Cynthia Dunham

Guiding conversations with community leaders.

In this podcast we'll explore the human journey of leaders, their stories of humility, triumph, roadblocks and lessons learned. Come join us as we journey together and uncover the questions you've always wanted to know. This podcast is brought to you by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce. Providing resources, connections and belonging for business.

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Season four.

Season of change. Season four. Here we go. And who do we have with us today on season four?

Here we go. This guest grew up the daughter of a Green Beret and her upbringing took her from Utah to North Carolina to Germany and then to Washington. She returned to Utah as a college dance major, but life and love led her to Arizona where she transitioned into accounting, eventually founding her own firm. Her journey into public service saw her elected as a council member and then as mayor of Gilbert where she champ champion sustainable neighborhoods and balanced growth. Her tenure saw Gilbert grow from a town of 100,000 to more than 170,000 residents, all while fostering community engagement and collaboration. She and her husband have together raised four children and are the proud grandparents to seven. Please welcome Cynthia Dunham.

Welcome to the show.

Why thank you.

We're so glad you're here today and we can't wait to dig into your journey and learn all about your path. But before we do that, we're gonna start with what we call rapid fire. Rapid fire. Alright, Sarah, you go first.

Would you rather spend a day with your best friend or a party with everyone you know?

Oh, that's tough. Probably with my best friend.

Okay. Phone call or text message?

I like text.

Okay.

Favorite superhero?

Superhero.

You know, Superman, Wonder Woman.

I haven't watched cartoons for a long time. Okay. I like Superman.

Okay, fair enough. Dine in or delivery?

I like both.

Yeah.

Okay. What is the last book you read?

Let's see. Probably my scriptures. That's what I'm into right now.

There you go.

That's a great book.

What is your hobby of choice?

Walking.

Okay. Avid walker. All right.

Would you ever.

Or maybe I should say have you ever.

Would you ever ride a bull?

No, I value my body.

All right. In your teen years, what was your favorite song? Might still be one of your Favorite songs? Who knows?

I like tallow notes.

Okay, there you go.

One day with any person, living or.

Not, who would it be?

My husband, of course.

Bonus. All right, last question then. And I think I know the answer to this one, but. Glass half full or half empty?

Glass half full.

Okay. We get a lot of half full people around here. Must be a trend.

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That's 480848, 3037. Thank you for that. It's always interesting. And those are a little fun, right? It's kind of spur of the moment answers and questions.

So I have to say you are a guest that I have hoped for for a long time and I'm so excited to have you here today. I think that we have a lot to learn about you and your contributions to our community. But I know first we have to start at the very beginning. So tell us about your childhood and what that looked like.

First of all, I'm honored. That was very kind. My childhood? Well, I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and we lived up on the avenues. If anyone is familiar with that neck of the woods, as has been shared, my father was in the military and so we kind of moved all over. We maintained the home and then usually leased it out while we were gone. So my home was all over. We lived in North Carolina, Fort Bragg. When I was very young, we were in California, but I don't remember a lot of that. Germany was a very interesting experience for me. I got to go to school with German students and I loved the community and the quaintness and even the cobblestones were interesting school.

So when you think about that. So you're moving around all the time. Did you ever feel like you had a homeschool? Like felt like this was school or just when you got comfortable, you're off to another location or how was that?

You got used to making friends.

Yeah.

So, you know, you do that right away so that you can engage with other kiddos your age. And we belong to the Mormon Church and there was always a Mormon church. We sometimes had to drive aways to get to it, but we would do that. So there were some connections that direction. When we were in Germany, I actually swam on a German swimming team.

Cool.

Svenverein Augsburg was the name of it. And that was an interesting experience because we would go from town to town to town, and usually we would stay in an old castle, so it was cold. But we got to tour and see a lot of the country by doing that. And then, of course, I got to meet other kids my age.

Yeah, what a neat opportunity.

It was. It was. I was very fortunate to have those experiences.

When you think back on that time, maybe even during that swim team time, is there any teachers or coaches that come to mind that you felt like were very. What made a big change in your path?

Well, I have to confess, I took my coach with me. My father was a seminan diving coach for the University of Utah. So he was always with us whenever we traveled. And, of course, he's the boss.

So were you a distance swimmer or a short sprinter or what kind of swimmer were you, or. Probably all.

I would do both.

Okay.

I love the butterfly and I love breaststroke. Freestyle is kind of just common. But I loved competing in other countries. That was really interesting. One of the things that they would do is they would take us on a tour of the local community where we were at. So it was a nice way to see the country. And we usually slept in sleeping bags on a hard floor.

Sounds wonderful the way every athlete trains.

Of course, but it was a great way to meet new friends, get to know the culture and experience some things that if I was back in Utah, I wouldn't have experienced at all.

Yeah. Looking at that time and those opportunities, I wonder how much of that carried into the things you did later in life and just taking some chances and being comfortable in that.

It helped in that I was used to being uprooted. I didn't have to stay in one place and have that as my security blanket for life. And you learned to communicate with people. You learned to make friends. We would go to a new assignment and, you know, you leave all the friends that you've had, and now, okay, well, you gotta have somebody that you can get to know and have some fun with. So it was a great way of expanding your horizon and learning about other people.

I know you shared with us that both your grandmother and your mother were activists, and you get to, I'm sure, observe them from an early age. Did you see yourself going in that direction when you were younger or what was your interpretation of some of the work that they were doing?

You know, I think in the beginning I wasn't an activist because I was, you know, I was young. It wasn't until I got into activism politics in Arizona that I really became involved in that. But it was, you know, I, I watched my grandmother as she in her support hose and those old fashioned shoes.

Have no idea what you're talking about. I know exactly what you're talking about.

Have you ever seen them? Okay, we have one here that will fess up to it.

That's Sarah's Friday outfit. I know for sure.

Oh, I'm sure there's examples in museums, but my grandmother would take us to the Utah State capitol and, you know, we would go where she would go and we would watch and observe. And then of course, my mother, you know, right behind her, she was very interested and had that activist bug. And there was always a cause. In fact, there is always a cause. There is a way that we can all make difference in the lives of ourselves and others. We just have to get involved and be aware and be willing to work.

Heavy words there. Be willing to work for it.

For sure.

All right, so we kind of got off track from your path, but Germany, then where did you go after Germany?

We came back to the United States. And so that meant Washington. State of Washington. That's where I went to high school. I graduated up there. And what was, you know, I'm used to moving. I'm used to, you know, readjusting, making new friends. And then after Washington, I then came down to the. I graduated from high school, of course, and then went to the University of Utah where I met this guy who's sitting next to me.

Aha, that one.

Yeah, that one.

I'm curious because I didn't know this about you, but a dance major, where did that come from? And how long had you been dancing?

Oh, my goodness. I started with Virginia Tanner when I was probably five years old in salt, like. And so it was just always a love that I had and I enjoyed it. And of course you would have friends. You can make friends that way. But I wasn't afraid of performing and it was fun.

Yeah, all of these things. Okay, so you met a guy.

Yeah, still have the original guy.

Good, good, good for you. So you meet and your plans change just slightly and somehow you make it to Arizona. Talk us through that journey, by the way.

I met him in a parking lot at the University of Utah. So you got to watch out when you walk through those parking lots.

Yeah, you do.

So I'm sorry, no, tell, tell me.

About your, your journey. How you from the parking lot to Arizona. What's in between there?

Okay. I was what is called a Utana. They're the dance team that do the football halftime and the basketball half times. And so we were.

Performance.

Because I was involved in dance was my major at that point in time at the university. Of course, we fell in love. He got hired by the Mormon Church to come down to Arizona and teach seminary in Mesa. And so he's the one that brought me down here to this hot, hot place.

Never been here before.

