About
STEERING COMMITTEE
The women who keep Utah Moms running!
Deborah Burney-Sigman
Debbie Sigman grew up in San Francisco and lived in Boston before moving to Salt Lake City, but in coming here closes the circle to ancestors that helped settle Nephi, Utah. She is fortunate to be home with her son, and enjoys the simple pleasures of his growing up. She has a PhD in Biology and is chilled to know what harm comes to young, old, and in -between when our air is bad.
Debbie Sigman is Vice-President for Utah Moms for Clean Air.
Cameron Cova
Cameron Alston Cova grew up in Salt Lake City, and is a UofU alum, where she studied creative writing. She is the lucky and happy full-time mom to her young daughter. Prior to professional motherhood, Cameron, a UC Berkeley School of Law grad, practiced intellectual property law and handled pro bono environmental matters for a law firm in San Francisco. Cameron is thrilled to be back home among the beautiful mountains of Utah. Utah’s air quality has been a major concern for Cameron for many years, however, and the bad air almost kept her from raising her family here. Cameron well-remembers the many inversion-induced smoggy days of her childhood and wants something better for her daughter and other Utah children.
Cameron Cova is Co-President of Utah Moms for Clean Air.
Michelle Hofmann
Michelle Hofmann likes to call herself a full-time mom and a part-time pediatrician. She spends most of her time caring for two busy toddlers. Two nights per week she works as a pediatric hospitalist, where she takes care of sick children admitted to the hospital. She moved to Salt Lake City from Spring Lake, New Jersey in 1989, attending the University of Utah on a full athletic scholarship for gymnastics. After returning back East for medical school and residency, she returned to Salt Lake City in 2003. Michelle’s interest in clean air began when she became a firsthand witness to the significant rise in pediatric hospitalizations for respiratory illnesses during the winter months. Together with Utah Moms for Clean Air, Michelle hopes to better educate the public regarding the adverse health effects of air pollution as well as what we can do as individuals to clean up our air.
Michelle Hofmann is Co-President for Utah Moms for Clean Air.
Mary McIntyre Jacquin
Mary Jacquin is the mother of three children, Max (8), Will (5) and Morgan (22 months) and a resident of Park City. Mary has a B.S. in Political Science from Santa Clara University and is finishing her Masters of Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University. Mary moved from London, England, in 2004 with her husband and children, and is thrilled about living in the beautiful mountains of Utah. While excited about raising her children here, Utah’s air quality is a major concern for Mary. Mary is passionate about the outdoors and encourages her children to participate in outdoor activities, but is concerned about the parallels between Utah’s air quality and the horribly smoggy days of her childhood in Los Angeles.
Mary Jacquin is Co-chair of the Park City chapter of Utah Moms for Clean Air.
Patricia B. Sanders
Pat Sanders is active in several environmental groups in Salt Lake City besides Utah Moms for Clean Air. She is on the planning committee of Post Carbon Salt Lake and a member of the Mayor’s Green Team. She is concerned about the need for clean air along the Wasatch Front for the sake of all children and adults, but especially for the sake of her 18-year-old stepdaughter, who suffers frequently from respiratory illnesses. With a Ph. D. in art history, Pat brings many years’ experience in university teaching, writing and administration as well as organizational activities. Pat is currently Associate Director of Brolly Arts, bringing an eco-arts focus to that Salt Lake City nonprofit.
Cherise Miller Udell
Cherise Udell, the founder of Utah Moms for Clean Air, is a mother of two daughters, Sophia (3 yrs) and Ella (15 months) and a resident of Salt Lake City. Cherise has a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from U.C. Berkeley and is finishing her M.S. in Environmental Health and Social Ecology at Yale University – that is in between play dates, changing diapers and kissing boo-boos. Her husband, Kent, is a Lehi native with Utah roots spanning back many generations.
As a mother of two small children she was horrified by the dangerous quality of Utah’s air this past winter. On red alert days she felt as if she was locking her babies in a windowless room full of chain smokers. Thus, she wrote a simple, but heartfelt letter, to about 100 moms inviting them to join her and other mothers who want to help make Utah’s air cleaner and safer – and the response has been phenomenal. Hundreds of mothers emailed her saying, “yes, count me in” and thus Utah Moms for Clean Air was born.
