2022 UEA Excellence in Teaching Awards

Ten Utah Educators Receive Top 2022 Teaching Honors

UEA/doTERRA Excellence in Teaching Awards to be presented at the KeyBank Superstars in Education Banquet

As a teacher in a small town, Elinda Nedreberg has had the full rural schoolteacher experience. She teaches three grades of English, Drama I & II as well as Technical Theater in Tintic School District. And “she has done so with gusto and with great commitment to our students,” according to the district superintendent, who himself is a fellow teacher as well as a parent to one of Nedreberg’s students. “Mrs. Nedreberg has revitalized and rebuilt a drama program at Tintic High School that has become integral to the arts in our small community,” he wrote. “In her first year, she trailered one of the district’s vehicles and hauled props from a school over 50 miles away to create an amazing ambience for her student’s performances.”

Students in Chantelle Browning’s third-grade class at Hurricane Elementary in Washington County School District each create a ‘super-secret handshake’ they share every morning. Students look forward to Browning doing the silly actions with them. She uses the activity to build relationships and show the students she cares for them and is interested in their learning, talents and abilities. Browning also collects donations from friends and family to purchase books for her students to select and take home each month. Many of Browning’s low-income students comment these are the first books they have ever owned.

Nedreberg and Browning are two of the 10 educators honored with 2022 UEA/doTERRA Excellence in Teaching Awards. The awards were presented at the KeyBank Superstars in Education Banquet June 14 at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City. Video profiles on each of the 10 winning teachers, produced by PBS-Utah, were shown at the banquet awards ceremony and are available to view online at pbsutah.org/teachers.

Award recipients were selected based on their impact on individual students or groups of students. Each winner receives an award, a poster to display at their school and a check for $1,500, courtesy of award sponsor doTERRA.

UEA/doTERRA Excellence in Teaching Award recipients for 2022 are (click name to view winner profile and video):

Kimberly Bayles, first-grade teacher at Gearld Wright Elementary School, Granite School District
Chantelle Browning, third-grade teacher at Hurricane Elementary, Washington County School District
Jason Goble, agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at North Sevier High School, Sevier School District
Amy Goodrich, credit recovery specialist at Riverton High School, Jordan School District
Elizabeth Hylton, English, reading and resource teacher at Springville Junior High School, Nebo School District
Amy Jaskowick, K-12 severe special education teacher at the Digital Education Center, Tooele County School District
Neal Johnson, drama teacher at American Fork High School, Alpine School District
Heidi Murray, fourth-grade teacher at Sandstone Elementary School, Washington County School District
Elinda Nedreberg, English and drama teacher at Tintic High School, Tintic School District
Emily Phillips, speech teacher at Hillcrest Elementary School, Logan School District

View all teacher award winner profiles and videos.

“It is a tremendous honor to recognize these outstanding educators. They are a shining example of the great work happening in our public schools each day,” said UEA President Heidi Matthews. “The only thing that could be better is if we could personally recognize each and every teacher for the remarkable work they do day in and day out in classrooms across Utah.”

The UEA has presented the Excellence in Teaching Awards since 2000. KeyBank has sponsored the Superstars in Education Banquet since 2012.PBS Utah has partnered with the UEA to produce video profiles of the Excellence in Teaching Award winners since 2016.

“We are honored to support the Utah Education Association as it celebrates our educators,” said Ram Halteh, Private Banking Market Leader for KeyBank in Utah. “Quality education is key to a thriving community, and these teachers go above and beyond to ensure our children have bright futures. It is a pleasure to do our small part honor them for their commitment.”

In addition, three awards for outstanding service to public education will be presented (click winner name for more information):

2022 UEA Honor Roll Award to the Utah PTA. This award recognizes individuals, businesses or organizations that have made a significant contribution to public education.
2022 Robert “Archie” Archuleta Human and Civil Rights Award to Davis School District educator Bianca Mittendorf. This award is presented to an individual who has engaged in human and civil rights activities that have benefited education and had community-wide impact.
2022 Elaine Tzourtzouklis Service to Association Award to former UEA President and Utah public school educator Pat Rusk (posthumously). This award honors an individual who has provided outstanding service to the Association in the area of member advocacy, political action, leadership, collaboration and/or coalition building.

About the Utah Education Association

For more than a century, the Utah Education Association has been dedicated to preserving and enhancing Utah public education. The UEA represents more than 18,000 active classroom teachers, retired educators, administrators, licensed educational support personnel and campus education students. The UEA has local affiliates in each of the state’s 41 school districts, Applied Technology Colleges, and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

About doTERRA

doTERRA® International is an integrative health and wellness company and the world leader in the Global Aromatherapy and Essential Oils market. doTERRA sources, tests, manufactures and distributes CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade® essential oils and essential oil products to over nine million doTERRA Wellness Advocates and customers. Through industry leading responsible sourcing practices, doTERRA maintains the highest levels of quality, purity and sustainability in partnership with local growers around the world through Co-Impact Sourcing®. The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation®, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, offers resources and tools to global sourcing communities and charitable organizations for self-reliance, healthcare, education, sanitation, and the fight against human trafficking. Through the life-enhancing benefits of essential oils, doTERRA is changing the world one drop, one person, one community at a time. To learn more, visit doterra.com.

About PBS Utah

PBS Utah is Utah’s PBS station, providing the state with access to exceptional content that entertains, informs, and enriches viewers. PBS Utah airs PBS programming plus award-winning, locally produced documentaries and series. Recognized as one of the leading public television stations in the country, PBS Utah is committed to serving and engaging with the Utah community through its diverse productions, as well as its educational and outreach programs. PBS Utah is always evolving to provide Utahns with relevant programming and services while maintaining its core values of integrity, fairness, independence, education, and innovation. PBS Utah also provides three additional broadcast channels: WORLD, PBS KIDS 24/7, and Create. PBS Utah broadcasts from The University of Utah.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $181.2 billion on March 31, 2022. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit key.com. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

View the UEA/doTERRA Excellence in Teaching Award winner profiles and videos at PBSUtah.org/teachers