Utah's Educated Woman of the Week
The Utah Women & Education Initiative wants to showcase the many
remarkable educated
women who are role models and inspirations for everyone around them! We select women
who are getting and/or using their education in various wonderful ways to highlight
for a week on our website and across social media.
Click here to
Nominate the great women in your life!
Visit our Featured Women page to see past highlights!
Erin Preston
Education
Attorney at Lear Education Law
BYU (1992 Grad) and BYU Law School (1996 graduate)
Erin earned her B.A. and Law Degrees from Brigham Young University and is an attorney licensed with the Utah Bar. Her 25 year+ professional background includes work in the U.S. Senate, Securities & Exchange Commission, working as a Regional Manager for a legal publisher and then as a Founder, Builder and Administrator of a successful charter school and consultant to many other schools. Erin has worked to serve Utah students as a volunteer through the Children’s Justice Center, legislative task forces dedicated to serving the needs of kids, and as an education advocate.
Briefly tell us about your life outside of School/Work:
I have never been one led by particular goals or a designated path. I'm a farm kid from Idaho who learned the value of hard work and doing the right thing at a young age from the parents and grandparents who raised me. At every opportunity I have had in life, I have tried to do the right thing, and not be afraid of doing the hard thing. That philosophy has led me to greater opportunities than I ever could have envisioned on my own.
How do you de-stress?
I have always had a love-hate relationship with stress. Age
has been a great cure to
stressing about things that don't matter (e.g. laundry, what people think of me, grey
hair, etc.) The best path to happiness I have found is to direct my focus and attention
to those who need help and work for their benefit. If you are accomplishing things
for the benefit of others, stress becomes action and takes a motivating, not damaging
role in your life.
Who do you go to for support when you feel really vulnerable??
Other women who I identify with and respect. As women we all feel vulnerable. We all feel inadequate. Once we get past pretending otherwise we can offer each other real support. Finding and developing good friends who I could share my fears and failures with, and share in theirs, was a turning point in my life. We all move forward stronger together once we drop the act that we are or need to be perfect.
Where can we find you online?
FB: https://www.facebook.com/erin.g.preston