Examine the past. Enrich the present.
Change the future.
Better Days is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history in creative and communal ways. We believe that by exploring the legacy of our past, we make Utah a better place for women in the future.
The year 2020 was the perfect time to commemorate our history because it marked the 150th anniversary of Utah women becoming the first in the U.S. to vote under an equal suffrage law. It also marked the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which extended voting rights to all U.S. women citizens, and the 55th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed race-based discrimination in voting laws.
TEAM
GOverning Board
Zandra Anderson, Finance Executive
Dr. Delaina Tonks, Director of Mountain Heights Academy
Mandee Grant, Office of Senator Romney
Dr. Naomi Watkins, Utah State Board of Education
Jen Christensen, Chief of Staff for Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson
Kristen Edwards, Nonprofit leader
Historical Consultants
Barbara Jones Brown, Executive Director, Mormon History Association
Dr. Jackie Thompson, Retired Director of Educational Equity at Davis School District and member of Utah's Multicultural Affairs Commission
Jill Remington Love, Executive Director, Utah Department of Heritage and Arts
Dr. Colleen McDannell, Professor of History and Sterling M. McMurrin Professor of Religious Studies, University of Utah
Brittany Chapman Nash, Women’s Historian at the LDS Church History Library
Dr. Jeffery Nokes, Associate Professor of History, Brigham Young University
Darren Parry, Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation
Dr. Andrea Radke-Moss, Professor of Women's History/American History at BYU-Idaho
Dr. Jenny Reeder, Women’s Historian at the LDS Church History Library
Advisory Board
Sean Reyes, Co-Chair
Attorney General of the State of Utah
Carine Clark, Co-Chair
CEO, Banyan
Eliana White
Public Policy Analyst
Ben McAdams
Representative, U.S. Congress
Carol Cornwall Madsen
Historian, Emmeline B. Wells Biographer
Cindie Quintana
CenturyLink
Courtney Kendrick
Provo City Mayor’s Office
Deidre Henderson
Utah State Senator
Jackie Biskupski
Mayor, Salt Lake City
Jeanette Bennett
Owner, Bennett Communications
Clint Betts
Executive Director, Silicon Slopes
John Curtis
Representative, U.S. Congress
Brittney Nystrom, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Utah
Pat Jones
President, Women’s Leadership Institute
Saysha Reyes
Volunteer Organizer
Scott Anderson
President, Zions Bank
Susan Madsen
Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership and Ethics, Utah Valley University
Natalie Gochnour
Assistant Dean, David Eccles School of Business
Shirlee Silversmith
Director, Division of Indian Affairs, Department of Heritage and Arts
Erin Goff
Executive Producer, KSL 5 TV
Ann M. Berghout Austin
Director of the Center for Women and Gender, Utah State University
Melissa Garff Ballard, Utah State Representative
Alan Johnson, Director, LDS Church History Museum
In the News
PRESS RELEases
Better Days Commemorates the 125th Anniversary of Women’s First Elections to Public Office
SALT LAKE CITY — November 3, 2021 — Utah women’s history non-profit Better Days marked the 125th anniversary of the first Utah women’s election to public office with a press conference hosted by Lt. Governor Deidre M. Henderson’s office. On November 3, 1896, Utahns elected 14 women to public office across the new state, including Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon as the nation’s first female state senator. In 2018, the Utah State Legislature voted to send a statue of Dr. Cannon to represent Utah in National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. Completed in 2020 by Utah sculptor Ben Hammond, her statue stands outside the Supreme Court chambers in the Utah State Capitol until the U.S. Capitol Building reopens to the public and an installation ceremony can take place.
Better Days announced new, standards-aligned K-12 curriculum teaching students about Utah women’s trailblazing history of civic engagement, as well as a traveling exhibit about Dr. Cannon and women’s leadership in the early years of Utah statehood. Toolkit and exhibit requests can be made at www.utahwomenshistory.org/2022/03/mhctoolkits/. These materials enhance students’ literacy and critical thinking skills and encourage civic engagement. For more information, visit www.utahwomenshistory.org.
Utah women citizens were the first in the United States to vote under an equal suffrage law, and their historic votes in 1870 paved the way for expanding women’s voting rights across the nation. Although Congress disenfranchised Utah women in 1887, thousands of suffragists organized to regain the vote with statehood. When Utah became the 45th state on January 4, 1896, it became the 3rd state to extend full voting and political rights to women citizens. Utah women ran for political office for the first time in 1896.
