Katie L. Dixon Women & Girls Leadership Fund

Dixon Girls Forums

The Dixon Girls Forums encourage female-identifying students to seek positions of leadership and develop leadership skills during primary, secondary, college and post-college years through mentoring, support, and skill development. The goal is to encourage female-identifying students to self-identify as leaders throughout their lives.

The Dixon Girls Forums originated in four Salt Lake area high schools during the 2001-2002 academic year. Based on feedback from students who had participated, the Forums and curriculum were expanded to reach students in middle and junior high schools. During the 2007-2008 academic year, in collaboration with the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center, the Forums expanded again to include elementary schools, particularly those with diverse student populations. In 2020, the Dixon Girls Forums were revitalized to be part of school-based social work practicum placements for BSW and MSW students, giving those involved a chance to be leaders and to model leadership for female-identifying students in grade school, junior high, and high school.

A consistent theme among the female-identifying students at participating schools has been an interest in finding ways to bring different groups of female-identifying students together to overcome “cliques” and exclusion, but participants are empowered to choose Forums with wide-ranging topics such as: