Amber Shill, a Canyons District Board member with deep roots in civic involvement, has been selected to serve on the newly-reorganized Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) Board of Trustees.
Her re-appointmentthis will be her third year on the Boardwas announced May 4 as part of a reorganization to reduce the Board in size from 30 members to 16. She was previously a member-at-large, and will now represent 5A schools.
Mrs. Shill will bring some continuity to Utah’s official sanctioning body for high school sports, music, theatre, and speech and debate. She served on the subcommittee that negotiated the new athlete transfer rule with the Utah State Board of Education and was a member of the panel that hired the organization’s three new assistant directors.
“I’m excited to continue to serve,” she said, noting, “Students are my No. 1 priority.”
Since 1927, UHSAA has led the development of education-based interscholastic activities in the sports and arts under the belief that they are essential to the high school experience.
Mrs. Shill was a vocal supporter of the recent Board vote to sanction lacrosse as Utah’s 11th official prep sport. Advocates had been seeking a sanction for nearly a decade, which they say will expand opportunities for students already playing in club programs, and will open the sport to students who have no other means to participate except through high school.
“Boys and girls will have another opportunity to participate and excel in another sport,” Mrs. Shill told the Deseret News.
Mrs. Shill was elected to the Canyons Board of Education in November 2014, and is the Second Vice President. Her roll-up-the-sleeves style of leadership has endeared her to the District 2 community she represents, which covers most of Cottonwood Heights.
Mrs. Shill and her husband have four children who attend or have graduated from the Brighton feeder system. She graduated cum laude from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance.
Her more than 17 years of civic involvement includes volunteering in Cub Scouts, leading youth groups, and serving as a Salt Lake County Precinct Delegate. She has volunteered in schools, and led multiple districtwide committees, School Community Councils and the PTA’s at Bella Vista Elementary, Butler Middle and Brighton High School. Most recently, she served as the School Community Council Chair at Brighton High from 2012-2014.
