Women and Policy, Strategy, Politics, and Change

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 this webinar, Dr. Susan R. Madsen will interview Maura Carabello, President and Owner of The Exoro Group, on her thoughts about the role of women in politics, policy, strategy, communication, problem-solving, and change work in today’s world. As a decades long advisor and strategist to Utah’s top elected officials, nonprofit change agents, and business leaders, Maura will share her passion about doing this work and why it is critical for more women to do powerful work in this space. She will also discuss the benefits and challenges of being at the center of complex policy discussions and even highly controversial projects. As someone who gravitates to critical infrastructure, policy, and the hard work of change, Maura will share her insights on the crucial work needed in this space for Utah. Finally, Maura will respond to questions about her own leadership development journey and what she hopes for Utah moving forward. Come, listen, and learn from this important conversation!

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

Panelist

Maura Carabello is Founder and President of The Exoro Group, a recognized communications, policy, and strategy group based in Salt Lake City, Utah, since 2002. Maura is an advisor and strategist to Utah’s top elected officials, nonprofit change agents, and business leaders. Her experiences span development work in Uganda, Time Magazine in New York, the director of several nonprofits, as well as leading hundreds of regional, national and state campaigns and initiatives. Maura is a well-known speaker, trainer, sought-after advisor and trusted problem solver. Maura is known for seeking counsel from both sides of the political spectrum, and from many different sectors of advocacy, policy, and positions of influence. She is a regular guest on KUTV-CBS weekly podcast Take Two, PBS Utah Hinckley Report, as well as a frequent contributor on NPR and other news outlets. Her company publishes the definitive guide for the Utah State Legislature, as well as manuals for public engagement in the caucus/convention systems.

Maura has four principles that drive her work. Be the best you can be; pay attention to the details; do something that matters; and character counts. The power of advocacy and her deep desire to improve the world in which we live are what drive Maura. Exoro has led hundreds of campaigns, both issues and candidate, secured close to one billion dollars in public and private funding for clients, been in the center of complex policy discussions and highly controversial projects. Exoro gravitates to critical infrastructure, policy, and the hard work of change. The best compliment Maura can remember is when a client said they chose to engage Maura because she had achieved the blending of respect and influence.

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