First Lady | First Lady's Bio.
First Lady Mary Kaye Huntsman Biography
Mary Kaye Huntsman was born in Orlando, Florida. She moved to Utah when she was 14 years old. She attended Highland High School where she and her husband first met. Mrs. Huntsman is the mother of seven children. She is a passionate advocate for youth.
Mrs. Huntsman has created several programs aimed at helping kids cope emotionally with various challenges. Her first project began as a result of her daughter's diagnosis with juvenile diabetes. Although the doctors and nurses explained the physical impact of the disease, the Huntsman family found the emotional impact to be just as challenging. This prompted Mrs. Huntsman to create a mentoring program to help other children newly diagnosed with diabetes. Together, she and her daughter Liddy made a gift bag filled with items and information her daughter wished she could have accessed at the time of her diagnosis, and they delivered it to a newly-diagnosed patient at a local hospital. This grew into a nationwide program, through the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, known as the "Bag of Hope."
Mrs. Huntsman used this same kid-to-kid, heart-to-heart approach to create programs that provide companionship and hope to children recently diagnosed with cancer, through the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and then for children who are terminally ill. These projects were put together by gathering children who were going through these difficulties, and gaining their perspective on what was most needed.
Mrs. Huntsman has expanded this concept into a statewide program known as Power in You www.powerinyou.org. The initiative focuses on the emotional side of "at risk" behaviors, as well as "life challenges" that teenagers face. The issues covered are substance abuse, eating disorders, harassment, mood disorders, disabilities, cancer, diabetes, ethnic diversity, poverty, teen pregnancy, teen suicide, dating dangers, gang awareness, healthy weight, and Internet bullying. The goal is to help kids know they are not alone and they have the power within to handle whatever challenge they may face. Three or four ambassadors represent each of these areas and share stories of how they have addressed trials in their own lives and how they found that power inside to cope with them.
Mrs. Huntsman's latest initiative, "Punt the Keys", urges young people to have a game plan against alcohol. The effort encourages Utah's youth to prevent their peers from drinking and driving.
Mrs. Huntsman currently serves as Honorary Chair of the Literacy Commission and acts as an Honorary Chair of the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She has been involved with Speaking of Women's Health since its inception eight years ago and has co-chaired the annual Speaking of Women's Health conference numerous times.
She and the Governor have been married for 25 years. They have lived in Taiwan and Singapore where her husband served as a United States ambassador.