Community Spirit Award
Presented to an individual who has demonstrated notable community, public, or humanitarian service outside of his or her profession. Preference will be given to graduates from the last 10 years.
Please check back for the nomination to open in Fall 2025!
Kya Marienfeld JD ’14 is a Wildlands Attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), where she mixes legal, policy, and fieldwork to monitor activities on wilderness-quality public lands throughout southern Utah. Kya holds a JD and Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and is a member of the Utah and Minnesota State Bars. At SUWA, Kya has challenged projects and authorizations that violate federal environmental laws and regulations, and has helped overturn or withdraw site-specific projects and management decisions that would have compromised wilderness values, native ecosystems, and wildlife habitat on some of Utah’s most remarkable and irreplaceable public lands. She has also applied her professional skills to local land use policy and affordable housing advocacy for her local community, serving as the Chair of the Moab City Planning Commission and a governing Board member for the Moab Area Community Land Trust.
Past Community Spirit Award Recipients
2012: Antonio Gonzalez ’06
2013: not disclosed
2014: Rakeem Washington ’08
2015: Jessica Johnson Shelton ’11
2016: Ron K. Cheng ’14
2017: Kaori Eder ’07
2018: J. Ashlee Albies ’05
2019: State Representative Karin Power ’11
2020: Amanda Caffall ’11
2022: Amira Streeter ’13