Warner Woodworth

Profile Updated: April 26, 2025

Residing In:	Provo, UT USA

Spouse/Partner:	Kaye Colvin Woodworth

Homepage:	warnerwoodworth.com

Occupation:	Global Social Entrepreneur/BYU Professor Emeritus/U of U Visiting Faculty

Children:	Micah, the triplets Kevin, Kristi, and Ryan, Doug, Erik, Julie (Mexican), Marc (Brazilian), Anne, David, More…plus 26 grandkids and 4 greats, so far

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While at South High, I began to see the future more clearly. I vowed to never pick up a golf club so I'd have hundreds of thousands of hours to do something with a higher purpose. Eventually, I determined that my life's mission is to change the world for the better. My collaborators and I have designed and implemented over 80 projects to build civil society and reduce poverty. As of now, 42 of them have become NGOs that operate in approximately 63 countries. With our partners, we've collectively raised over $1.8 billion (yes, with a "B"), and we continue to generate some $18-$21 million in donations and investment capital annually, train approximately 340,000 poor women, and continue growing our microentrepreneur base of more than 8 million clients annually, with a total of have funded a total of 28 million microenterprises worldwide.

All in all, there are too many projects and programs to mention in this summary. You may check out my vita for more details by going to my university-based link above. I've been a President, Board Chair and/or Member, and Founder of a number of For-Profit Corporations, Consulting Firms, ESOPs, Co-ops, NGOs, and MFIs over many years. Basically I design and carry out a range of strategies including the work of Radical Change Agentry, Social Entrepreneurship, Grassroots Problem-solving, Third World Development, Peacemaking, Youth Empowerment, Social Philanthropy, Microcredit, Worker Ownership through Cooperatives and ESOPs, Environmental Stewardship, Business Ethics, Feminism, Corporate Social Responsibility, Appropriate Technology, Sustainability, and so forth. Yeah, it's been and still is pretty crazy!

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School Story:

From my wonderful South High education and leadership training I learned to love people around the globe, and spend my life fighting to eliminate poverty and reduce human suffering. I recall wonderful memories with the Cubs, from going to class where I learned from superb teachers, playing on the soccer team when we won the state championship, growing spiritually through seminary lessons by fantastic instructors, all the Acapella Choir concerts we performed each year as well as musicals and operettas, but I mostly recall the caring and supportive friends that have blessed my life forever.

It's been a long time since our senior year at South High. I'll never forget the influence of Principal Ralph Backman, Armont Willardson, Assistant principal Merrill Linford, Eudora Zarr, Moroni Schwab, and others. I'm also grateful for my parents, Arthur and Ruth Woodworth, especially my Mom, who encouraged me when I was despondent, who inspired me with the idea I could accomplish anything in this life, and who was often at South High when I conducted the assemblies, gave speeches, etc.

Here’s a little story: After living a year in Hawaii in the mid 1980s, we moved back to Utah and I took my whole family (8 kids living at home at the time) up to tour South High on the last day before it was being shut down. We all tumbled out of the big van, and I had them all kneel on the grass facing the school in reverence and respect as I sang (and tried to get them to sing along) the old South school song. Then we toured the building, saw trophies of our victories, including my soccer team when we won the state championship in 1960.

It was wonderful to recall past memories from our days in school back in the Sixties. We then learned that the building would be refurbished and in many ways made better than it was when we all went there. After the school was upgraded and became the Salt Lake Community College/South Campus, we went back for another tour, and were amazed at how beautiful those hallowed halls had become.

After 50 years, our youngest son, Micah, lived for a year about four blocks from our high school, and walked over every other day to attend classes at the SLCC South Campus! Who would have guessed?

In 2010 it was fun for me to go back with Micah, walk through South's building, talk to SLCC staffers about how to get him enrolled, and to have a Woodworth again sitting in South High classrooms. We discovered the bench of my brother Mark’s Senior Class Gift of 1961 there in the school’s main foyer. It reminded me of his energy and enthusiasm as a South High cheerleader, and musician, among other roles he played during those years.

Now at age 83, after decades of serving others, offering my religious faith and lots of "extra" money to good causes, and with the amazing support of my sweetheart, Kaye, I can honestly say I've had a blessed life. Much of it began in the hallowed halls of South High. Thanks to all the alumni and our teachers. Memories, memories….

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Byron Marchant

Byron Marchant posted a message on Warner Woodworth's Profile.

Apr

Apr 27, 2025 at 7:48 PM

Warner, Byron Marchant here.

After reading through your profile, ending here:

“…Now at age 83, after decades of serving others, offering my religious faith and lots of ‘extra’ money to good causes, and with the amazing support of my sweetheart, Kaye, I can honestly say I've had a blessed life. Much of it began in the hallowed halls of South High. Thanks to all the alumni and our teachers. Memories, memories….”

and your 26 April 2025 comments, including a recent photograph of your (and your two wives’) large family (I know something about large families, having 14 siblings from 1 set of parents), just wonder what you might have to say about a couple of things.

Do gay children go to the LDS Church’s Celestial Kingdom (I’m currently reading a 2016 book, Saving Alex, by Alex Cooper and Joanna Brooks)? Apparently they don’t.

When you offer your religious faith, do you (at least some of the time) tell people that Joseph Smith, Jr., was visited in 1820 by The Father and His Son (the New Testament Jesus Christ) in 1820 (an event the LDS Church sometimes calls The First Vision)? And if there was no 1820 First Vision, and the newly contacted convert was falsely told (at the urging of LDS Church General Authorities) that there was, does the conversion count?

And in June 1978, when these same LDS Church General Authorities later announced that they had witnessed a 1 June 1978 “Revelation” to President Spencer W. Kimball, they were again falsely testifying (because no such “Revelation” was necessary for free African blacks to be ordained, since priesthood denial had simply been a mistake). All that was necessary was an apology. So Warner, have you ever been involved in falsely telling Africans or Brazilians that there was a June 1978 “Revelation”?

And by the way, do you (or someone else who reads this) know what ever happened to Byron Burnett, one of our great South High School Cheerleaders?