Fall 2025

Front Feature

West Valley Dreamin'

In April, Claudia Loayza and Miguel Trujillo facilitated a Placemaking session with the Westside Community United (WCU) members to begin envisioning what a partnership center in West Valley City might look like. WCU, is a volunteer committee made up of West Valley residents who have helped inform the work being done there. Their work includes supporting the Eccles Health Campus, which is the future site of the West Valley City hospital.

While there is still much to learn and achieve, not least of which is securing a building, it is helpful to learn the resident priorities for the space. 

Here are some key things they identified:

• Space to gather for classes, festivals, and celebrations.
• Partnerships and organizations that can support community priorities. Sociability to connect across generations. Design for all abilities and ages.
• Comfort with flexible spaces for sitting and gathering, multilingual signs, and cultural art.
• Long term impact - affordable, accessible, and open to a wide range of initiatives.

---

The Power of Youth Voices:

WATOS Summer Residency

We Are Telling Our Stories, or WATOS, is a 4-week summer program with writing, poetry, and performance for youth, aged 15 to 22. It is in partnership with The Center for Documentary Expression and Art, West Valley Arts, Salt Lake Community College, and University Neighborhood Partners.

The summer residency includes up to 35 students who work with Dr. David Gonzalez, an artist who is an award-winning poet, musician, and storyteller. 2025 was his second year leading this program.

Students who completed the program, earned three elective credits from the University of Utah, may have their writings included in a SLCC publication, and they perform their works on stage at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in front of family and friends at the end of the residency.

This summer marked the program's third year. Participants found ways to creatively tell personal stories through powerful poetry, physical performance, with dance, and with music. One of this year's students produced a video.

These students don't shy away from difficult topics. They shared stories about issues like sexual abuse, cancer and the subsequent death of a parent, and several shared stories related to fear and trauma about the current political stress and the detention of classmates or family members by ICE. Not all of the topics are that heavy though. One student delighted (and creeped out) the audience describing isopods.

Storytelling is powerful. It can evoke emotions, making us laugh and cry. It helps to connect us, not just to each other, but to issues, to our heritage, to the past and present, and sometimes even to ourselves. This partnership is a meaningful example of that.

---

Leadership Rooted in Culture:

UNP & The Nafanua Foundation

In May, a room full of people gathered for a showcase and fundraising event in support of the Nafanua Leaders Fellowship program. While the audience enjoyed foods like povi masima with cabbage, palusami, oka, and fa 'alifu taro, six young women highlighted their experiences with the 14-week program.

This pilot program, the newest initiative of the Nafanua Foundation, is for young Samoan women, aged 18-26. The fellows connect with their culture and heritage, while building their leadership skills and confidence. Each participant was paired with a mentor based on their chosen area of interest. Over the next few months each participant learned Samoan songs, dances, and stories while developing their service projects they would ultimately do when the course culminated in American Samoa.

This program, part of the Nafanua Foundation was a vision developed by their executive director Gwendolyn Tuaitanu and Saolo Betham of UNP. The foundation itself began with the Miss Tausala America pageant in 2024. The pageant celebrates not just beauty, but also intelligence, service, and the cultural heritage of the women. With the desire to build on the momentum of these goals, the leadership program took root.

The participants, mentors, and projects from this inaugural session are:

Anastasia Maiai (Gwen & Saolo), with a focus on the value of mentorship and preserving Samoan culture and heritage. She spoke about the value of service and importance of community. "Leadership is not standing over others, but with them." She added that leadership is a "continuous journey of lifting others."

Vanessa Maiai (Afa Ah Loo), chose to empower other women. Vanessa explained that we often have a narrow standard of beauty. Her project aimed to build their confidence through a runway fashion show. Helping to teach better posture, eye contact, and mindset. She explained that it's not just about clothes, but "stepping into your power''.

Savanah Samasei'a's (Lily Manumaleuna) project was focused on awareness and support for autism and neurodivergence in children. She aimed to develop sensory toys and other tools to help them.

Katerina Matapula (Oreta Tupola), chose women's health and wellness, bringing attention to issues like diabetes and obesity. She spoke about getting women active physically, as well as within their community. Checking in with others, offering help, and having respect for one's elders.

Faith Hill (Tausoa Mulitalo), focused on mental health, and destigmatizing the issue through the relationship between mothers and daughters. She spoke about standing between two cultures, honoring where you come from and discovering who you are.

Brooklyn Toelupe (Vitoria Tanuvasa Misivila), explained that she learned communication and research skills through the program to focus on anxiety disorder, particularly among teenage youth. She described a mental health gap analysis of Pacific Islander youth suicide rates.

