The Impact of Women’s Health on Work and Life

The Utah Women & Leadership Project invites you step into a world of inspiration and empowerment by joining our 2025 ten-part webinar “Women in Leadership Executive Speaker Series.” This series is a celebration of dynamic and influential women who have shattered the glass ceiling landscape in Utah.

For our fifth webinar in this series, Dr. Susan R. Madsen will moderate a panel discussion with Dr. Julie Hanks (a licensed therapist, coach, author, relationship expert, media contributor, blogger, speaker, and performing songwriter) and Dr. Audrey A. Jiricko (OBGYN and Senior Medical Director for Women’s Health for Intermountain Health). This conversation will focus not only on the importance of women’s mental and physical health and how it impacts overall wellbeing, but also how it impacts career advancement at work, relationships at home, and engagement in the community. This discussion will also focus on why Utah ranks as one of the worst states for women’s preventative healthcare, mammography and depression rates, and violence against women, along with what can be done to change this. Dr. Madsen will also ask questions related to some of the most pressing needs in Utah and how to prioritize this work at the individual, organizational, and systems levels to ensure positive change. And finally, Drs. Hanks and Jiricko will discuss their own passions, careers, and decision to make this work a priority in their lives. Join this webinar to learn about women’s health and wellbeing, particularly within the state of Utah.

Sponsors: Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University & Utah State University Extension

Panelists

Dr. Julie Hanks is a licensed therapist, coach, author, relationship expert, media contributor, blogger, speaker, and performing songwriter with 28 years’ experience counseling women, couples, and families. In addition to owning Wasatch Family Therapy, LLC and serving as executive director, Dr. Hanks is an emotional health and relationship expert and top online mental health influencer with an extensive and engaged social media following. As sought after media personality Dr. Hanks’ advice has been interviewed for The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Day, Parenting, Reader’s Digest, Redbook, and numerous other publications, and has appeared on-camera on Fox News, Fox Business News, KSL TV’s Studio 5, Discovery Health, TLC, and Reelz Channel. Dr. Hanks as written several books including, “The Burnout Cure: An Emotional Survival Guide for Overwhelmed Women” and “The Assertiveness Guide for Women: How to Communicate Your Needs, Set Healthy Boundaries, and Transform Your Relationships.” Dr. Hanks’ most valuable experience has been “in the trenches” of family life as a wife, mother of 4, and grandmother of 4.

Dr. Audrey A. Jiricko, MD, is an OB/GYN and Senior Medical Director of Women’s Health, Canyons Region for Intermountain Healthcare. She graduated from Vanderbilt University then attended Indiana University School of Medicine and completed residency in Columbus, Ohio at Riverside Methodist Hospital. She is thrilled to work for an organization committed to comprehensive women’s healthcare and moving from production to proactive care. Her interests include development of a Women’s Heart Health program, integrating mental health in the OB/GYN setting, improving the screening of pregnant women for substance use disorders, activating screening for intimate partner and sexual violence and becoming a more trauma-informed organization. Dr. Jiricko and her family enjoy hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, and biking.

Moderator

Dr. Susan R. Madsen is considered one of the top global scholars and thought leaders on the topic of women’s leadership, has authored or edited nine books, and has published hundreds of articles, chapters, and reports. Her research has been cited in the U.S. News and World Report, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Parenting Magazine, Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Washington Post. She is also a regular contributor to Forbes and other local and state newspapers. Professor Madsen is the Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and serves on many nonprofit and community boards. She is also the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, the visionary behind Utah’s A Bolder Way Forward, and her passion is to strengthen the impact of girls and women in Utah and worldwide.

Host or Publisher Utah Women & Leadership Project