Welcome College of Liberal Arts alumni and friends. We have created this site especially for you so you can catch up with the latest news from the college, join the Alumni Association, make a gift to the college, and more.
The College of Liberal Arts Alumnus of the Year went from being uncertain about the future of his education to being one of the top residential real estate agents in the Las Vegas Valley.
Howard Watts III, '11 BA Political Science, has announced his candidacy for the Nevada Assembly. He is running as a Democrat to represent District 15, which covers an area just north and east of the university. After three years of solo freelance consulting, he also started a small public relations firm. His record of public service includes a stint on an advisory committee for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, appointment to the Clark County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife, volunteering for Camp Anytown Las Vegas, and sitting on the board of the Nevada chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. His hobbies include outdoors activities such as hiking, camping, and backpacking.
Marlen Ibarra
Marlen Ibarra, '17 BA Psychology, is a research assistant at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health - Cleveland Clinic. She plans to apply to graduate school in a few years.
Reyna Pingul
Reyna Pingul, '16 BA English, is working toward her master of fine arts in writing degree at the University of San Francisco. She also is a volunteer copywriter for the Harry Potter Alliance as well as freelance copywriter for various businesses. She lives in Richmond.
Abbi Silver
Abbi Silver, '86 BA Political Science, was elected to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2018. In January 2017, the court appointed her to the Nevada Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics. That same year, before joining the Supreme Court, then-Gov. Brian Sandoval swore her in as the first female chief judge of the inaugural Court of Appeals of Nevada. She has been practicing law for 30 years and has served as a judge for more than 16 years. She has been elected to the bench six times and is the only judge in the history of Nevada to have served at every level of the court system. She earned her law degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles in 1989.
Amanda Gordon
Amanda Hurst Gordon, '09 BA Sociology, '11 MA Criminal Justice, recently was hired as the board and volunteer relations coordinator in UNLV's office of alumni engagement & annual giving.
Abbi Silver
Abbi Silver, '86 BA Political Science, in January 2019 will become the sixth woman to serve on the Nevada Supreme Court. She is running unopposed in the November 2018 election, so automatically will be elected to the post. She recently was sworn in by Gov. Brian Sandoval as the first female chief judge of the Court of Appeals of Nevada. In 2015, Sandoval appointed her to the inaugural Court of Appeals of Nevada after recommendation by the Nevada Judicial Selection Committee. She recalls political science professors emeriti Dina Titus and Jerry Simich writing her recommendations for law school in 1986. Titus, D-Nev., now is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Natalie Bachiri
Natalie Lutz Bachiri, '92 BA English and BA Communication Studies, is an emotionally focused therapy (EFT) therapist. Her hobbies include reading, gardening, and researching mental and physical health. The mother of two lives in the small European country of Luxembourg.
Heather Brown
Heather Brown, '08 BA Political Science, co-founded a political consulting firm, Modern Action Strategies, in 2013. The company focuses on grassroots campaign consulting and scale-able event organizing. Most of its clients are scattered around Europe, which is why she now lives in Brussels, Belgium.
Jack Werner
Jack Werner '72 BA Political Science, works in a variety of capacities. He is executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Power, an international standards development body where he recently developed the standard for U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) weatherization training program. He also is a senior fellow at the Climate Institute where he works on climate change programs, recently developing sustainability programs for small island development states (SIDS). Additionally, he serves as contract assessor for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for certification bodies seeking ANSI accreditation. He also works under contract as a coach for communities involved in DOE's community solar Sunshot program. Previously, he served as director of the DC Government Energy Office. He is married and lives in Washington, D.C.
Sal Gugino
Sal Gugino, '71 BA Political Science, has been appointed vice president/assistant general counsel for Boyd Gaming Corp. He has practiced law in Las Vegas for 36 years, having earned his law degree from the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law. A former member and chairman of the state Employee-Management Relations Board and former president of the Clark County Bar Association, he is married to Deborah Ann Bichsel Gugino, '81 BS Education, '86 Master of Education. They are the grandparents of Ashley Gugino, '17 BA Communication Studies.