OUR BOARD 
OF DIRECTORS

Phil Satre is the Chair of the Guinn Center Board of Directors. He is also Chairman of the Board of Wynn Resorts, Ltd., the owner and operator of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, Wynn Macau, Wynn Palace, Cotai, and Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Mass. From 1980 to 2004 he served in various capacities at Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., including President and CEO (1984-2003) and Chairman (1997-2004).

Phil has served on the boards of Nordstrom, Inc. (2006-2019); International Game Technology (2009-2018); NV Energy (2005-2013); Rite Aid Corporation (2005-2011) and Tabcorp Holdings Ltd.-Australia (2000-2007).

Phil served on the Stanford Board of Trustees from 2005 to 2010. In the not-for-profit sector he has served as a Trustee since 2002 (Chairman 2009-2011) of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans LA; served on the Stanford Alumni Association Board (2018-2022); is a Trustee of the National Automobile Museum — The Harrah Collection, in Reno, NV; and was a co-founder and Board Chair (2013-2018) of the Guinn Center.

John Valery White is the E.L. Cord Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) William S. Boyd School of Law. After a decade as Dean of the Boyd School of Law, Executive Vice President and Provost of UNLV, and Acting Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, Professor White returned to the faculty. His current scholarly focus is on the role of civil and human rights law in addressing the demographic consequences of globalization.

He is widely published, having contributed to multiple books and written articles dealing with human rights, civil rights, and discrimination. Professor White is a member of the American Law Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, The Pacific Council, and the American Law Foundation. He serves in leadership positions across many non-profit foundations and boards, including having served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC), the entity that produces and administers the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT).

He earned his BA from Southern University and his JD from Yale Law School, where he was a Notes and Topics editor for the YALE LAW JOURNAL. Professor White began his academic career at Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center as an assistant professor of law, ultimately becoming the J. Dawson Gasquet Memorial Professor of Law while teaching and publishing on civil and human rights law. He directed LSU Law’s summer program in Lyon, France and was a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Insubria in Como, Italy, where he explored the role of civil rights law and multicultural theories in response to globalization.

As a Schell Fellow at Human Rights Watch/Middle East in New York City in 1991-1992, Professor White analyzed humanitarian law and human rights issues related to the Gulf War and participated in a site visit to Egypt, investigating arbitrary detention and torture and prison conditions which led to book-length Human Rights Watch reports on torture and prison conditions in 1992.

Pat Hickey is a fourth generation native Nevadan from a pioneer family in Lake Tahoe. Besides being a local business owner, he has worked as a journalist and editor for various Nevada news outlets covering the Legislature and Nevada politics. He was elected to the Nevada Legislature in 1997.

Mr. Hickey subsequently was elected by his peers as Assembly Minority Leader, where he championed educational reforms, greater accountability, and increase education funding for Nevada schools.

In the 2015 Legislative Session, Assemblyman Hickey chaired the Ways and Means Subcommittee on K-12 and Higher Education Funding.

Upon his retirement from the Legislature, Governor Brian Sandoval appointed Pat to the Nevada State Board of Education, where served until January 2017. Pat also served as the Executive Director of the Charter School Association of Nevada.

Pat is currently a Sunday columnist for the Reno Gazette-Journal. His weekly "Memo from the Middle" column is the most widely read of local columns in the RGJ. Pat Hickey’s recent book: Here and Hereafter: Nevada Voices on Life and the Great Beyond, features stories about the views and legacies of notable Nevadans.

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Paul Johnson is a seasoned Chief Financial Officer with more than 25 years of executive experience in public-sector finance, education funding, and organizational operations. He currently serves as CFO for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD), and Big Bend Water District (BBWD), providing strategic financial leadership and oversight for major regional water agencies.

Previously, Paul served as CFO for the White Pine County School District, where he directed all fiscal, administrative, and operational functions. His expertise spans strategic financial planning, budgeting, public-sector compliance, risk and asset management, and legislative fiscal policy.

Paul holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Management & Leadership from Western Governors University, along with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has been recognized statewide for his contributions to education funding and fiscal policy and has served on key Nevada advisory bodies, including the Nevada Commission on School Funding, the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, and the Committee on Local Government Finance (CLGF).

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Deane A. Albright is the senior partner of Albright, Persing, and Associates, Ltd., a large CPA firm in Reno, Nevada, which he founded in 1976. The firm specializes in all facets of accounting, taxation, auditing, and forensic accounting for large and medium businesses, nonprofits and individuals. In addition, Mr. Albright is an investor in several Nevada businesses and venture capital enterprises. Mr. Albright is a member of WIN, EDAWN, and the Reno Chamber Of Commerce.

Mr. Albright is currently involved in several organizations that promote Nevada as a place for startup companies highlighting Nevada’s favorable tax environment, lifestyle and cost of living. He is secretary treasurer of the Reno Tech Hub project and played a significant role in working with the business group that attracted Apple Inc. to choose Reno as the site of their new iCloud data center.

Mr. Albright is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in accounting in 1971 and is a member of the Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Marybel Batjer is a partner at California Strategies, LLC, a public policy, and advocacy firm. Previously, she was the President of the California Public Utilities Commission and led the Commission through the Covid-19 global pandemic, statewide emergencies related to climate change, and racial and environmental injustices.

As the first Secretary of the California Government Operations Agency, she modernized the IT procurement process; restructured the Board of Equalization by creating two new state entities: the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the Office of Tax Appeals.