Kathy Van Dame
Kathy Van Dame is a retired nurse who loves to travel. A military brat, she and David came to Utah in 1973 as newlyweds for skiing. She’s had a deep concern for the Earth and her inhabitants from earliest memory and became active in air quality in 1997. Kathy currently represents organized environmental interests on the Utah Air Quality Board.
BOARD MEMBERS
The Board of Utah Moms for Clean Air includes all of those on the steering committee as well as the following individuals.
Dana Clark
Dana Clark has been drawn to Utah’s desert, mountains and rivers for more than a decade, and she met her husband while kayaking on the Escalante River. She moved to Salt Lake City in 2006 to get married, and is now raising a son. She became extremely concerned about the bad air during her pregnancy, and started researching the potentially devastating impacts of the local air pollution on fetal development and on young children growing up in poor air quality. Her husband, who has lived in Utah for 25 years, is developing asthma which he attributes to exercising outdoors in the bad air. Dana is a co-founder of the Utah Moms for Clean Air because she is determined to create a safer environment for her son. She is a lawyer by training. She serves as part of the Global Finance team at Rainforest Action Network, and she is President and founder of the International Accountability Project.
Travis Harvey
Travis Harvey has lived in Utah for 16 years. After growing up on the east coast, she fell in love with the gorgeous, accessible wilderness and the clear blue skies and decided to call Utah home. She is currently building a net-zero energy home using photovoltaic power with her husband and young son. Travis has been a long-time children’s rights advocate, and a maternal and child health advocate. Our air pollution problem most seriously affects the most vulnerable of our population and Travis is ready to put an end to it and get clearer, bluer skies for all Utahns. Her academic background in social science and anthropology, her professional background in project management and communications, and her civic background in social organizing and community development all play a role in her work with Utah Moms for Clean Air. Motherhood is the most important role Travis has ever played and she looks forward to leaving a legacy of clear air and an example of civic responsibility for her son.
Lori Taylor
Lori Taylor grew up on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley then lived in Washington, DC, and New York for 20 years before moving back to Utah recently with her husband and two young children. Though she wants to raise her children in the shadows of the Wasatch Mountains, as she has kept her children inside red day after red day, she wonders if the move to Utah was a good idea. Lori has worked as a writer, editor, archivist, teacher, and web developer. She has a Ph.D. in American Studies and, for many years, taught history and related courses at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Lori is involved in social organizing for local and national sustainable living organizations.
Lori Taylor is Secretary for Utah Moms for Clean Air.
Kent Udell
Kent Udell grew up in Lehi, Utah. He earned his B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Utah State University and his M.S. and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah. With appointments in both Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering, he taught engineering at the University of California, Berkeley for 26 years, serving as the Director of the Berkeley Environmental Restoration Center, as the chair of the campus-wide hazardous waste management committee, and as vice-chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is currently Professor and Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, and the Director of the University of Utah’s Office of Sustainability. His research interests include sustainable energy engineering and local air quality thermodynamics.
OTHER SUPPORTERS
Julie Vanderwekken
Julie Vanderwekken was born in Salt Lake City, raised in Sandy, Utah, and has been living in Salt Lake now for 14 years. She and her husband Lee, who is also a Utah native, honeymooned while backpacking in the gorgeous Zion National Park backcountry, which is testament to her love of the outdoors. As the mother of two young sons ages 2 & 5, she is motivated to help better Utah’s air quality so they can fully enjoy all this state has to offer, without worrying about the health risks of being outside. Her 5 year old also has GERD (Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease), which air pollution is a known aggravator of. Julie has an Associate Of Science Degree and an Associate Of Applied Arts Degree with a major in Visual Art & Design/Photography, so in addition to documenting Utah Moms For Clean Air’s efforts in the news, she hopes to visually capture their efforts with her camera.
Julie Vanderwekken is the Archivist for Utah Moms for Clean Air.
Jacki Walker
Jacki Walker moved to Utah in 2000 and currently lives in Salt Lake City with her husband and 2-year-old daughter. She attended BYU where she studied broadcast journalism. Before motherhood, Jacki worked as a news producer in Salt Lake City. After airing countless stories about the pollution, she decided to get involved in cleaning it up. She hopes her daughter will grow up to a much cleaner Utah .
Jacki Walker is Newsletter Editor for Utah Moms for Clean Air.