Uintah High School is pleased to announce Laura Winward Kaloi (Class of 1985) as its 2025 Distinguished Alumna.
“The Distinguished Alumni Committee is excited to recognize Laura for her decades of exemplary work at the national level on behalf of students and their families,” said Uintah High Assistant Principal Scott Mansfield, who chairs the committee.
Winward Kaloi will speak during an assembly at UHS on Monday, April 28, beginning at 7:40 a.m. Friends and family are welcome to attend, but will need to check in through the main office before proceeding to the auditorium.
Winward Kaloi is the daughter of Lloyd and Alta Winward, who raised six children. The Winwards were active in community organizations and events in Vernal and the Uintah Basin throughout their lives.
“I was raised in a family with a profound work ethic, dedication to the service of others, and belief that with your faith and education all things are possible,” Winward Kaloi said. “I gained a lifelong love of learning and a passion to right the wrongs and injustices I perceived in the world.”
In high school, when she was not dragging Main Street or working after school in her dad’s accounting business, Winward Kaloi competed in extemporaneous speaking on the school’s speech and debate team and was proud to join the yearbook staff. She organized pep rallies, dances, and various school events as the president of the pep squad and member of the drill team.
After high school, Winward Kaloi attended the University of Utah, where she joined the Alpha Chi Omega national sorority and served as its president. Upon graduating with a degree in English, Winward Kaloi joined Alpha Chi as a national leadership consultant and traveled for a year to more than 30 college campuses to support collegiate leaders across the nation.
Based on this experience, Winward Kaloi set her sights on living and working in Washington, D.C. She joined the legislative team of the late Rep. James V. Hansen (R-Utah) in 1991. She helped shepherd requirements into federal policy championed by the congressman that led to the landmark passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The years she worked on Capitol Hill – combined more than 15 years serving in executive policy and public affairs positions for several national nonprofit organizations – created the bedrock to her current role as a lobbyist, consultant, and small business owner in the DC-metro area.
Today, Winward Kaloi is a co-owner and partner at Stride Policy Solutions. A host of nonprofit organizations hire Winward Kaloi and her firm to function as their eyes and ears in the nation’s capital and to develop policy and advocacy strategies that target federal policymakers. Throughout her career, she has successfully worked with Congress, the White House, and federal agencies, leading to changes in federal education, special education, and workforce laws.
“These changes have provided at-risk and marginalized children and their families with enhanced access to early intervention for health and education needs, as well as K-16 education and career/workforce programs that lead to employment, to independent living, and to a meaningful life,” Winward Kaloi said.
Winward Kaloi married Kaiini Kimo Kaloi in 1993 and together they have raised three young adult children: Mahealani, Ethan, and Hannah. She also completed a master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from Brigham Young University through the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics in 1997, graduating with honors. She continues to mentor the institute’s MPA candidates. In spring 2025, she completed a six-year term as chair of the Romney Institute’s Executive Advisory Board.
In addition to Winward Kaloi’s passion for advocacy and giving voice to millions of children and their families, she volunteers at church, is an avid reader, walks, dabbles in cooking, and loves to travel with her family.