“Martha Hughes Cannon and the other trailblazing women who served in public office during those early years of statehood not only used their voices to improve their communities but also set a pattern of women’s political engagement for the rest of the nation,” said Better Days Historical Director Rebekah Clark. “They established a legacy of leadership that women in Utah continue to build on today.”
About Better Days 2020 Better Days is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history. We believe that by exploring women’s legacy of leadership in the past, we make Utah a better place for women in the future. The nonprofit has led the public education campaign: www.UtahHERitage.com to commemorate the 150th anniversary of women first voting in Utah. Better Days created an education curriculum focused on Utah women’s history that can be found at www.utahwomenshistory.org. A new, permanent memorial celebrating women’s voting rights was commissioned by Better Days 2020 and sits on the Utah Capitol Grounds at Council Hall. To learn more, visit www.betterdays2020.org.
Media Contact
Katherine Kitterman
928.814.2659
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Better Days 2020 Names Kristen Edwards as Executive Director
SALT LAKE CITY — September 15, 2020 — Better Days 2020, a nonprofit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history in creative and communal ways through education, the arts, and legislation, today announced Kristen Edwards has been named executive director. The nonprofit led a public campaign this year in the state of Utah to commemorate the 150th anniversary of women first voting in the state.
Edwards, formerly the director of finance for Better Days 2020, will succeed Neylan McBaine, who served as CEO since the project’s inception in 2016. McBaine has accepted a new role in the corporate sector. “We are so grateful for Neylan’s leadership and vision and we are confident that Kristen will continue to lead this essential Utah nonprofit in the right direction,” said Zandra Anderson, chair of the Better Days 2020 governance board.
“During this historic year for women, Better Days 2020 has raised the visibility of the significant historical contributions of Utah women,” said Edwards. “We will continue to pursue our mission to ensure Utah becomes a better place for women by popularizing Utah women’s history. This fall, we plan to engage with community partners and Utah HERitage teachers to ensure our education curriculum continues to be part of a statewide learning experience in public and private schools.”
About Better Days 2020 Better Days 2020 is dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history in creative and communal ways. By exploring the legacy of our past, it makes Utah a better place for women in the future. The nonprofit has led the public education campaign: www.UtahHERitage.com to commemorate the 150th anniversary of women first voting in Utah. Better Days 2020 created an education curriculum focused on Utah women’s history that can be found at www.utahwomenshistory.org. A new, permanent memorial celebrating women’s voting rights was commissioned by Better Days 2020 and sits on the Utah Capitol Grounds at Council Hall. To learn more, visit www.betterdays2020.org.
Media Contact
Mandee Grant
801.369.8637
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February 10th Marks Commencement of Utah Women’s Suffrage Week
Celebrations Supported by Better Days 2020 and Utah Department of Heritage & Arts
Honoring 150 years of women’ suffrage, Governor Gary Herbert and the First Lady pay homage to Utah’s suffrage champions during a pinnacle Gold Room commemoration as part of a weeklong celebration from February 10 to 15.
WHAT As part of Utah Women’s Suffrage Week, a weeklong celebration of Utah’s suffrage champions and three important voting rights anniversaries, Governor Herbert and the First Lady will commemorate the 150th anniversaries of the Utah Territorial Legislature granting women of Utah the right to vote on February 12 and Utahn Seraph Young casting the first ballot under a women’s suffrage law on February 14, as well as the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which protected the voting rights of people of color.
In addition to the February 12th celebration at Utah State Capitol, several other suffrage events, exhibits and performances will be taking place and open to the public including: A Remembrance Walk for 150 Years of Voting Women on February 14; Women of Notes with Utah Opera at Clubhouse SLC, two short operas by and about women; and a book signing with the authors of two new books: Marianne Monson, author of Her Quiet Revolution: A Novel of Martha Hughes Cannon, and Katherine Kitterman and Rebekah Clark, authors of Thinking Women: A Timeline of Suffrage in Utah.
WHO Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Utah First Lady Jeanette Herbert, Better Days 2020 CEO Neylan McBaine, Utah Department of Heritage and Arts Director Jill Love, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal, illustrator Brooke Smart, Utah Cultural Alliance, over 2,000 students from across the state, other elected officials and dignitaries, and suffrage enthusiasts from around the state and country will convene at the Utah State Capitol on February 12 starting at 9:00 a.m.
