The UCLI Team

We are delighted to announce that UCLI’s executive director, Kaitlyn Pieper, has been selected by the Utah State Bar Commission to receive the 2023 Community Member of the Year Award! The Community Member of the Year Award is “Awarded to a non-lawyer member of the community who demonstrates outstanding service toward the creation of a better public understanding of the legal profession and the administration of justice, the judiciary or the legislative process.” A distinguished list of community members have received the Award may be viewed here.

Kaitlyn’s nominator, Cliff Parkinson is the UCLI Community Outreach Co-Chair and said in part, “Kaitlyn spends her days introducing underrepresented populations to the Bar and explains how the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion is trying to close the gap between what the Bar looks like and what the population of Utah looks like.” Kaitlyn expresses her gratitude to the UCLI board for the opportunity to work so closely with incredible members of the legal profession, as well as members of the community at large, on matters of importance to all Utahns. Kaitlyn also thanks the Utah State Bar for this honor and for the many ways they support and empower UCLI and its mission. 

The award was presented to Kaitlyn on November 17 at the 2023 Fall Forum at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. 

UCLI Associate Director Jon Wayas was chosen to be a part of the 2023 class of the Utah State Bar Leadership Academy. Each year 12 Utah attorneys are chosen to participate in this program. Generally, participants have been attorneys for 10 years or less. The program is a chance for lawyers to learn leadership skills and build camaraderie with the other members of their cohort.  The program aims to put participants on a path to become leaders in their own firms and organizations, as well as in the wider Utah State Bar and legal community. As part of the program, participants are also required to serve on a bar committee for at least one year. Jon began serving on the Character and Fitness committee in the summer. This committee reviews applications for those seeking to take the Utah State Bar Examination. The program has been a great benefit to Jon in his work with UCLI. 

The Leadership Academy started with a retreat where attorneys participate in workshops and social activities to quickly build trust and a sense of community. The group then met monthly to learn from respected attorneys and experts. These meetings included topics such as bystander training, how to have difficult conversations, and how to better advocate for yourself in your career. The group also had the opportunity to meet with the Utah Supreme Court to gain perspective and advice on career goals and growth. Of the program Jon says, “The program has helped me gain a close group of friends I would not have met otherwise. It has been great to see the reciprocal help we have been able to give each other in our various professional roles. On a personal level, it has been great to have people to turn for support, and to celebrate our personal and professional successes. I am immensely grateful to have been chosen to participate in the program this year. I would encourage everyone to apply in the future.”

Click here to apply for the 2024 year. The application deadline is November 17, 2023.

UCLI Associate Director Jon Wayas recently participated in a panel discussion with fellow Utah Attorneys at the Federal Bar Association’s national Convention in Memphis, TN. The panel was a chance to highlight the inclusion efforts being made by various organizations across Utah’s legal community. As a result of this panel, Jon Wayas was interviewed by an editor at the website Law 360. The interview and subsequent article are a great opportunity to highlight UCLI on a national level. The article can be read here or here.

Watch Laura’s interview on our YouTube channel here!

Laura Kyte, a single mother of two, is planning to take the Utah State Bar exam this Fall. Yet growing up, she never considered she would become a lawyer. As a young girl in California, Kyte grew up in a low-income household. The only experience she had with the law was through TV and interactions she had with the men working with her Dad after he had gone to prison. “I thought, kids like me don’t go to law school,” Kyte laughed, “I remember my younger sister wanted to go and I thought she was naive.” 

Laura did not do the typical undergraduate experience. She was married in her early 20s, working on and off, receiving a real estate license, later going through a divorce, and returning to school to maybe pursue a degree in history. When a professor encouraged her to go to law school she finally realized law would be a great fit. A great fit it is! Kyte graduated from BYU Law School and currently works at the Attorney General’s office in litigation. She plans to clerk for a judge for a year to pursue her interest in civil rights work and criminal law. 

When asked about the barriers to becoming a lawyer as a single, working mother, Laura believes she got lucky. “I was married for 18 years and wasn’t completely financially devastated by the divorce,” Kyte said. “I could sell my house to afford law school, I received child support and alimony… If I hadn’t had those things ….” Kyte trailed off. BYU Law is a full-time program. To juggle classes with being a single mom and working full time would be almost impossible. “I was lucky, my circumstances were such that I could overcome… most women in my position probably wouldn’t have the option if they wanted to.” 

Yet, Laura is still apprehensive about being able to afford the Bar. “Right now I am living on dwindling savings,” Kyte said. Kyte has an 18-year old who is attending college in the Fall. Her budget is tight and anything at this point helps. “The Bar prep scholarship from UCLI made it possible for me to survive for the summer,” Kye explained, “if I don’t pass the Bar it will be financially devastating, I have to take off time for work just to study.”Laura also greatly appreciates the UCLI mentorship program. “It’s incredibly valuable to me, I didn’t know anyone in the law growing up, my mentors are like my brothers.” Kye said. 

Laura believes in UCLI because she believes in equity in legal education. Kyte mentioned, “The barriers to becoming a lawyer are so high for kids in lower socioeconomic status.” Kyte understands that it’s time to even the playing field for these kids. The same goes for women in the legal profession. “There needs to be a recognition about the realities women still face, we need to acknowledge what it’s like to work as a woman, a person of color, or other minority in the Utah legal field.” Kyte affirmed, “Once we directly confront these realities, we can begin evening the playing field.” 

Pictured: Laura Kyte, recipient of 2021 Bar Review Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship

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submitted by Collin Mitchell, UCLI Program Development Intern

Alex Sanchez is a law school graduate currently preparing to take the bar in Utah. He grew up in a hard working family with both of his parents working blue collar jobs all of his adolescent life. Although he is a native of California with strong familial roots in El Salvador, Alex moved to Utah at an early age so Utah is where he calls home. 

