Mr. Scott Arkills currently serves as the President/CEO of Silver State Schools Credit Union (SSSCU) located in Las Vegas, Nevada. In his current capacity, Scott heads all aspects of this $966 Million Asset, 55,000+ member credit union. He leads a dynamic, proactive and high-performing Leadership Team and staff that places a premium on excellent member service. In 2018, this was evidenced by SSSCU being recognized on the first Forbes “America’s Best-In-State Credit Unions” for Nevada in 2018, as well as winning the Gold Medal Award as Best Credit Union in the annual Best of Las Vegas vote for both 2018 and 2019.

Scott has worked in many executive positions in the financial services industry over the last 37 years. He has a wide-array of financial services experience serving in various senior executive positions not only at credit unions, but also at large national and international banks, and consumer lending organizations. Scott is a proud and passionate advocate of the credit union movement and the members it serves, as well as the credit union mantra of “People Helping People.”

Scott is actively involved in serving the community in various capacities. He has served the past 2 years as Board Chairman for the Nevada Credit Union League; as well as serving on the Board of Directors for Voices in Voting; Nevada Succeeds; and for the Andson Foundation. He is dedicated to improving and supporting the education community and expanding financial literacy in our state, as evidenced by the various Board positions he holds, as well as being named to Governor Sisolak’s Nevada Financial Literacy Council.

Dr. Niki Bates serves as Director of Education Media Services at VegasPBS. In this role she oversees the Described and Captioned Media Center delivers a powerful means of support for those with special needs, their families and service providers. A grant-funded library, originally developed to provide descriptive video for the blind and closed captioning for the deaf, DCMC has grown to address a multitude of special needs such as down syndrome, autism, language delay, anger management, motor skills development, and more.

Dr. Alain Bengochea is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Multicultural, and Special Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His previous research includes studying the multimodal choices of emergent bilinguals during naturally occurring interactions, such as in sociodramatic play; investigating the role of vocabulary practices; and researching teachers’ beliefs and instructional practices in English-medium and dual language settings.

In Dr. Buck’s 25 years in education, she served in the role of classroom teacher, English Language Learner Specialist, Assistant Principal, Lead Principal, Executive Director, and President. She holds a Masters’ degree in Administration and Supervision and a Doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership, Public Education Executive Leadership Academy, USC Superintendents Academy, and Georgetown Education Finance Certificate.

In 2014, as Executive Director of Pinecrest Academy of Nevada, Dr. Buck increased enrollment and student achievement from one struggling school with 700 students and a 3-star state rating (Nevada CRT) to 4 campuses with 5-stars in both elementary and middle schools, serving nearly 6000 students. In 2018, it was designated one of the top charter school networks in the state. At that time, she became the President of the Pinecrest Foundation and created a Master Teacher process and recognition program to highlight and retain the best teachers in classrooms culminating in a Master Teacher gala at the end of each year. She also builds partnerships in the with donors and businesses to support student. She raises funds for student uniforms and coats, career and technical programs, and dual enrollment scholarships. Dr. Buck was elected to the state senate on November 16, 2020.

Dr. Marcedes Butler serves as UNLV's College Opportunity Learning Concierge. In this role she works closely with teams from enrollment, academic advising and NSHE to ensure that students such as those in the MGM College Opportunity Program experience a smooth transition into college.

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Jaime Cruz serves as Executive Director for Workforce Connections, Southern Nevada’s Local Workforce Development Board. Before his appointment as Executive Director in October 2017, Jaime served as Chief Strategy Officer for eight years and was instrumental in partnering with local libraries to expand the public workforce development system.

Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby, Ph.D. is the Department Head and Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences at NC State University. DeCuir-Gunby’s research interests include race and racial identity development, critical race theory, mixed methods research, and emotions in education. Her work has been featured in top-tier journals such as Contemporary Educational Psychology, Educational Psychologist, Educational Researcher, and Review of Educational Research, among others. DeCuir-Gunby has also co-authored/co-edited four books. She has served as Co-PI on two National Science Foundation funded grants, totaling over $4.3 million: Nurturing Mathematics Dreamkeepers (NSF DRK-12 Grant) and Peer Mentoring Summits for Women Engineering Faculty of Color (NSF ADVANCE Leadership Award Grant). Her most recent grant, funded by the Spencer Foundation, explores Black essential worker mothers and their experiences with distance learning during COVID-19.

Senator Mo Denis has been working in his community for over three decades, serving in capacities such as chairing the PTA, sitting on Clark County Library Board, serving as an elected Assemblyman, current State Senator representing District 2, and Nevada Senate President Pro Tempore where he is fighting and advocating for Nevada families. As State Senator, Mo has taken up education, consumer rights and economic development as his key priorities, passing legislation and chairing committees to address these issues.

