History of the Sego Lily
​Center for the Abused Deaf

Compiled and Written by Jodi Becker Kinner
Written by Joene Nicolaisen & Stephanie Lowder Mathis 

​Published in 2014
​Updated in 2024
Penny Williams' Unexpected Passing
On September 14, 1999, Penny Karen Williams, a vibrant young Deaf woman ready to start a new chapter in her life, tragically lost her life. She was born on October 20, 1966, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to a Deaf family, Norman Bryan Williams and Karen Ethel Bird. Penny grew up in West Jordan and graduated from the Utah School for the Deaf in 1983. She was a well-known and well-liked member of the Utah Deaf community. After overcoming substance abuse, she was in the process of rebuilding her life and pursuing a degree in psychology at the University of Utah. Her goal was to become a substance abuse counselor in the Deaf community.

Penny was murdered by her estranged ex-husband, who was also deaf, after less than a year in a domestic violence marriage. The cops could not protect her due to communication barriers and a lack of safety protocols and resources. Her death stunned the Utah Deaf community. We heard the tragic news about domestic violence and deaths, but it did not affect us until one of our Deaf community members died as a result of domestic violence. 

In the spring of 2000, the Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf was established to provide culturally accessible services, advocacy, and education. Its primary objective is to promote a safe and empowered community for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind individuals.
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Penny Williams
One of the many questions that arose shortly after Penny's murder was, "Will it happen again?" "Is there anything our community can do to prevent such tragedies?" Could we take any action to avert future tragedies in our community? Could we take any action to avert future tragedies in our community? By coincidence or providence, the option to form a domestic violence organization became accessible to the Utah Deaf community within a short period of time.
Marilyn Smith, Executive Director of Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services Offers to Assist 
In the winter of 1999, Marilyn Smith, Executive Director of Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services (ADWAS) in Seattle, Washington, wrote to Annette Stewart, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, offering her aid. ADWAS was founded about two decades ago in the aftermath of the murder of a Deaf woman in Seattle. Marilyn, as a previous counselor, has personal experience with the problems that Deaf individuals encounter in seeking help, particularly for women fleeing domestic violence or sexual assault. 

She knew firsthand the difficulties of receiving treatment as a Deaf woman and a sexual assault survivor. Deaf survivors frequently may not know where to seek assistance or how to communicate with shelter staff, police, or the courts. As a result, Marilyn Smith founded a non-profit advocacy organization to help Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind women and children obtain the care they need in a barrier-free setting administered by and for Deaf people.
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Marilyn Smith @ Gallaudet University
The Abused Deaf Women's
​Advocacy Services Training 
The Office of Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice awarded Marilyn Smith a federal grant in 1998. The purpose of the grant was to implement the ADWAS agency model across fifteen different locations across the country. Annette Stewart wrote a letter to Marilyn, requesting that they invite Utah to select and send five Deaf and hard of hearing women to Seattle for a week-long training in the spring of 2000. The training aimed to equip these women with the essential knowledge and skills to advocate against domestic violence and launch their own organizations. This included creating a board and a funding plan. The ultimate goal was for these women to return to their respective states and establish advocacy groups that would assist Deaf survivors of abuse in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner. Five Deaf women, including Linda Berness, Christy Layton, Kristi Mortensen, Eli McCowan, and Joene Nicolaisen, along with other Deaf women from various states, attended the training in Seattle. After three years of hard work, ADWAS was proud to witness the birth of 15 sister agencies that provide services to Deaf populations throughout the country.
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Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf Co-Founders L-R: Eleanor McCowan, Kristi Mortensen, Linda Berness, Christy Layton, & Joene Nicolaisen in 2000
The Establishment of
Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf 
Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf (SLCAD) was founded in 2000 as a non-profit advocacy agency dedicated to meeting the needs of Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault in Utah, following ADWAS training. After the death of Penny Williams in September 1999, the Utah community united to support the Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf.
The Inspiration of the Utah State Flower, Sego Lily 
SLCAD is an organization named after the Sego Lily flower, which symbolizes people who have survived abuse and have the strength to withstand even the harshest weather and climate. It serves survivors of abuse in Utah, with a group of trained women spreading the word about its services. Since its inception, SLCAD has helped an average of 30 to 60 survivors and their families each year. The organization also provides education to various groups, including police officers, shelters, interpreters, and lawyers, on how to make their services more accessible and appropriate for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind survivors. Additionally, the organization created community outreach prevention and awareness initiatives, such as Deaf Women's Day and Safety Fair activities, to help communicate information about abuse and how to get help to the Utah Deaf community.
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Joene Nicolaisen @ Deaf Nutritional Sandria Graham
Director Joene Nicolaisen receives the
​Utah Governor's Award for Excellence in Public Service
Between 2000 and 2006, SLCAD relied on a pager system and dedicated volunteers because it lacked the necessary funds to open an office or hire staff. However, in 2006, a generous private donation allowed it to establish its first office. Volunteers performed all the organization's tasks at that time.

The Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women Programs awarded significant federal funding to SLCAD in 2007. This funding was used to serve Deaf communities in nine rural counties in Utah. SLCAD has consistently dedicated itself to assisting Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind individuals and providers in Utah's most remote areas. This award enabled SLCAD to hire paid staff to focus on the Rural Grant goals and provide services to victims in rural Utah. 

In June 2008, former Executive Director Joene Nicolaisen received the Utah Governor's Award for Excellence in Public Service in recognition of her work with SLCAD.
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Joene Nicolaisen
Stephanie Lowder Mathis Joins
​the Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf Agency
Stephanie Lowder Mathis became the Director of the Rural Program in 2007. The Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf (SLCAD) continued to rely on trained volunteer advocates to support victims and survivors in areas not covered by the Rural Grant, including the Wasatch Front. Previous board members who had supported Sego Lily's activities helped Joene Nicolaisen as the volunteer Executive Director until December 2011. In January 2012, Stephanie Lowder Mathis took over as the Executive Director. SLCAD has dedicated many hours to protecting the safety of the Deaf community.
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Stephanie Lowder Mathis, 2011
SLCAD is an organization that strives to provide culturally accessible services, advocacy, and education to establish a safe and empowered community for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind individuals. The staff at SLCAD work hard to provide survivors with the necessary tools to make decisions and advocate for themselves, while culturally and linguistically sensitively communicating with them. All of our advocates and volunteers must be able to communicate in American Sign Language and understand Deaf culture. At least 51% of the board members are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and communicate fluently in ASL. Therefore, all services are culturally and linguistically appropriate. SLCAD's current and future goals include:

  • Building an accessible shelter, 
  • Increasing counseling services, 
  • Offering continuing education workshops in schools and community centers, 
  • Providing positive parenting training and
  • Offering children's and teen programs.

You can find additional information on the website of SLCAD at www.slcad.org
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Erin Kelly Watkins, SLCAD Director