Not really. Almost wanted to turn around and go back. It was. It was. I think I had a semi meet down here one time, but it's been a long time. But anyway, so that's what brought us down here. We had all our children here. Desert Sam was a regular hotel for me. Four kids in four years.

Wow. Yep.

But I don't regret any of it.

Sure.

It's all turned out very well, and I've been incredibly blessed.

So you pivoted into accounting. What inspired you to take that on?

I've always been good with numbers, and I wanted to do something that I could. I wanted to develop a skill that I could use to have a job. And so I started at MCC and then went over to ASU and graduated from ASU with a degree in accounting.

Did you do dance at any of those schools?

No.

Okay. Just curious. That passion was with you for a while.

I was. I was. No, I. I kind of had to set the. The dance side aside, and. And then I was more focused on. Okay, you know, we've got this family that's growing, and what can I do to be productive and help make money and go forward?

So did you settle in Mesa and move to Gilbert?

Yes.

Okay.

We first came down to Mesa and then.

What about Gilbert spoke to you? When did you make the move to Gilbert?

In Mesa would run into it. It was a point where there was crime, and I wanted. We wanted to go somewhere where we would be more safe and we could raise our family in a better environment. He was very. He was familiar with Gilbert because he had taught seminary here, and it was very appealing. So we left because of the downturn in our neighborhood and the crime that resulted, and we needed to get someplace that was better.

Yeah. Well, as fate would have it, you'd become very involved in this community.

Yes.

Talk to me about how that happens, that journey of getting involved through activism and. And what inspired you to actually run for council?

You know, that's not something I ever. When I was a little kid, I never, never wanted to run for office. That was just not on my list of things to do. But what happens is I'm driven by the environment and my family. And so when there's a downturn, when you have an increase of crime, when things are deteriorating, I want to do something about it. And so I guess that's where I reconnected to some of the seeds of activism that had been planted by prior relatives. And so that's pretty much I'm good at walking neighborhoods and engaging people. And so that's kind of how it started out.

What do you think as you look back at that time? Some of the individuals who might have influenced you, and maybe also some lessons learned from those initial days running a campaign and getting into office.

You know, one that one that pops up in my mind right away is were the Jesse's, Sally and Gordon, Jessie. They were teachers at Chandler Gilbert Community College, and they were very involved in politics. And we started walking neighborhoods. We had causes that we needed to deal with. And so that's kind of where it started.

Yeah.

So talk to me a bit more about the actual campaigning process, because I'm curious what that was like, because it's changed. I know a ton.

Sure.

But how did you go about your campaign and what was that like for you guys?

Grassroots.

Grassroots.

It was all grassroots. Knock on doors. You go around and you meet people and you talk to them and you listen. That's one of the big things, is you need to listen. Because the people that the residents, they can tell you, I mean, they're the ones who are living it. They know what they want, they know what's not right, what they would like to see changed. And so it's like going on your own listening tour to see what it is. And you go from that. It always needs to be based with the residents, by the people that are going to be affected by whatever happens. I wish we had a little bit more of that these days.

Yeah, yeah, it's definitely changed now. It has all things change. But of course, adapting to it. It's interesting. Okay. And any. Any big surprises come through that process with you that you're like, wow, you learn from. You're like, I wouldn't do that again. Or I'm glad I did that. That you can remember.

What I learned is to not be afraid of hard work and that you need to be determined and you need persistent and that things are not always going to go the way you want them to go. It's not easy. It takes time. It costs money. I didn't like asking people for money. That was a hard thing to kind of climb over. But when I realized that, you know, this is for them as well as, you know, for my family, then it was a little easier to ask for contributions. But this is the way things are set up. This is where we all live. This is our community, this is our country. And we're the ones who need to get involved and make the difference, especially locally.

I can't let the opportunity go by without saying how important it is to participate in your local election and your local government. So important.

Absolutely.