WHEN February 12th from 9:00 am TO 3:30 pm
9 am to 3:30 pm - Grade K-12 students arrive for suffrage celebration activities
· “Utah Women Working for the Vote and Beyond” exhibit on the 4th floor featuring Brooke Smart’s illustrations and objects that tell Utah’s suffrage story
· Women’s history scavenger hunt with prizes for students
· Swag, videos about the history, and other informational displays
· State Archives display
· Meeting with Utah Attorney General and office leadership to discuss first women lawyers in Utah and importance of women’s issues and advocacy
12:30 pm - “Champions of Change” song in the Capitol Rotunda, Sing-along with hundreds of other students from across the state!
1:00 - 2:00 pm - Official Gold Room Commemoration with Governor Herbert and the First Lady
Featuring Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal
NOTE: Gold Room ceremony open to press; Better Days 2020 and Utah Dept. of Heritage spokespersons will be available to comment.
WHERE Utah State Capitol (rotunda, Gold Room, and other rooms TBD)
350 North State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Other Suffrage Celebration Events scheduled the Week of February 10:
Friday, February 14
11:45 am to 2 pm: A Remembrance Walk for 150 Years of Voting Women (free and open to the public)
Join Better Days 2020, Preservation Utah, Voterise, the Utah Cultural Alliance, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, and the Utah YWCA to walk in memory of a Utah woman who inspires you to lead. We invite you to wear purple, white, or yellow (suffrage colors), and will provide pins and ribbons for you to wear the name of the woman you’re honoring.
The walk will start from City Creek Park at 12:15 pm, head north on State Street for a short speech and exhibit viewing at Council Hall, then end at Memorial House in Memory Grove Park. Following the walk at 1:00 pm, enjoy food, music, activities, and a collaborative art project at Memorial House (375 N. Canyon Road).
7:00 pm: Women of Notes with Utah Opera at Clubhouse in Salt Lake City
Join Utah Opera and Better Days 2020 at the historic Ladies’ Literary Club in Salt Lake City for a performance of two short operas by and about women. Tickets available for purchase HERE.
All Day: Utah Women’s Voter Registration Day
All-day - for more information, visit the www.voterise.org
Saturday, February 15
6 pm to 8 pm: Author Event and Book Signing
Event to feature authors of two new books: Marianne Monson, author of Her Quiet Revolution: A Novel of Martha Hughes Cannon; and Katherine Kitterman and Rebekah Clark, authors of Thinking Women: A Timeline of Suffrage in Utah
Location: American Fork Deseret Bookstore, 468 N 990 W b2, American Fork, Utah 84003
About Better Days 2020
Better Days 2020 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history. The year 2020 commemorates women’s history in Utah, celebrating the Utah Territory women’s first vote in 1870, as well as the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted all U.S. women the right to vote. Recently, Better Days 2020 was named 2018 Best of State winner in the Education/Advocacy Organization category. To learn more and/or support, visit; www.utahheritage.org, www.betterdays2020.org, and www.utahwomenshistory.org.
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SLC Landmark Wins $150K in National Preservation Funds
Former home of the Ladies’ Literary Club will use grant money earned in national competition to improve venue accessibility
SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 30, 2019) – The historic Ladies’ Literary Club building in Salt Lake City has secured $150,000 in preservation funding in a competition amongst buildings in 20 other cities nationwide.
Now known as the Clubhouse on South Temple, its owners have partnered with Better Days 2020 — a non-profit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history — to raise awareness and earn important funding for an establishment that was once nicknamed “the House that the Women Built.”
“This stunning and historic venue is one of Salt Lake City’s best secrets. Playing a role in preserving and updating the Clubhouse is an important part of our mission to popularize Utah’s women’s history,” said Neylan McBaine, CEO of Better Days 2020.
The 106-year-old Clubhouse building on 850 East South Temple served as the home of the Ladies’ Literary Club — the first women’s club west of the Mississippi River — for a century. As the first social group for non-Mormon women in Utah, the Ladies’ Literary Club played a critical role in pushing for women’s right to vote, establishing the city’s first free public library and kindergarten, sponsoring arts education programs and more throughout the Clubhouse’s rich history.
In 2013, in order to save the building from the risk of demolition, the remaining members of the Ladies’ Literary Club donated the Clubhouse to Preservation Utah. After creating a preservation plan for the historic venue, the non-profit sold the building to Photo Collective Studios in 2016.