​SLCAD Historical Timeline

  • September 1999: Penny Williams dies at the hand of her ex-husband.
  • Winter 1999: Utah is invited to ADWAS for training to set up services in Utah.
  • April 2000: five Deaf women traveled Seattle to receive training from ADWAS.
  • June 2000: SLCAD is established as a 501c3 non-profit agency.
  • Fall 2000: SLCAD served their first victim. 
  • March 2006: SLCAD opens their first office in Murray, Utah.
  • October 2007: SLCAD is awarded the Rural Grant from the Department of Justice under the Office of Violence against Women.
  • May – Oct 2008: SLCAD hired their first staff members.
  • June 2008: Joene Nicolaisen, Ex. Director received the Utah Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service for her work with SLCAD. 
  • June 2008: SLCAD is honored with an award from the Utah Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (UTRID) for their outstanding community service in providing support to Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing victims and survivors of abuse.
  • October 2009: SLCAD was awarded the Rural Grant from the Department of Justice under the Office of Violence against Women.
  • February 2010: SLCAD partnered with the Southern Utah Deaf and Hard of Hearing Programs (SUDHHP) to reach out to more victims and survivors in the rural areas of the Southern Utah region. SLCAD was given an office space to provide services. Grant Pemberton was hired as Southern Utah Advocate Coordinator.
  • July 2010: SLCAD was awarded the Victim of Crime Acts Grant from Utah Office for Victims of Crime.
  • October 2010: SLCAD hosted the Justice for Victims National Coalition Conference in SLC, Utah where 15 sister agencies representatives were in attendance. ​SLCAD is awarded the Legal Assistance for Victims grant under the Dept. of Justice under the Office of Violence against Women. 
  • October 2011: SLCAD is again awarded the Rural Grant from the Dept. of Justice under the Office of Violence against Women. 
  • December 2011: Joene Nicolaisen, after 11 years of dedicated services, retires from SLCAD.
  • August 2012: Stephanie Lowder Mathis, Executive Director receives the community member award from the Utah Registry of Interpreters. 
  • September 2012: SLCAD partnered with the Family Justice Center of Salt Lake City (FJC) who just opened their brand new building. The partnership included providing SLCAD an office space to provide a wraparound service for Deaf, DeafBlind and HH survivors. FJC also provided space for local community partner agencies such as the Salt Lake Police department, Department of Workforce Services, Legal Aid Society and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. SLCAD advocates attended their staff and partnership meetings monthly.
  • June 2013: SLCAD receives a Presidential Award by the Utah Association of the Deaf.
  • February 2014: SLCAD partnered with Utah Association of the Deaf to present The Vagina Monologues at the University of Utah. Local ladies and young women performed and shared stories from Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologue script in American Sign Language.
  • October 2014: SLCAD hosted its very first Gala-The Purple Tie Gala at Thanksgiving Point. It was a special night where everyone came dressed up in purple attire. SLCAD was fortunate to have April Brown’s auctioneer to lead the evening with games, silent and live auctions and dessert dash.
  • 2015: Sari Williams, a long time advocate for Sego Lily, received the Advocacy in Action award for her years of outstanding advocate services at the Annual Crime Victims’ Conference in Midway, Utah. 
  • March 2015: Sego Lily hosted its very first Deaf Ladies Expo at the Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing. Many booths were set up by local deaf organizations and deaf women owned businesses. Fitness classes were offered throughout the day! 80 Deaf Women were in attendance! 
  • October 2015: SLCAD was awarded the Rural Grant from the Dept. of Justice under the Office of Violence against Women.
  • October 2015: SLCAD hosted the Purple Tie Gala: Dancing with the Star at the Provo Marriott Hotel. Dancers who competed were local community members and leaders. The dancers were: Pamela Mower & Aaron Bullock, Ayas Hussain & Chrystee Davenport and Carol Macnicholl & Johnny Hill. Pamela Mower & Aaron Bullock won first place. The judges for the competition were: Ben Jarashow, Joel Coleman and Mariyln Call. We were honored to have a House of Representative at the event: Kim Coleman, representing District 42. We had silent, live and dessert auctions, and we raised $15,000.
  • October 2016: SLCAD hosted the Sego Lily’s 3rd Annual Purple Tie Gala: The Mad Hatter Tea Party at the Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing. The Deaf Center’s Gym was transformed by a beautiful rabbit hole that transported guests to the Mad Mad world! It was a fun filled evening that began with a mystery dinner game and hat contest. We raised $18,000.
  • February 2017: SLCAD’s main office was moved to the avenues near downtown Salt Lake City. The office is located within few miles of the Family Justice Center, Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Matheson Courthouse, Capitol, Salt Lake Police Department, and Utah Domestic Violence Coalition.
  • October 2017: SLCAD hosted Sego Lily’s 4th Annual Purple Tie Gala: The Wild West theme at the West Jordan Library. The evening was a night to remember! The country decor with bales of hay, large screens, a western themed photo booth, mechanical bull ride contest that created a very lively vibe! The event was hosted by our very funny and entertaining Aaron Bullock. We raised $24,000.
  • October 2018: SLCAD was awarded the Rural Grant from the Dept. of Justice under the Office of Violence against Women.
