Sego Leadership Selected As Workplace Innovation Now Challenge Awardee

SALT LAKE CITY, UT, October 8, 2026 — Sego Leadership today announced that it has been named an awardee of the $60 million Workplace Innovation Now (WIN) Challenge, receiving a $2.5 million grant to scale an innovative solution to help women thrive and everyone win in a rapidly changing workplace.

The WIN Narrative Challenge award supports Sego Leadership's work to launch a two-year, research-driven storytelling campaign that asks Utah's own leaders, employers, women, and men what it looks like when Utah's values lead the way for working mothers. This campaign is in partnership with Boncom — the creative agency behind the “Light the World” campaign and Sego Leadership’s recent rebrand — X-Factor Strategic Communications, The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, Brandthropologie Agency, and Annie Neimand, Ph.D.

“Utah doesn’t have to choose between strong families and strong women in the workforce. We believe Utah’s commitment to families could be one of our greatest economic advantages. This award gives us the opportunity to listen to Utahns and help Utahns tell a new story about work that’s rooted in our own values and experiences. What could happen if the way we work actually reflected what we value most? That is a story only Utahns can tell, and we’re excited to help tell it. ”

Melanie Jones, CEO, Sego Leadership

Led by Aspen Digital, a program of the Aspen Institute, and supported by Pivotal, a group of social impact organizations founded by Melinda French Gates, the WIN Challenge was launched in fall 2025 to discover and scale transformative ideas across three key pillars: Culture & Practices, AI, and Narrative. The 18 awardees selected represent a new generation of workplace innovation, addressing challenges ranging from caregiving and workforce participation to the responsible deployment of artificial intelligence and the narratives that shape workplace culture.

Aspen Digital will spotlight the award-winning solutions at its inaugural WIN Summit on October 22 in New York City, convening leaders from business, philanthropy, academia, and the social sector to connect and learn – and to advance and scale ideas that will help women thrive and everyone win.

“The WIN Challenge started with a simple question: what would it take to build workplaces where women—and everyone—can thrive? The answer came back in hundreds of applications from every corner of the country. These 18 awardees show us that there is no single blueprint to break down the barriers that women face in the workplace. They are all working from different angles to close the gap between what we know can make workplaces better for everyone and what actually becomes standard practice.”

Clare Bresnahan English, Senior Director of the WIN Challenge at Aspen Digital

The WIN Challenge received nearly 900 applications from organizations across the United States and U.S. territories with innovative approaches to help everyone succeed amid rapid economic and technological change. Each applicant underwent a comprehensive multiple step review-process, including a peer review, an external evaluation panel composed of corporate, philanthropic, academic, and nonprofit experts in workplace innovation, technology, and narrative, and a review from the WIN Council composed of distinguished workplace leaders and innovators.

More information about the WIN Challenge and the full list of awardees can be found at winchallenge.org. 

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Sego Leadership develops women leaders and partners with the employers who decide how far they rise. Through four signature programs spanning early career to the C-suite, and its employer program Sego Certified, Sego has served more than 1,400 women across 100-plus companies and 11 Utah counties. The conviction under all of it: Utah thrives when women lead. Learn more at segoleadership.org.

Jen Hunsaker, Director of Marketing & Communications
Sego Leadership
801.230.7219
jen@segoleadership.org