Brittany Walker, '09 BA Political Science, recently was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve in his administration, working with the assistant secretary for administration in the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. A lawyer, she graduated from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2013. 

Tom van Betten, '91 BSBA - Finance, has been hired by Matter Real Estate Group, a San Diego-based real estate development company as vice president of development. Van Betten, who has more than 25 years of experience in the industry, previously was the executive director of tenant representation at Cushman & Wakefield. During his time there, he received numerous awards and accolades and was continually a top-10 producer. Before that, he worked as the vice president/ONCOR manager for Burnham Real Estate and as senior vice president for Colliers International, Las Vegas. While there he represented high-profile building owners in both leasing and investment sales. He serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County and holds a California real estate broker license.     

James Southard, '85 BSBA - Marketing, retired after more than three decades in hotel management. Just prior to retirement, he served six years as executive vice president of hotel operations with the Nugget Resort in Sparks. Previously, he held executive director of hotel operations positions at the Las Vegas Hilton and MGM's Excalibur and had worked in hotel management at Caesars Tahoe. He and his wife have moved to Reno where they enjoy all that Tahoe and Northern Nevada have to offer.    

Lindsey Taylor, '18 BS Biological Sciences, is a crime scene analyst with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Married for 13 years, she has two children, Sam and Sloane. The family lives in Henderson. 

Brent Howard, '78 BSBA - Accounting, operates BHI Bookkeeping, Payroll and Income Tax, a company he founded in 1978. His two adult daughters, Cassidy and Chrystal, work with him. He has run for political office five times and says he now is cured of politics. Music had been his interest for many years, but now his primary interest is marketing and working to solve the challenges of small businesses in Clark County. He also is interested in studying holistic and integrative medicine. His hobbies include two-step and line dancing. He and his wife, Lisa, have been married seven years.

Courtney Wood, '15 BS Hotel Administration, is a premium service coordinator with the Raiders and the new Las Vegas Stadium. She is part of the team that is developing the relationships for Personal Seat License Club members who will have the best seats in the stadium and be entitled to exclusive benefits. She personally manages more than 500 accounts and says she is excited to be part of reshaping the Las Vegas skyline. Her activities include spending time outdoors, tending her herb garden, hiking, and trying new restaurants. 

Sarah Beeman Bussmann, '14 Master of Health Care Administration, is vice president of clinical program integration for P3 Health Partners. She is active with the School of Community Health Sciences Alumni Chapter and recently participated in its service event at Three Square Food Bank. Working in partnership with the Nevada Public Health Association, the group networked while completing more than 600 boxes of food for senior citizens.         

Erika "Rikki" Tanenbaum, '06 Master of Hotel Administration, recently began work for San Manuel Casino in Highland, California, as its chief marketing officer. Her job involves helping transform the casino by driving growth, utilizing customer-focused relationship marketing, and implementing best-in-class technology investments. Previously, she led top marketing teams for several companies, including MGM Resorts International, Walker Digital Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, and Landry's Golden Nugget Casinos.

Peter Arceo, '96 BS Hotel Administration, recently was promoted to chief operating officer of San Manuel Casino in Highland, California. He joined the casino as chief marketing officer in 2015. In his new role, he will support the day-to-day management of the casino, develop talent, and enhance the overall brand experience for employees and guests. Previously, he was vice president/chief marketing officer for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community's Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

John Santana, '95 BA Communication Studies, saw his debut novel novel, Bastards of Young, released in May by Black Opal Books. In it, Nick Karenka is lost in Sin City. His band’s singer has navy SEAL aspirations, his dad’s marrying a young stripper, and why does his girlfriend’s family make such a big deal about eating with your elbows on the table? Nick holds LA as some sort of utopia, until a chance encounter with a kilt-wearing, hearse-driving, drum-playing college freshman named Gremlin starts to bring out who Nick really is. They begin to explore the world beyond the desert island that is Las Vegas until they finally realize that their future isn’t in Southern California, but with a bunch of lumberjack-dressing misfits in the Pacific Northwest. Santana lives in Nassau, New York.

Herb Santos, '85 BA Sociology, has been selected as the 2018 Trial Lawyer of the Year. A 1991 graduate of the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific, he lives in Reno.

Angela K. Brown, '97 BS Education - Recreation & Leisure Studies, '10 BS Education - Workforce Education, works as a specialist coordinator assistant in the department of casino management at CSN. She is a spoken word poet whose hobbies include writing.