  • October 2018: SLCAD hosted its 5th annual Purple Tie Gala: Return of 5th (Star Wars theme) at the Utah Cultural Celebrations Center in West Valley City. Guests came dressed as their favorite character from Star Wars. The evening included activities such as costume contests, star wars themed games and entertaining masters of ceremonies, Adam Shewell and David Davenport. We raised $17,000.
  • January 2019: SLCAD was awarded the Violence Against Women Acts Grants from Utah Office for Victims of Crime. SLCAD was able to have an in-house counselor for the very first time. The SLCAD therapist was granted an office space across the hall from the SLCAD main office.
  • January 2019: SLCAD partners with Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (USDB) in establishing the Empowering Deaf Teen Series (EDTS). Emily Tanner the school social worker at USDB worked with SLCAD to plan workshops for students throughout the year. Topics of the EDTS' interactive workshops included healthy relationships, consent, boundaries, trauma and bullying. These topics were taught to middle and high school students at Jean Massieu School (JMS), and Kenneth Burdett School (KBS.)
  • February 2019: SLCAD partnered with the Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SCDHH) to establish the Deaf LGBTQ+ activities committee with the goal of providing a safe space for the LGBTQIA community to heal from trauma. Committee members met regularly to plan activities for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and CODA LGBTQ+ individuals to meet up. The first event “Ally Night” was where all LGBTQ+ and allies met up to learn about the goal and to get their input regarding the wants and needs of the LGBTQ+ Community. Eighty-five people attended and it was indeed a successful night. Subsequent activities such as coffee night, a kickball game, and Pride Festival Breakfast kick off.
  • June 2019: SLCAD hosted the very first Deaf pride “Kick-Off Brunch on Pride Weekend” at Denny’s. We had a huge turnout and enjoyed socializing and networking. SLCAD decided to keep this tradition in support of the LGBTQ+ community upcoming in the years.
  • September 2019: SLCAD set up a Dream Team of presenters for training of local police. The presenters are representatives of Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, and Deaf. The Hard of Hearing representatives are Chelle Wyatt and Sue Ordonez. The DeafBlind representatives are Stephen Ehrlich and John Galli. The Deaf representatives are Cj Hirsch, Erin Watkins, and Jeremy Murphy, who are employees at Sego Lily. Each presenter taught police how to work and communicate with their populations effectively. The first training was given to the South Salt Lake Police Department. The audience was law enforcement and victim advocates. The training was successful and they asked a lot of questions regarding each population. We’ve had a few police departments invite us to provide training. Our goal for this training is to provide safety and accessibility for all of our community members.
  • October 2019: SLCAD hosted 6th annual Purple Tie Gala: Sego Lily is the Word! The Grease/1950s was the theme at the Utah Museum of Fine Art. We were honored to have Melissa Yingst as the Mistress of Ceremonies to lead the evening with silent, live, and dessert auctions. Many ladies came dressed as Pink Ladies! We raised $10,000.
  • December 2019: Stephanie Lowder Mathis retired from the Executive Director to take on the full time counselor position for SLCAD clients.
  • December 2019: Holly Parker Jensen was hired as an Executive Director.
  • September 2020: Erin Kelly Watkins was hired as an Interim Executive Director.
  • October 2021: SLCAD was awarded the Rural Grant from the Dept. of Justice under the Office of Violence against Women.
  • January 2022: SLCAD was awarded the Communication Services for the Deaf Foundations for $12,000. This award would go to the rebranding of our logo, LGBTQ+ Hangouts and Suicide Prevention program.
  • 2022: The Select Health Award program recognizes organizations that promote health and well-being, assist individuals with special needs, and support underserved populations. Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf is honored to have been chosen for their Select Health award in 2022. They donated $3,000 and a marketing package that included our banner and a YouTube video interview. This fund will be used as emergency funds for rent and utility assistance to increase clients’ feelings of success and independence in meeting their housing needs. ​
In loving memory of Penny Williams 
​and all victims of domestic violence 
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Penny Williams
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L-R: Rep. Karen Morgan, Norman. Williams, Rep. Trisha Beck, and Rep. Michael Waddoups with the Williams family during Deaf Arbor Day, 1999, in memory of Karen and Penny Williams. Utah State Office of Rehabilitation Division of Services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 2000
HISTORICAL DOCUMENT
Nicolaisen, Joene (2009) & Mathis, Stephanie Lowder (2013). History of the Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf. (PDF)                                                   
Videotape of KBYU Eleven Community Connection interviewing Stephanie Mathis, Executive Director of the Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf.
 March 26, 2014 
KBYU Eleven's Community Connection is a segment featuring non-profit organizations throughout Utah. The Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf shares its message with host Tracey Christensen. (source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6bhzjZ9hn8)