On a warm May afternoon in Price, Utah, over 130 people gathered at USU Eastern for the 2nd Annual Utah Conference on Community Engagement (UCCE), facilitated by USU’s Transforming Communities Institute (TCI). In attendance were representatives from over 33 community organizations and 9 higher education institutions from across the state—individuals passionate about working alongside communities to create positive change. The three-day event included a keynote session delivered by Gabi Finlayson and Jackie Morgan from Elevate Strategies, community field trips, a poster session and community partnership fair, an award ceremony, and breakout sessions exploring topics ranging from starting grassroots initiatives to exploring power dynamics in community work. Organized by a steering committee with broad representation and chaired by two co-chairs, one housed in USU TCI and the other a nonprofit leader, the conference aims to bring together people who do community-centered work to share strategies, resources, and best practices. But, more than that, at its core UCCE is an effort to rethink who gets to contribute expertise in conversations about community engagement and to make sure community partners aren’t simply invited into those conversations but are shaping them.
My involvement with UCCE began when I started my role as the Community Partnerships & Education Coordinator with USU TCI in November 2024. In this role, one of my responsibilities is to chair UCCE, acting as the main facilitator of the steering committee and primary organizer of the conference. From the beginning, our goal has been to create a conference shaped not only by higher education professionals, but also by the community organizations and partners engaged in this work every day. That commitment is reflected in both who attends the conference and who helps plan it. In 2026, we strengthened this emphasis by bringing on Kendra Penry, Executive Director of Stokes Nature Center, to serve as our Community Co-Chair and help ensure community perspectives are represented throughout the planning process.
It was through the steering committee that I was first introduced to Kimberly Schmit and her work at University Neighborhood Partners (UNP). From our first meeting, Kimberly brought valuable ideas about how we could engage more meaningfully with community partners and the local Price community. Kimberly deeply understands the importance of centering community voices in community work and consistently advocated for greater community input and connection throughout the planning process.
As I learned more about UNP, I also began to see parallels between their work and ours at TCI. Both of our organizations work to connect university resources and expertise with communities, although we do so in different ways and in different parts of the state. Through UCCE, we’ve made connections across our networks, learned from each other’s approaches, and identified ways our unique strengths can complement one another. There is far more community-engaged work to be done across Utah than any one organization or institution can take on alone, and working together allows us to build greater capacity for communities than either of us could independently.
UNP’s commitment to centering community voices became even more apparent to me when the 2025 conference began and I had the opportunity to meet more of the UNP staff and their partners. Kimberly hadn’t come to UCCE alone—she had brought a crew of colleagues and community partners with her, and encouraged them to present posters and breakout sessions about the impactful work they were all engaged in. Not only did UNP have a presence in the program with their presentations, but they also brought a real energy to the conference. I’ll never forget their excitement when we played bingo one night after dinner, cheering and hollering as the numbers they needed were or were not called.
At this year’s conference, the UNP group was even bigger and their energy even more infectious. What really stands out to me about UNP’s participation in UCCE is their commitment to bringing community partners to the conference to share their own stories. UNP isn’t centering community voices by simply speaking about communities; they’re enabling community partners to participate directly and speak for themselves. UNP also plays a valuable role in building connections among participants at the conference, finding opportunities for future collaboration both with UNP and across other organizations. Kimberly’s contributions to UCCE have not gone unnoticed. In 2025, she was nominated for, and ultimately received, the Utah Community Advocate of the Year award.
Working with Kimberly and the UNP team has pushed me to think more intentionally about what it means to center community voices. I’ve realized it isn’t enough to create a conference for people doing community-engaged work and then invite community partners to attend. They need opportunities to shape the conversation, share their own expertise, and help determine what the conference becomes.
As preparations begin for the 2027 Utah Conference on Community Engagement, this commitment to community voices will continue to shape our planning. I look forward to working alongside Kimberly, UNP staff, and their partners as we build a conference that creates space for community partners to share their expertise and experiences. Their involvement is a reminder that meaningful community engagement isn’t just about creating opportunities for communities, it is about creating them with communities.
Written by: Erin Jensen, MSW, Program Coordinator, Community Partnerships & Education at the Transforming Communities Institute at Utah State University