As a public relations practitioner in Las Vegas for more than 30 years, Lynn Purdue has helped to acquaint the valley and the world with many of the city’s modern landmarks and experiences. After a successful public relations career that included working both within a corporation and in agencies, Lynn partnered with Bill Marion to found Purdue Marion & Associates. Using her personal philosophy in how she practiced her craft, the goal was to create a firm that integrated itself seamlessly into the actual business plan of its client companies, thus operating in a true partnership. And this is where Lynn’s talents in creating synergistic relationships, working with diverse individuals to align their vision and applying strategic initiatives to move the needle of both public opinion and bottom line profits have benefited the agency’s clients across industry spectrums ranging from redevelopment, to education to development and more. Over her extensive career – and more than 40 years as a Nevada resident – Lynn has developed deep relationships with all types of local, national and regional media working with clients in a vast array of industries. This means she’s not only adept at responding to trends and changing tides, she also helps motivate them. A journalist by formal training with a degree from University of Nevada, Lynn is an award-winning public relations expert who was recognized as Agency Principal of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America. She donates her time, talent and resources to countless good causes, and is board chair for the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, past president of the Rotary Club of Las Vegas West, and is past chair of the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. One of the few Nevadans who bleeds both red and blue, she provides her expertise to the Dean’s Council for the Reynold’s School of Journalism at UNR, and the Marketing and International Business Advisory Board at the Lee School of Business at UNLV. Aside from helping to shape innovative initiatives for a full roster of clients, Lynn also manages to find time to shape the hearts and minds of her three beautiful daughters.

Like most women, Patricia Farley wears many hats, including the one she threw into the political arena. She also wears a hard hat at her company’s construction jobs. And her leadership on important issues affecting our state, including the opioid epidemic, warrants a thinking cap. Ms. Farley received a BS from the University of Arizona in 1996, shortly before she moved to Las Vegas. Today she’s a single mother raising two daughters and two nieces, all under 14. She is also a successful businesswoman bringing diversity to the construction industry with her high-end contracting company, Southwest Specialties. In 2014, her love of Nevada and desire to improve its business climate led her to seek elected office. Residents of far-west Las Vegas sent her to the state Senate with nearly 60 percent of the vote in a race against a better-known opponent. During her two sessions in Carson City, she championed diversification of the state’s economy and promoted new opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses. She also supported investing in our children and was invited by the Nevada Supreme Court to serve on the Blue Ribbon for Kids Commission. She worked with Sen. Tick Segerblom and lawmakers from both parties to pass the nation's most comprehensive and thoughtful set of marijuana statutes. This effort proved beneficial to those under a doctor’s care, recreational consumers, licensees, their employees and the state’s coffers. After the 2015 legislative session, Ms. Farley helped form the Nevada Marijuana Council. The ad hoc organization of fellow lawmakers and cannabis industry leaders encouraged stakeholders to become actively involved in the political process and to promote diversity in the fledgling industry. Today, according to Nevada Dispensary Association statistics, minorities fill nearly a third of the jobs in the marijuana industry. Her work in the private and public sectors — which includes everything from founding a developmental play space for young children to running a Senate committee — has provided a unique breadth and depth of experience. In addition to her business and government experience, Ms. Farley is also a philanthropist. She served as president of the board of trustees for Aid for Aids of Nevada, one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the state and the largest AIDS service organization. During her tenure, AFAN increased its financial support even as Las Vegas suffered in the Great Recession. Currently, Ms Farley is the Board President for Serving Our Kids Foundation and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Child Advocacy Alliance. She has supported many other organizations with her work, expertise and resources. Those include the Las Vegas Veteran Memorial, UNLV Foundation, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Foundation, Volunteers in Medicine, Veterans Village, Catholic Charities, CASA - Foster Youth Graduation, and Serving Our Kids Foundation. Among the many causes she advocates, the one closest to her heart is the fight against opioid abuse. She stood strong when addiction touched her family and has inspired others with her frank discussion of the ordeal. In a search for answers, she’s heard the cries as she walked the halls of addiction treatment centers and raised money and supported drug abuse research by Roseman University. Whatever the test — economic downturns, political fights, and family challenges — Ms. Farley retains Nevada’s spirit of optimism and openness to all. And she is quick to say her love of children inspires her efforts to create opportunities for them as big as the state that welcomed her long ago.

