on a variety of boards, including; Dignity Healthcare Investment Committee, Westminster College Endowment Committee, Virginia Piper Foundation, Healthcare Credit Union Board and Asset Liability Committee, and US Bank and Key Bank Advisory Committees.
Rebecca Van Maren, Community Partnerships Coordinator, Thayne Center for Service & Learning, Salt Lake Community College
Rebecca Van Maren serves as the Community Partnerships Coordinator at Thayne Center for Service & Learning at Salt Lake Community College. Rebecca is currently seeking her Masters of Arts in Community Leadership at Westminster College. She obtained dual BAs in Human Development and Family Studies; Community and Consumer Studies from the University of Utah with a Service Learning Scholar designation. Rebecca has over 7 years’ experience in Hunger Relief nonprofit work, primarily around childhood nutrition programs and volunteer coordination. She is alumni of AmeriCorps, Feeding America’s Child Hunger Corps, and was in the 17th class of Emerson National Hunger Fellows. In 2015 she was selected as the Bennion Center’s Drew Peterson Alumni Service Award recipient.
Ashley Hoopes, Executive Director, Circles Salt Lake
Ashley grew up seeing her single working mother struggling to make ends meet, and saw her neighborhood, ward, and extended family circle around them to keep them afloat. Years later, after graduating with a degree in social work, Ashley started a preschool program for the children living at The Road Home and quickly saw that many of the families living at the shelter lacked access to the friends and resources that had carried her own family through their tough times. She also did research that supported her suspicions that many of the families experiencing homelessness were survivors of past and current trauma.
Ashley went on to get a Master in Public Administration from the University of Utah, while she operated a private support network for families experiencing homelessness. During that time, she was introduced to the Circles model and became an instant fan. She worked with community members, businesses, The Safe Harbor Foundation, and Arrive Utah to secure funding for a Salt Lake chapter, and is excited, no, make that ecstatic, about bringing Circles to families and community members.
We also want to recognize our Application Judges who each spend 10-15 hours reviewing and ranking applications to narrow down our top 10 finalists! Each application is reviewed and ranked by two separate Application Judges.
- Aimee Horman
- Amy Smith
- Andrea Young
- Carol LaDamus
- Dan Kaelberer
- Dave Baugh
- Dustine McCormack
- Heather Rogers
- Jamileh Jameson
- Jayne Barnett
- Jenn Mayer
- Liz Stringham
- Maggie Roberts
- Maree Loader
- Mike Draper
- Paul Matthews
- Scott Bawden
- Selena Young
- Shannon Wilson
- Shauna McMaster
- Stacie Lawrence
- Steve Whatcott
- Suzanne Taylor
- Tami Ostmark
- Troy Bengtzen
- Maria Moynihan
- Tyler Young