The former home of the Ladies’ Literary Club is still in need of serious updates, requiring guests in wheelchairs be lifted into the building to attend events. This funding will be used to restore the sinking front porch and stairs with the addition of an ADA wheelchair ramp, making the Clubhouse truly accessible to all communities for the first time in its history.
“For over a century, this architectural masterpiece has been home to important milestones in Utah women’s history and a creative venue for performing arts and education,” said Jessie Jude Gilmore, co-owner of the Clubhouse on South Temple. “We look forward to the future role it will play knowing that it will finally be accessible to all.”
The competition was sponsored by Partners in Preservation, a program in which American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation award preservation grants to historic places across the country, in collaboration with Main Street America and National Geographic. The winners of the competition were determined by a public voting campaign that received a total of 1.1 million votes between September 24 and October 29, choosing 13 buildings that honor the legacy of women’s history on main streets across the United States.
For more information about the Clubhouse on South Temple, visit ClubhouseSLC.com.
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About Better Days 2020
Better Days 2020 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history through education, the arts and legislation. The year 2020 commemorates women’s history in Utah, celebrating the Utah Territory women’s first vote in 1870, as well as the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted all U.S. women the right to vote. Better Days 2020 was named Best of State winner in the Education/Advocacy Organization category in 2018 and 2019. To learn more and/or support, visit BetterDays2020.org.
Media Contacts
Alex Murphy
Intrepid
801-481-9482
Utah Capitol Preservation Board Approves
Prime Location for New Women’s History Sculpture
As the nonprofit leading Utah’s suffrage education and celebration next year, Better Days 2020 applauds the new location decision and kicks off fundraising campaign to support sculpture completion.
SALT LAKE CITY (October 21, 2019) — Better Days 2020, a non-profit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history through education, the arts, and legislation, today applauded the unanimous decision by Utah Capitol Preservation Board Executive Director Allyson Gamble and board members to construct the new women’s history memorial in a prime location across from the Utah State Capitol on the northeast lawn of historic Council Hall at 300 State Street.
To ensure completion and dedication in 2020, Better Days 2020 has launched a dedicated campaign to raise funds for the sculpture through private fundraising.
“By placing this sculpture in front of the building where the first American female vote was cast under equal suffrage laws, we hope to inspire residents and visitors alike to learn about and contemplate Utah’s trailblazing history,” said Neylan McBaine, CEO and co-founder of Better Days 2020. “Our remarkable women’s heritage is part of what makes Utah great.”
Utah artists Kelsey Harrison and Jason Manley have designed an aesthetically interactive sculpture that will allow Utah residents and visitors to contemplate the hurdles and great achievements of Utah suffragists and women’s advocates.
“Jason and I are proud to share our design with the Utah community in commemoration of the historic and too little known role this state played in the struggle for women's right to vote, as well as the ways suffrage was both expanded and protected for women and communities of color in the years after the historic passage of the 19th Amendment,” said artist Kelsey Harrison. “We look forward to unveiling and dedicating this memorial during the height of the Utah suffrage celebrations next year.
The artists were chosen by an Artist Selection Committee headed by Diane Stewart, Modern West Fine Art gallery owner; and included Vicki Varela, the managing director, Utah Office of Tourism; Laura Hurtado, the executive director of Utah Museum of Contemporary Art; Whitney Tassie, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Utah Museum of Fine Arts; Jim Glenn, the Public and Design Arts Manager for the State Of Utah; Rosie Serago, member of the Utah Office of Tourism; Jared Steffensen, Artist and Curator of Exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art; and Stephanie Angelides, the Capitol Curator, Inventory and Collections Manager for Utah Capitol Preservation Board.
According to Modern West Fine Art gallery owner Diane Stewart, a cultural force in Utah and beyond, “The women’s history sculpture is a uniquely creative project that will not only serve to memorialize Utah women’s achievements during the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, but will also cement Utah’s own auspicious 150th anniversary of being the first place where American women cast ballots. I am honored to have led and advised during the artist selection process, and look forward with anticipation to the unveiling of the sculpture next year.”
Utah Capitol Preservation Board members include Lt. Governor Spencer Cox, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, Senator Gregg Buxton, Senator Gene Davis, Representative Jim Dunnigan, Representative Mike Schultz, Representative Patrice Arent, Chief Justice Matthew Durrant and Interim State Historic Preservation Officer Don Hartley.