Alex was fortunate enough to have many doors open on his way to law school. When he was entering high school, he was given the opportunity to get a scholarship to go to a private Catholic school. At this school, he found a school counselor that really took an interest in his future success. This counselor put the University of Utah on Alex’s radar as a potential landing spot for his post secondary education. At the urging of his counselor, Alex applied and not only got accepted to the University of Utah, but got a full ride through a Larry H Miller scholarship. Originally Alex wanted to graduate and pursue a profession in social work, but after Alex was exposed to law work through his time as a legal assistant, he realized that the law field was the direction he wanted to go. 

Getting into law school wasn’t completely a breeze for Alex either. After scoring lower on the LSAT than he wanted, he wasn’t able to get into the University of Utah’s law school after several years of trying. He then decided to attend a law school in Idaho, ultimately performing extremely well enough to transfer to the University of Utah’s law school. 

Alex’s journey in the legal field is not over. He still needs to pass the bar and achieve his dream of becoming a public defender. He really feels that he could make a difference as a public defender, both as an advocate for the Hispanic community and promoter of criminal justice reform. 

UCLI has had the fortunate opportunity to help Alex with his journey through law school and in his preparation for the bar. While in law school, Alex decided to start an organization for first generation law students. He described UCLI as extremely beneficial to the success of the organization because of UCLI’s help in event planning and funding. UCLI was also able to help members of the organization by providing resources on how to be successful in law school. Personally, UCLI has also been able to help Alex directly in his bar prep. Unfortunately, the bar entrance fee as well as exam prep resources are extremely expensive. UCLI was able to pay for the entrance exam and fund the resources Alex needed to study for the bar.

Pictured: Alex Sánchez, recipient of 2021 Bar Review Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship

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“We believe the legal profession will not live up to its essential ideals — preserving fairness, equality and justice — unless and until the profession’s demographics reflect our communities.”

Last week’s op-ed by UCLI’s Justice Lab Sarah Martinez, Ryan Williams, and Jackie Rosen highlights the importance of proactively examining and pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession. While our efforts are centered in Utah and in its legal profession, many of the principles discussed–– advocacy, courage, community, personal responsibility, work ethic–– apply more broadly.

Worth a read, worth considering, and worth substantive action. Email us at with any follow up you may have!

Read the article here.

Over the last six months, UCLI’s interns have been lucky to hear from various leaders in Utah’s legal profession and beyond. Included among those who have taken the time to speak to our interns are Judge Clem Landau, Melinda Bowen, Che Arguello, Kate Conyers, Jesse Nix, Sadé Turner, Amber Stargell, David Bowen, Brigham Daniels, Sarah Martinez, Ryan Williams, Jacqueline Rosen, and more. 

The purpose behind these weekly meetings is to expose our interns–– many of whom are included among those groups who have been historically underrepresented–– to a variety of legal professionals and careers, and to make these individuals accessible to the interns. We have discussed clerkships, environmental law, family law, corporate law, nontraditional legal paths, criminal law, and others. In the coming months, we anticipate inviting attorneys who practice family law, immigration law, human rights law, federal law, and more, to connect with our interns and to help in laying a foundation for their confidence in becoming attorneys themselves.

We are grateful for those individuals who have agreed to present to our interns, and we are looking forward to continuing to learn from attorneys inside and outside the Utah legal community. If you or someone you know might be interested in speaking with UCLI’s interns in the coming months, please email us at .

Salt Lake City, Utah: The Utah Center for Legal Inclusion (UCLI), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within Utah’s legal profession, has announced that the organization has opened  enrollment for its mentoring program. UCLI is seeking current law students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to enroll in this program where they will be paired with two current attorneys.

The main purpose of this program is to empower students from historically underrepresented groups to thrive in the legal profession by connecting them with current attorneys as mentors. It is designed to build a sense of belonging in Utah’s legal community, to expose mentees to a wide range of career opportunities, and to help mentees develop the necessary professional skills to succeed in law school and beyond.

The mentoring program benefits law students from numerous backgrounds who may not traditionally have access to mentorship. As one student wrote, “My mentors seem like they are very dedicated to their roles as mentors [and] they’ve made it clear that no conversation is off the table. I love this. […] [They are] incredibly valuable to those of us who are embarking on this journey somewhat blindly.“ 

Follow this link to enroll as a law student mentee. To learn more about the program, please visit utahcli.org/law-student-mentoring.

Salt Lake City, Utah: The Utah Center for Legal Inclusion (UCLI), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within Utah’s legal profession, has announced that the organization has opened enrollment for its mentoring program. UCLI is seeking current Utah attorneys from all backgrounds and expertise to enroll in this program. Enrolled mentors will work in tandem with another attorney and law student as a mentoring group.

The main purpose of this program is to empower law students from historically underrepresented groups to thrive in the legal profession by connecting them with practicing Utah attorneys as mentors. It is designed to build a sense of belonging in Utah’s legal community, to expose mentees to a wide range of career opportunities, and to help mentees develop the necessary professional skills to succeed in law school and beyond.

For those law students from numerous backgrounds who may not traditionally have access to mentorship, attorney mentors can make all the difference. As one of our enrolled law students shared, her mentors “made it clear that no conversation is off the table… [They are] incredibly valuable to those of us who are embarking on this journey somewhat blindly.“ 

For this and other law students, real mentorship can be hard to come by and we need your help to close that gap. 

Become a mentor today by enrolling here. To learn more about the program, please visit utahcli.org/law-student-mentoring.