Las Vegas restaurateur and philanthropist Jenna Morton will share her path to leadership and early influences that shaped her values as she addresses aspiring leaders at the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada’s NEW Leadership Nevada Summer Institute June 8.   

The Institute, to be held at UNLV June 5-10, provides Nevada’s college women a unique opportunity to identify their own leadership style, develop skills and meet accomplished women from a variety of fields. Morton is part of a lineup of guests that will address the 25 summer institute participants throughout the week.

Morton is a restaurateur with several venues in Las Vegas, including La Cave Wine and Food Hideaway in the Wynn Resort; La Comida, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Las Vegas; CRUSH in the MGM Grand Resort and MB Steak in the Hard Rock Hotel. Morton chairs the board of directors for After School All Stars Las Vegas and is the immediate past president for the Las Vegas Springs Preserve Foundation. She sits on the boards of directors for The American Center for Oriental Research and Community Cloud Forest Conservation. She is also working on a project in Jordan to promote economic opportunity in an area drastically affected by the influx of Syrian refugees. 

“It is important to provide high-quality training to Nevada’s future women leaders,” said Joanne Goodwin, director of UNLV’s Women’s Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN).  “Part of that is hearing from women like Jenna Morton who have demonstrated a path to leadership that is uniquely their own.”

National Education for Women’s (NEW) Leadership is an award-winning program developed by Rutgers University Center for American Women and Politics. In 2001 WRIN became the first site in the southwestern and Rocky Mountain states to host the leadership development program for college women. Program speakers come from a variety of backgrounds, including law, business, politics, education, community activism, non-profit organizations, banking, gaming, medicine and real estate.

The dinner will be held June 8 in the UNLV Foundations Building, Blasco Event Wing.  For more information, contact WRIN at (702) 895-4931 or wrin@unlv.edu.

NEW Leadership Nevada 2017 Sponsors

The NEW Leadership Nevada 2017 Presenting Sponsors are Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Sletten Construction of Nevada.  Additional sponsors include: Altria Client Services, Bureau of Reclamation, Nevada International Women’s Forum, Soroptimist International of Greater Las Vegas, and UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law and Women’s Council.  The Women’s Research Institute of Nevada is grateful to The Eleanor Kagi Foundation – A Lynn M. Bennett Legacy for its ongoing support.  

About WRIN

Part of the UNLV College of Liberal Arts, the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada champions Nevada women and their communities through research and education. For more information about WRIN and NEW Leadership Nevada, visit wrinunlv.org.