Dr. Jonathan C. Hilpert is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Learning Analytics in the department of Educational Psychology and Higher Education (EPHE) at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). He is the current director of the Office of Learning Analytics (OLA) housed in the College of Education. Dr. Hilpert's research focuses on enhancing learning and instruction through the use of data analytics and complex systems approaches. His research interests include student motivation, engagement, and interactive learning; complex, dynamic, and emergent properties of educational systems; and knowledge construction of complex scientific phenomena.

Tonia Holmes-Sutton, Ed.D. is leading the way in education advocacy in southern Nevada. Tonia is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Childhood Generalist) serving children, families, and educators across the country. Her primary service and support has been to children and families of high-needs communities within the Las Vegas Valley. Locally, Holmes-Sutton serves as the Nevada Interim State Director for Teach Plus.

Dr. Iesha Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Her research calls attention to the need for equity-based reforms in education practices and policies. Her work is situated in two main areas: student voice and culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies for students and teachers of color.

Dr. Jesus Jara serves as the superintendent of the Clark County School District (CCSD) since June 2018. CCSD serves approximately 360 schools and 320,000 students and 42,000 employees.

Nadine Jones is a Human Resources Professional whose passion lies in helping the organizations she supports to meet their organizational goals and objectives through the effective management of their human capital resources. She is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer at the Clark County School District – the 5th largest school district in the United States. Before starting in her current role, Nadine had a successful career in the Hospitality and Gaming Industry. Over the course of 25 years, she held various roles progressing in both the operations and human resources functions. Her most recent position in the Hospitality and Gaming Industry was as the Vice President of Human Resources for the MGM Grand Las Vegas where one of her key contributions was in helping to build a culture of service, performance, and accountability. Nadine is focused on continuing that type of work in her new role in the educational field.

Dr. Patrice Leverett, NCSP, is an assistant professor at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas in the School Psychology program. She serves as the practicum supervisor and teaches courses on the impact of culture and diversity on practice. She received her master’s degree in Education at Queens College of New York and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Her research is two-fold, examining the impact of implicit bias on the decision making of school-based personnel on disciplinary practices, to reduce the impact of racial disproportionality, particularly for African American male students. Her second area of expertise focuses on student perspectives of disciplinary practices and incorporates those perceptions into the training of equitable school psychologists.

Kenida Lewis is the Director of Diversity Recruiting, College Programs & Workforce Development at MGM Resorts International. In this role, Kenida is responsible for setting the strategic direction to attract and recruit diverse, undergraduate and graduate talent that will continue to drive innovation for an international entertainment organization. By building external national partnerships, increasing community engagement and enhancing recruiting processes, Kenida works to expand the MGM resorts international brand in diverse and university settings.

Dr. Bradley D. Marianno directs the Center for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment and is an Assistant Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research focuses on the consequences of policy change for educational governance with a substantive focus on teacher labor policy.

Dr. Karlene McCormick-Lee serves as visiting scholar in the Educational Policy and Leadership and Policy graduate program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In September 2019, Governor Sisolak appointed Karlene chair of the Nevada Commission on School Funding. With expertise and skill in leading successful reforms across diverse and complex systems, Dr. McCormick-Lee drives educational transformation by shaping innovative programs to achieve critical educational goals for children.

For UNLV's School of Community Health Sciences, Jose Melendrez is responsible for coordinating and building partnerships with community-based organizations that provide internships for students and real-world experience. He also develops recruitment strategies to increase the diversity of students in the school, which includes programmatic support for the Nevada Minority Health and Equity Coalition and service with the Nevada System of Higher Education's Hispanic Serving Institutional task force. For the university, he has led the development of the Title III and Title V Minority Serving Institution Leadership initiative, the Vice Presidential Diversity Commission, the Institute on Diversity and Social Justice, and as director of the UNLV Multicultural Center.

Dr. Kate Menken is Professor of Linguistics at Queens College of the City University of New York (CUNY), and a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for the Study of Language in an Urban Society of the CUNY Graduate Center. She is Co-Principal Investigator of the CUNY-New York State Initiative for Emergent Bilinguals (CUNY-NYSIEB) project. Her research interests include language education policy, bilingual education, and emergent bilinguals in secondary schools.

Dr. Federick Ngo is an assistant professor in the Higher Education program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He conducts research on higher education policy, with a focus on developmental education reform and college access and success for community college students.