Gard received his undergraduate degree at Stanford University, his MBA from the University of San Francicso, his PhD from Pacifica Graduate Institute. He spent 25 years as a CPA, working for Deloitte & Touche, Laventhol & Horwath and, most recently, as a partner of Piercy, Bowler, Taylor & Kern, as their director of Financial Planning. He is the author of two volumes, Phaethon, Our Mythic Moment, and Monkey, Our Mythic Moment. He teaches Chinese and Indian Philosophy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is a Founding Board Member and Trustee Emeritus of the Nevada Community Foundation, a Founding Board Member and past Chair of the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, Treasurer of Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, Chair of the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada, Board Member of the Stillpoint Center for Spiritual Development and The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Life. He is married to Dr. Florence Jameson and has two children, Michael and Julia.

Amanda N. Connor is a founding partner of Connor & Connor PLLC – a boutique law firm that practices in the areas of business law and personal injury. Amanda has always had a passion for education, learning and children as evidenced by her four degrees and career in education. After graduating valedictorian from high school, Amanda attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelor’s of Liberal Arts. Amanda then received a Masters in Education from the University of California San Diego, also graduating Magna Cum Laude. While working as a dual language kindergarten teacher in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Amanda received her Masters of Administration from New Mexico State University graduating with Honors. Amanda then attended the University of New Mexico School of Law where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. As Connor & Connor PLLC has grown and become successful, Amanda Connor is working to give back to the community she calls home. Specifically she is looking to help the children and educational systems of Clark County. Amanda Connor serves as a pro bono attorney for the Children’s Attorney Project, part of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and works with other charitable organizations that focus on children.

Dawn Gibbons is the former First Lady of Nevada and the only one to have been a state legislator. Dawn has advocated for many important causes such as autism, children’s issues, domestic violence, human trafficking, drug addiction, health concerns, and our military. She helped propel the well-known Crystal Darkness campaign statewide, nationwide and worldwide. She co-chairs the Organ Donor and Tissue Task Force at the University of Nevada Medical School, a program she initiated as an Assemblywoman. Recognized for her many legislative efforts, Dawn was recognized as Assemblywoman of the Year by the Nevada Police Protective Association. Ms. Gibbons changed the Nevada Constitution twice through an initiative petition with overwhelming voter approval — Gibbons Tax Restraint Initiative and the Education First Initiative. Dawn is a graduate of the University of Nevada. She was a successful entrepreneur owning five businesses. She has received many accolades including Business and Professional Women Woman of the Year, Who’s Who in Business, Who’s Who in Politics, Who’s Who of Women, Attorney General’s Role Model of the Year, and Las Vegas Women to Watch. Dawn has served on many prominent boards such as Desert Research Institute, Reno Tahoe Airport Authority, Washoe County Visitor’s and Convention Authority, Sierra Bank of Nevada, American Red Cross, Children’s Cabinet, Westcare, National Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, Positively Kids, American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women 2011/2012 Chairwoman and Children’s Advocacy Alliance. Most recently, Dawn had a radio talk show with Fox News 1270 and a news show segment at KSNV NEWS 3 with Jim Rogers called Dawn & Jim and a political commentary with Rory Reid called Dawn & Rory. Of all of her accomplishments, Dawn is most proud of her son, Jimmy Gibbons, a Navy aviator and instructor pilot.

Senior Justice Miriam Shearing has served in the Nevada judiciary for over thirty-five years. She retired from the Nevada Supreme Court as Chief Justice in 2005 after serving twelve years. She had previously served as Juvenile Court Master, Justice of the Peace of the Las Vegas Township and Eighth Judicial District Court Judge, including a term as Clark County Juvenile Court Judge. She now serves as a substitute Judge throughout the State, as needed. In addition to serving on the Board of the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, Justice Shearing now serves as President of the Southern Nevada Senior Law Project and as Chair of the American Bar Foundation Research Advisory Committee. She has previously served as Chair of the American Judicature Society and on the boards of the Northern Nevada International Center and the Nevada International Women’s Forum. In 2012 the Nevada Supreme Court awarded her the Legacy of Justice Award. She received her Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Cornell University and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Boston College Law School.