Over the summer these fellows traveled to American Samoa to implement their service projects. While there they joined the governor, first lady, and other partners at a luncheon celebrating women and their role in community leadership. You can learn more about their trip and the program on their social media pages: @nafanua.foundation on lnstagram or Nafanua Foundation on Facebook.

This partnership with Nafanua Foundation builds on UNP's efforts to elevate resident leaders and will continue to inform UNP's work integrating mentorship into our work and empowering young leaders to take active roles in their communities.

---

In Remembrance

UNP shares in the sadness of Afa Ah Loo's tragic death this summer. Afa was not only a board member and mentor with Nafanua Foundation, he was also a leader and mentor within the community. He was a talented designer and had been a competitor on Project Runway, where he represented Pacific Island inspired fashion to millions of viewers. Most importantly, he was a husband and the father to two young children. E manatua pea oe, Afa.

---

Connecting Campus and Community:

U Service Corps Interns at UNP

The U Service Corps is a service-based internship program through The Hinckley Institute at the University of Utah, linking undergraduate students to service -focused internships with community organizations. This program makes college more affordable by providing financial support and real-world experience to help students graduate on time, reduce debt, and prepare for the workforce. It also strengthens nonprofits, government agencies, and community groups by supplying engaged, capable interns building a generation of service-minded leaders and problem solvers.

University Neighborhood Partners (UNP) is pleased to be a U Service Corp Host Office. To date we have worked with seven amazing U Service Corps Members for over 1,000 hours! These students have provided support in the Hartland Welcome Center, Hartland Youth Center, Partners in the Park, and UNP Health Partnerships in the community.

UNP hopes to continue to foster this partnership of mutual learning between the U, students, staff, and community members. One student working at the Welcome Center said, "The thing that inspires me most about my internship at UNP is the community members ... because despite the difficult challenges they have had or are currently facing, they are determined to persevere." Another student reports, "The most meaningful experience of my internship is building connections with the community. I have enjoyed seeing new and familiar faces and learning about people's lives. I have met people from all over the world, and it's fun to learn about new cultures."

We're thrilled to join U Service Corps as a host site and look forward to continued work with students for years to come!

For more information, visit hinckley.utah.edu/u-service-corps. For Host Office questions at UNP, contact Julianne Rabb at julianne.rabb@partners.utah.edu.

---

Staff Spotlight

Melissa Calvillo

Melissa is UNP's Grant Writer and Communications Specialist and a Utah Valley University graduate in communications and public relations. Her early experience working in education began with the Provo City School District in the Adult Education Program, which strengthened her belief that education should be accessible. 

At UNP she collaborates with the UNP Development Director to submit grant proposals, as well as supporting the UNP Scholarship Program. She enjoys working with the students by assisting with various application submissions, providing letters of support and anything else that arises.

Originally from San Diego, you will often see her bundled in a blanket when she's at the office. When she's not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She has four siblings and is a very proud aunt to 4 kiddos. Melissa also takes ballet lessons, likes to travel, and love Beyonce. She has been to four (and counting) of her concerts!

---

Community Corner

Culture Coffee

Last year, Culture Coffee became a very welcome addition to the Fairpark neighborhood. Coffee shops are hard to find in Salt Lake City's west side neighborhoods, especially with the closure of Mestizo., and a locally owned spot is that much better.

Surprisingly, the coffee shop is an extension of Salt Lake Barber Co, but they stand out in other ways as well. With an espresso machine that looks like a lowrider, cool decor, a nice patio, and latte flavors like maple sage, gochujang mocha, apple pie matcha, and even fig - it's like exploring the world through your cup. Cafe de Olla, one of their specialty lattes, hits perfectly with the notes of the fall season. Drop by Culture Coffee for a real treat at 285 N 900 W.

---

UNP Strategic Plan 2025-2030

In November of 2024, UNP staff started identifying key partners, including residents and other stakeholders, who should help inform our next strategic plan - the plan that will guide our work over the next five years. One year later, after conducting dozens of interviews, retreats, and focus groups with guidance from a committee and Paul Kuttner, of Cambridge Concord Associates, those priorities have been identified.

You might be thinking that seems like a long time and a lot of work for a strategic plan, and if so, you're absolutely right! Many organizations are able to brainstorm with a few people and whip up a new plan in a few months. However, UNP's work is shaped by community identified priorities, and includes insights from residents, organizations, and higher education partners.

UNP has identified five strategic dimensions that will guide its work in the coming years. As illustrated in this graphic, these are not separate goals. Rather, they are overlapping dimensions of a cohesive strategic approach driven by a renewed commitment to UNP's mission. Each dimension encompasses a set of strategies designed to build on UNP's strengths and respond to this particular moment in time. Read more about our strategies.