Deedee Corradini

Corradini was born Margaret Louise McMullen (although Deedee was a childhood nickname) Corradini attended school in Lebanon and Syria for 11 years as a child. She attended Drew University from 1961 to 1963. She received a Bachelor of Arts in 1965 and a Master's degree in 1967, both in Psychology from the University of Utah. She served as Press Secretary to Congressman Wayne Owens of Utah and then Rep. Richard Ottinger of New York in the early 1970s. Although Utah leans strongly toward the Republican party, Corradini was a Democrat. This is not unusual for Salt Lake City, which tends to vote Democratic far more than other regions of Utah. Corradini was fluent in French and Arabic. However, the conversion of this block into a church plaza was one of the 14 major projects put forth by the city in its 1962 Second Century Plan. The 1962 plan stated: "It is proposed that Main Street between the two church blocks either be closed to vehicular traffic or an underpass installed. This would strongly unify these two blocks as a visual anchor on the north end." == 2002 Winter Olympics ==

Corradini's efforts gave Utah the initial shove that landed the state the 2002 Winter Olympics. Corradini crisscrossed the globe meeting with International Olympic Committee members for Salt Lake City's 2002 bid. She lobbied the Utah Legislature for a voter-approved sales-tax hike to build winter-sports facilities to help lure the Winter Games. Women's ski jumping Corradini campaigned for the 2002 Winter Olympics as mayor and then led the effort to bring women's ski jumping to the Winter Games. When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) told her and women ski jumpers in 2008 regarding participation in the 2010 Winter Olympics that women would not be allowed to jump, Corradini and other women ski jump advocates then filed suit in Canada, suggesting that exclusion of the event violated the human rights of the athletes. The lawsuit was rejected before the 2010 Winter Olympics. For nearly a decade, Corradini had led the fight, which included an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada when athletes fought for the right to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics.The IOC twice ruled against adding the sport to the Vancouver Games, saying participation worldwide wasn't widespread enough. After women's ski jumping was added to the Olympic program, Corradini said: "We have only one event, and that's the normal hill jump. The men have normal hill, large hill, the team event and Nordic combined. We're already thinking 2018 to become really equal with the men, so we still have our work cut out for us." == SLC Transit ==

During her tenure, Corradini pushed hard (and ultimately successfully) for the relocation of the Union Pacific railroad tracks that divided downtown, pushed through the TRAX light-rail system, and won massive federal funding for reconstruction of the freeway system in advance of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games (one of the largest single public works transit projects in recent American history). Corradini became an early advocate for light rail, which debuted on Main Street in the final year of her mayoral run. She helped lay the groundwork for a transportation hub that connects TRAX, FrontRunner commuter trains and buses in what used to be the city's red-light district. In championing the initial TRAX spur, Corradini ran into stiff resistance from business owners, who balked at having Main Street torn up for months of construction to accommodate the rails. == Infrastructure ==

Corradini pushed to renovate the blighted west side of the city's business district with an ambitious 50-block project that involved moving roads, bridges and freeway corridors. That paved the way for The Gateway shopping and residential center — a $375 million mixed-use development boasting 2 million square feet of shops, restaurants, offices and housing, as well as a 12-screen movie theater, a planetarium and a children's museum. Corradini also led the effort to renovate Salt Lake City International Airport and added a third runway. == Community involvement and awards ==

• President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 1998 • President of Women's Ski Jumping USA for more than 10 years • Chair of the Utah Symphony Board of Directors, of which she was a Lifetime Board Member • Served on the board of Utah Power and Light • One of the first female members of the Alta Club • Presented with a World Championships bib, signed by 30 of the top women jumpers in the world in 2015 ==References==