Pamela Atkinson, a longtime advocate for the homeless in Utah, has been named the recipient of the Salt Lake Chamber’s inaugural Lane Beattie Utah Community Builder Award. The award, which will honor exceptional community leaders, is named for the former president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. Atkinson will be recognized during the Giant in our City event on May 31, where Fred Lampropoulos will be honored as the 40th Giant in our City.
“As a tireless advocate for the homeless and refugees of Utah, Pamela Atkinson is a champion of social good,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance. “Her dedication to bettering the lives of Utahns most in need has not only improved the lives of those she considers friends, but has also created change at both the state and local level to ensure those less fortunate have an opportunity for success. I could not think of anyone more deserving of the first-ever Lane Beattie Utah Community Builder Award than Pamela Atkinson.”
Atkinson first came to the United States in 1961 after becoming a registered nurse in the U.K. and working in the Torres Strait Islands in Australia. After working and living in Pennsylvania, California, Washington and Oregon, she was recruited to Utah to work for Intermountain Healthcare at LDS Hospital.
She became vice president of Mission Services for Intermountain and oversaw community benefits, charitable giving and philanthropy for Utah’s nonprofit healthcare system. She has spent that past two decades working especially on behalf of homeless Utahns.
Atkinson served on the State Board of Regents for 10 years. She has also served on the State Board of Education and the Utah College of Applied Technology board. She now serves on the State Homeless Coordinating Committee, Utah Coalition Against Pornography, Envision Utah and the Refugee Services Advisory Board.