So the whole political piece though, and I know you had a little bit of history with your family in the past and the different causes and things, and perhaps your husband's involvement in the church might help that as well. But was there anybody that kind of helped you, guide you through this? Because it's like a whole, it's a whole challenge, right, to go into the, to run for office and things like that. Right. So is there anybody that comes to mind or anything that you remember that was a good kind of mentor type thing?

Well, the first one was the Jesse's. They were, they had been down that road before. They hadn't run for office themselves, but they had helped elect people. And so they, they kind of, you know, you learn and you watch and you learn and you get to know people and that's kind of how it starts.

Okay. One step at a time.

You know, I have to say, you got to have support of your family for sure because it brings a whole nother dynamic into the invasion of privacy in your home. And so I've been very blessed to have a family that was supportive.

That brings up another interesting question for me because I have kids as well. And as I think about that, like how did you separate your children from that part of your life? Or did you, were they part of it? And because you want, like you said you wanted to have that privacy and keep things like maybe not so invasive for your family today it seems like it's a little harder because everything's just right there and you know, that thing. But what was that like? Was it easy? Not easy? I don't know.

Well, you just kind of have to, you know, each and each situation is probably different, but you know, your kids, you know what they can handle. If they don't want to be involved, then that's okay. I'm not going to force anybody. Some of them would help and some. No, you know, I don't want to do anything with this at all. You need to be respective of their privacy. And you know, when you get into political activism, you know, it can be an invasion into your Family.

Right.

And so to protect and just make sure that, you know, boundaries are set and listen to your. To your family.

I guess that's kind of what I was thinking about too, is not everybody's going to like what you have to say.

Right?

Of course not.

I mean, so you got that concern too. I'm like, well, how would I keep them protected from that? Because.

Right.

You know, so. Okay. Well, it doesn't sound like that was a problem.

Along that line, they're not always going to be happy about what is being said about you, for sure.

Right.

You know, when, when, when the newspaper comes out and there's something that's ugly in there, that does affect them. Now, I'm incredibly blessed because of this man that's sitting next to me because he also has been run for office and he has made a difference. And only he's on the school side. I was more the government side.

Okay.

And so we share the activism bug that, you know, if you can make a difference, you need to do it because this is your home, this is your community.

When you look back at your time as mayor, what are some of the fondest memories or points of celebration for you?

Oh, wow. Oh, there are so many amazing people that I got to meet. When you're going around in neighborhoods and knocking on doors and talking and listening to people, it's amazing what you can learn and the friendships that you can develop and hopefully the engagement that you can help them so that they can become involved in what is going to affect their lives and their families. So it can be a huge win.

I know you had shared that one of your focuses was economic development and increasing some of those efforts. I find it funny that you shared at that time. I think it was just one. Sam's club in a car dealership is what we were working with at that time. That poses a bit of a challenge and opportunity.

Yeah. Well, we want to be sustainable as a community that needs money. I mean, you gotta have money to help your government to function as well. And plus we need sometimes those products and services and jobs that can be brought into our communities.

What has life looked like for you after elected office?

Restful. No, actually, we get to travel a lot more than I had before, and so that's really fun. But we're in another stage of our life and so it is fun. We can. We have a son who still lives with us at home. And so if we want to go on a cruise, we can do that. And everything is taken care of at home.

Yeah.

And so we Invite them if they want to come, but most of them don't want to travel the way that we like to travel.

Sure. Well, the one thing I will say.

Is.

I remember, and there's no way you'll remember this, but I was a college student, a journalism student, and you. I had to write a story for one of my classes, and you took time after a chamber event to sit down with me, little old me, and let me interview you. I can't even remember what the story was about, but all I can say is, even I remember the way you made me feel and that you took time for me. And I think that says a lot about who you were as a leader, that you. You really did take time to listen and make time for residents and all of the. All of my silly requests. So just wanted to share that. That's a fond memory I have, and I thank you for that.

Well, thank you. Well, that. That's. That's awesome. That's a payday. We're in this together, and we want our communities to be successful. They're our extended family, and, you know, the best that we can do this, the best we all will experience.