Felicia Ortiz, a longtime Las Vegas resident, and successful local businesswoman, has shown strong community leadership through her consistent involvement in non-profit organizations. Felicia’s passion to help others is evidenced by her continuous dedication seen in the various organizations she represents.  She is currently an elected member of the NV State Board of Education. Felicia is also a member of the NM Highlands University Foundation Board, the NV State College President’s Advisory Board and School of Education Community Advisory Board, and the WestEd Board of Directors and she also sits on various education related committees and volunteers with other community organizations. She hopes to continue to be a role model and inspiration for the younger generation and help the community to thrive by growing her business and continuing her public service.  

Dr. Brenda Pearson is the Director of Strategic Policy Initiatives at the Clark County Education Association (CCEA). Before joining CCEA, Dr. Pearson spent several years as a classroom teacher and instructional facilitator. She has worked in diverse settings such as Clark County School District, Chicago Public Schools, and Buena Park School District in California. She left the classroom to advocate for high-quality and equitable public education and the development of a highly qualified and committed teaching force. In her role at CCEA, Dr. Pearson focuses on state and local policies and programs to improve educator quality, increase retention and attract educators to the profession. Her perspectives are grounded in educator’s work and understanding the importance of organizational, political, and resource contexts for educator attrition and retention. She studies the implementation and impact of K-12 policy and reforms, including class size reduction and educator development. Dr. Pearson earned her PhD at University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Educational Psychology and conducts research in the field of educator motivation, educator attrition and retention, and social networks.

Dr. Melody Rose started her tenure as Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education on September 1, 2020. Her previous leadership roles have included serving as the Chancellor of the Oregon University System, Portland State University’s Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Instruction and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and chair of Portland State University’s Division of Political Science.

Cody Sims, Field Marketing Director for Cox Business Las Vegas and Omaha, offers over 20 years of business experience in product development, product management and marketing. Cody has a talent for guiding successful outcomes for internal and external partners through thoughtful and innovative solutions. His experience covers strategic business development, market analytics, market share capture plans, product evangelism, and operational excellence. In collaboration with the Nevada Governor’s Pandemic Response team, the Elaine Wynn Foundation, Community in Schools, and Clark County School District, Cody helped ensure 99% of all CCSD students and families had access to high speed, broadband internet access for the 2020-2021 school year.

Steve Sisolak was born into a working-class family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where his parents, Ed and Mary worked hard to provide for their three children. Steve inherited their blue-collar ethic, working full-time to put himself through college at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Steve then enrolled in UNLV’s Graduate Studies Program, where he received a master’s degree in 1978.

Steve put down roots in Las Vegas, built his own communications business, all while raising his two daughters on his own as a single father. Both his daughters attended Nevada’s public high schools and UNLV, where Ashley earned her law degree and Carley earned her master’s degree.

Motivated by his passion for education, Steve decided to give back to the community that supported him by serving on the Nevada Board of Regents for 10 years. As a champion for parents and students, Steve stood up for Nevadans wrongfully charged out-of-state tuition and fought for increased state funding. Education remains a top priority for Steve as governor.

In 2008, after 10 years as a University Regent, Steve was elected to the Clark County Commission, where he served as chairman until being sworn in as governor of Nevada. On the commission, Steve was known as a coalition builder and problem solver. Steve successfully managed the state’s largest county budget and led the county through the Great Recession. As governor, Steve is working to strengthen Nevada’s statewide economy by diversifying our industries and working to attract new fields and recruit job-creating companies to the Silver State.

Steve is proud to be able to call Nevada home and is honored to serve our families as their governor. Throughout his time in office. Steve’s goal is to keep Nevada strong and moving forward by investing in education, creating jobs by diversifying the economy, and guaranteeing quality, affordable health care for all Nevadans.

Dr. Doris L. Watson joined the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2005 and has over 30 years experience in higher education. She has published numerous manuscripts, chapters, monographs and one book. Her areas of expertise include working with and in diverse organizations, and issues concerning preparing culturally responsive leaders in higher education.

Dr. Keith E. Whitfield is the 11th President of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is the immediate former Provost and Sr. Vice President of Academic Affairs and a Professor of Psychology at Wayne State University. He received a B.A. in Psychology from the College of Santa Fe and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Life span Developmental Psychology from Texas Tech University and did post-doctoral work in quantitative genetics at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Dr. Whitfield is a champion of student and faculty success, innovation and entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary research. His broad higher education experience includes developing programs and institutional policies that promote social and economic equity and financial sustainability. He has also devoted a considerable time to faculty development, particularly junior scholars.

Dr. Whitfield remains an active scholar. His research examines the etiology of individual variation in health and individual differences in cognition due to health conditions. Dr. Whitfield works with researchers from Sweden, Russia, Finland, and the United States. He has been a continuously funded researcher for more than 20 years through NIA, NIH, and NSF with projects totaling more than $18 million and has authored or co-authored over 200 journal articles, books and book chapters. His current research project focuses on the relationship between stress and longevity in African American families living in North Carolina.