Donations in support of Utah women’s history memorial are also being collected online at BetterDays2020.org/Donate.
About Better Days 2020
Better Days 2020 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history through education, the arts and legislation. The year 2020 commemorates women’s history in Utah, celebrating the Utah Territory women’s first vote in 1870, as well as the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which extended women’s voting rights across the country. Better Days 2020 was named Best of State winner in the Education/Advocacy Organization category in 2018 and 2019. To learn more and/or support, visit BetterDays2020.org.
Media Contacts
Lee Rech Alex Murphy
lbr@betterdays2020.org amurphy@intrepidagency.com
801-556-8423 801.481.9482
Better Days 2020 Partners with KUED on “Book Club in a Box”
December 3, 2018
SALT LAKE CITY - December 3, 2018 - Better Days 2020, a non-profit organization dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history through education, legislation, and the arts, and KUED, Utah’s PBS station, focused on bringing compelling and relevant stories to broad and diverse audiences, have collaborated on KUED’s latest Book Club in a Box that pairs a PBS documentary and a novel for book club discussion on women’s advocacy.
Better Days 2020 Debuts Women's Suffrage Recognition License Plate on the Steps of the Utah State Capitol to Celebrate Utah’s Leading Role in the Suffrage Movement
October 3, 2018
In honor of the first woman to cast a ballot in the modern nation, Better Days 2020 along with local dignitaries and supporters to unveil new “First to Vote” license plate in celebration of Utah’s past, present and future women leaders.
SALT LAKE CITY—October 3, 2018—Better Days 2020 leadership to announce the availability of a new Utah license plate offering that honors Utah’s significant role in the suffrage movement, considered by historians as the longest lasting social movement in the history of the United States. As the name “First to Vote” denotes, the new license plate more specifically pays homage to the first woman to cast a ballot in the entire modern nation, Utahn Seraph Young, 50 years before the 19th Amendment was ratified. The new Utah “2020 suffrage anniversary celebration” license plate will be available for purchase after October 1. Utah residents can purchase the plate at https://mvp.tax.utah.gov/_/#2 by following the link and inputting current plate and VIN numbers. In the “Plate Type” dropdown, select Women’s Suffrage. Plates can be ordered at any time for any car (new or old); there is a $20 fee. The plate will be mailed to your home.
Better Days 2020 Welcomes Katherine Kitterman as New Historical Director
May 16, 2018
Nonprofit hires U.S. historian and expert researcher to support completion of flagship K-12 education curriculum and other complementary campaign initiatives and projects.
SALT LAKE CITY—May 16, 2018—Better Days 2020, a campaign dedicated to popularizing Utah women’s history in creative and communal ways, today announced it has hired Katherine Kitterman as Historical Director; she will start on May 21. Currently a doctoral candidate in American History at the American University in Washington, D.C., Kitterman is uniquely qualified to help research and share Utah women’s history in creative ways. Most recently, Kitterman was a research assistant at Leavitt Partners and adjunct professor for the Church History and Doctrine Department at Brigham Young University.
Utah Votes to Send Martha Hughes Cannon Statue to U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall in 2020
February 14, 2018
As the nation’s first female state senator, a physician and one of Utah’s leading suffragists, Dr. Martha “Mattie” Hughes Cannon to become one of only 10 statues of women showcased in U.S. Capitol.
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With 2020 marking the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and celebrating the Utah Territory women’s first vote in the modern nation on February 14, 1870, the Utah House of Representatives voted today (67-3), in step with the Utah Senate, to support sending a statue of Martha Hughes Cannon to the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. The statue resolution, promoted by Utah nonprofit Better Days 2020, will be funded through private donations and in-kind support. The Martha Hughes Cannon statue is estimated to arrive in Washington, D.C., in early 2020 to champion Utah and the West’s role in the suffrage movement and commemorate the anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
Nu Skin Force For Good Foundation, Zagg, And Dominion Energy Among First Corporate Sponsors Of Better Days 2020.
January 8, 2018
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Better Days 2020 today announced corporate sponsorship from Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation, Zagg, and Dominion Energy. Better Days 2020 is a state-wide, multi-channel campaign that will coincide with the 150th anniversary of Utah women being first to vote in the modern nation and the 100th national anniversary of the right of women to vote. In less than six months, Better Days 2020 has achieved significant development, support, and sponsorship from the Utah legislature, Utah women’s and academic organizations, private foundations, and individual philanthropists.