Ms. Valentine’s first experience with child welfare came when she adopted her daughter in 2000. She continued working with child and family issues after being appointed as an assistant county manager by Clark County overseeing several departments including Family Services, Social Services and University Medical Center. She was very involved in completing the integration of state and county child welfare started under her predecessor, Thom Reilly. She worked extensively with the Youth Law Center, the state and the department to improve services and improve the outcomes for children in the system. In 2006, she became the Clark County Manager responsible for the executive oversight of the country’s 15th largest county providing both regional and municipal-type services to more than 2 million residents. In that position she was responsible for oversight of the county’s $5.9 billion budget and administrative oversight for the county’s 38 diverse departments and the more than 10,000 employees. Previously, Ms. Valentine served as the city manager for the City of Las Vegas, Nevada and for consulting engineering firms and is a registered professional engineer in Nevada. She was the first chief engineer and general manager of the Clark County Regional Flood Control District. Ms. Valentine has a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Idaho. She also serves on the board for the Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation. Ms. Valentine is currently the president of the Nevada Resort Association (NRA). The NRA represents Nevada’s resort/casino industry on state and local issues that affect the gaming industry.

André C. Wade, a native Las Vegan, has worked in human services for more than 15 years in a variety of public and non-profit contexts. Additionally, he spent several years working in D.C. as a policy analyst for a national think-tank, The National Alliance to End Homelessness. His policy portfolio included runaway and homeless youth, youth aging out of foster care, LGBTQ youth and young survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. He has traveled the nation presenting at conferences to promote policy and practice related to youth homelessness. André spent several years in Child Welfare, in Las Vegas, working for the Department of Family Services developing the child-specific adoptions program and recruiting foster and adoptive parents, which included within the LGBTQ community; and developing the Department’s community engagement efforts. Currently, André is the Director of Operations for the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada where he oversees all programming, day to day operations, data and grant writing. André earned a master’s in Public Administration from UNLV and volunteers his time serving on the Board for the Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration and NevadaGIves, as well as on several national advisory boards and councils including The Human Rights Campaign’s All Children All Families and Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund. André enjoys spending his time traveling and practicing yoga.

Elaine moved to Las Vegas 34 years ago after marrying her husband Dale. Prior to moving to Las Vegas Elaine was on staff at UCLA Medical Center as a Registered Nurse. She worked in adult ICU and patient teaching in the Enterostomal Department. Upon moving to Las Vegas, she worked at Valley Hospital in ICU and founded and directed the Nevada Diabetes Center. After the birth of their first child Elaine retired from nursing to raise their son and daughter. Over the past 25 years Elaine has been involved in several charitable organizations. She served as a Director and a Chairperson of the Nevada Community Foundation and remains an Emeritus Director. She also served on the board of Communities in Schools. Currently, she serves on the board of Children’s Advocacy Alliance and Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation. She is a member of Nevada Women’s Philanthropy. In addition to her charitable work Elaine is the President of the Queensridge Owner’s Association. Her educational background includes a Diploma in Nursing from Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing, BA’s in Philosophy and Political Science and a MPA from Loyola Marymount University. Elaine‘s philanthropic work is grounded in her believe that every person has the ability to create a better community one step at a time, one day at a time. Any donation of time, goods, services and or money all help effect change and build a better community. The main focus of the Roesener Family Fund is children’s issues.

More than 20 years ago, Hilary Westrom, came to Las Vegas as a District Manager for the retail chain the Limited. In 2000, Ms. Westrom completed a master’s degree from UNLV to pursue a career in counseling. Together with her significant other, John Ritter, their goal has become investing in the community that they call home. As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in a private practice, Hilary provides treatment for children, adolescents, adults and families for various issues including sexual abuse and domestic violence. Hilary and John hold the belief that it is the responsibility of those who have experienced success in their community to reach out and help those that are less fortunate. This has led them to the establishment of the Ritter Charitable Trust which is a supporting organization to the Nevada Community Foundation. The Ritter Charitable Trust supports children and families in need in southern Nevada. In addition to serving their own organization, Hilary also makes it a priority to give her time, talent and resources to many other community organizations. Currently, she serves on the board for Boys Town Nevada, the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, the Clark County Mental Health Consortium, and Three Square. Hilary is the founder of the Southern Nevada Child Welfare Network.