If we were to pick your brain from a community perspective and ask you what your hope is for this community going forward, what would you say?

You know, we have a lot of change going on. What I would like to see is more engagement with those that are new and coming into this community, because it basically boils down to relationships. If you can build those relationships, chances are you're going to have less crime, you're going to have more success in what it is that you're trying to achieve. And, you know, if people have more friends and they're happy, that's a good thing. That just kind of floats the boat for everyone.

Reminds me of Congress of Neighborhoods, which you established.

Yes.

What's your take on Gilbert now? Looking back from when you were helping run it to what it is today, what comes to mind?

Wow. Well, I love to see the new development. I love to see the jobs that are coming in and concerned about all of the intense high density that it is coming in. And, you know, I don't control everything, and I certainly control less now. But it all comes down to balance. And when you have too much anything, I mean, whether they're mansions or whether they're apartments, you need to have balance. And what I see occurring is not imbalance.

Balance is tricky.

It is. It's a tough thing, but it's important. And for sustainability, it's really important.

So Will you ever again run a campaign?

Ah, for me, as a candidate? No, I don't think so. I've done quite a bit. I've run a few times. But as far as supporting candidates, people that want to do this. Yeah, I'll do that.

So you guys are in this next chapter you mentioned, and you're traveling, it sounds like, and you've got grandchildren and all these fun things. What's the future look like for you guys? What is that for you?

More of the same.

More of the same.

I would sign up for that. That sounds good.

Yeah.

Well, sustainability, you know, we need to. You've got to put effort into keeping things sustainable. And, you know, you can build new stuff and have wonderful things happen, but you have to pay attention to how are you going to sustain it. And, you know, with all of the new folks that are coming in, the question, I would say, is how are we engaging them or how are we encouraging them to be a part of Gilbert, to have a good influence in Gilbert, to make this their home, then things will be. A lot will be. You cut down on crime, you cut down on a lot of things. If you can build relationships and that way you can have better sustainability.

I think it comes down to belonging. When you belong somewhere, your decisions are a little different.

Yeah. You care.

Okay, well, today's been a pinch me moment for me.

I was gonna say fan girl over here.

I love it for a long time, and I've loved the opportunity just to get to know more about you, your time and leadership, and grateful this community stands on shoulders of individuals like you. And so thank you for all you've done to contribute to Gilbert.

Well, thank you. You're gonna make me cry.

She has the tendency to do that sometimes.

She's good people.

And for other reasons, too. We won't go there.

I don't know if Ben's not on that same page, but I'm trying to convince him. Eventually he'll see.

Right, right. Eventually.

Okay.

I got to know, though, Are you still dancing?

Do I still dance?

Yeah.

Only with him occasionally.

That counts. Okay, good.

I walk. One of the things that I do and I have diabetes, and so I have to pay attention to my health is I walk every day for at least two hours. And I live in Agritopia, so it's got lots of shady trees and a development I helped to create.

Yes, yes.

Thank you, Joe Johnson. And so that is saving my life. So I have good health and hopefully I can be around for a long time.

Indeed. Cheers to that. Well, thank you for being here. It's been a great conversation with you and learning about your history. I know Sarah's got one more thing she can check off her list now. This was definitely on that. I could tell. So. But thank you for being here today and for all those that are listening. I know you enjoyed this episode. I know we did. If you want more of these, please subscribe to our email list so you can get all the notifications when we have another great episode. And thanks for listening. Guiding Conversations with Community Leaders.

Ben, let me ask you a question. How do you see other community members being involved in this podcast?

This is going to be a great opportunity for so many people in the community to have a chance to be heard if they want to tell their story or if they just want to be part of this journey with us and help sponsor in a way that helps bring more people to the table with us. So I think there's many opportunities at hand. Whether you want to again be on the show, reach out to us. Let us know what your story is and how you think you could be part of it. We'd love to hear from you. Reach out, let us know and we'll see if we can make that connection.

Sa.