As Secretary of Government Operations, eleven California Departments reported through the Government Operations Agency. From 2005 through 2013, Marybel was the Vice President of Public Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility at Caesars Entertainment Corporation. From 2000 to 2003, Marybel was Chief of Staff to Governor Kenny C. Guinn, and 2003 to 2005, Marybel was Cabinet Secretary to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

She has served on the State of Nevada Colorado River Commission, the National Judicial College Board of Trustees, the Desert Research Institute Foundation, and the Board of Directors for the Nevada Museum of Art. Currently she serves on the board of the Climate and Wildfire Institute.  She has a Bachelor of Arts in Administration Legal Processes from Mills College.

Lisa Becker is a fifth generation Nevadan, born and raised in Elko. She is the founder of ElleBee LLC, a communications and public relations consulting company. Lisa spent 13 years working for Newmont Mining Corporation in Nevada Colorado, eventually becoming the Director of External Relations and Communications for the region. Her priorities included responsible corporate philanthropy and fostering meaningful relationships with the rural communities. Lisa has always had a passion for the arts and was enthusiastic to join the WESTAF board in 2020. Since returning to Elko in 2007, Becker has been active in the community, including the Great Basin College Foundation, the McCaw School of Mines Foundation, and the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from Hillsdale College and a Master’s Degree in Communications and Leadership from Gonzaga University.

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Dana R. Bennett, Ph.D.  was most recently the Interim President of the Nevada Mining Association and before that, Interim Executive Director of the Guinn Center. Dr. Bennett is the former President of the Nevada Mining Association and served on the Guinn Center’s Advisory Council for nearly seven years. A lifelong Nevadan with more than three decades of public policy experience in her home state, Dr. Bennett has served as a Regional Director for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and as Governor Brian Sandoval’s Senior Researcher.

She began her policy career at the Nevada Legislature where she served as the Staff Director for Nevada’s Committee on Public Lands for nearly a decade and also staffed policy committees concerned with state and local government operations, technology in education, health care, and natural resources. Between her tenures in the legislative and executive branches of state government, Dr. Bennett spent many years in the private sector, operating a policy research business and employed as a legislative advocate with clients in mining, educational innovation, insurance, and construction, among others. With an abiding curiosity about Nevada, she took a break in her career to earn a PhD in history from Arizona State University.

Her dissertation explored the intersection between women legislators and tax policy development in Nevada before 1960. Dr. Bennett has authored three books and more than 50 articles, reports, and other publications. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum and serves as President of the Mining History Association and President of Friends of Midas. She lives in rural Elko County.

Greg Brower is currently the Chief Global Compliance Officer for the Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has held this position since 2021. Mr. Brower has an extensive history of state and national public service. In Nevada, Mr. Brower served as a member of the Nevada State Senate from 2011 to 2016 and as a Nevada Assemblyman from 1998 to 2002. In between legislative terms, he was U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada (2008-2009).

Mr. Brower has also served as Deputy General Counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and later as an Assistant Director for the FBI. He was a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy from 1987 to 1993.

Mr. Brower earned an A.B. in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D from the George Washington University Law School. He is a member of the Washington Legal Foundation Legal Advisory Board, the UNLV Boyd Law School Center on Law and Leadership Advisory Board, and the States United Democracy Center Advisory Board.

Alex Bybee, a native Nevadan, was inspired by his experience in the state’s public education system and early involvement in politics and community organizing to focus on improving educational opportunities and economic mobility. He is currently the Chief Strategy Officer for Communities In Schools of Nevada, a statewide education nonprofit. Previously, he served as Nevada State Director for Teach Plus, pioneering new roles and building departments with creativity and collaboration.

With experience in seven Nevada legislative sessions, Bybee has achieved significant policy victories, including funding for educator leadership programs, reforms to the state teacher evaluation system, and a $4 million appropriation for Communities In Schools of Nevada. In 2016, he led the bipartisan Save Our Schools coalition, successfully passing a bond measure generating nearly $1 billion for Washoe County school construction and repair.

Bybee is committed to independent journalism, evidence-based policymaking, and civic discourse. He serves on the boards of The Nevada Independent, the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities, and the Foundation for the LGBTQIA+ Community Center of Southern Nevada. An alumnus of the Jameson Fellowship, Leadership Las Vegas, and American Legion Boys Nation, he also moderates the Sun Youth Forum and hosts a program on UNLV-TV.

A first-generation college graduate, Bybee holds a degree in political science and government from the Honors College at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he served as vice president of the undergraduate student government. Connect with him on Twitter @AlexBybeeNV.

Kathleen Conaboy previously served as Senior Vice President of Museum Advancement at the Nevada Museum of Art. Prior to that, she was a vice president in the Government Affairs and Advocacy Group at McDonald Carano.  She has nearly four decades of experience in external affairs, specializing in communications and policy development.

Previously Ms. Conaboy worked for 25 years in leadership roles in academic medicine in Nevada and Florida. She also consulted with a national firm specializing in accreditation, development of new medical schools, and organizational change in academic medicine and has been a program consultant to several private foundations. Ms. Conaboy has served in leadership roles on multiple local boards. She was named in 2012 by Governor Sandoval to the Nevada Public Charter School Authority and served as the board’s chair for four years. Ms. Conaboy recently served on the Renown Quality and Professional Affairs committee and currently serves on the Children’s Cabinet Foundation Board and the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners.

Harvey Fennell is currently a principal of Dickson Commercial Group and an owner of Dickson Realty, Inc., two of the largest real estate firms in Northern Nevada. Harvey has been a realtor since 1987 and specializes in land and commercial real estate sales. He is a member of the UNR College of Business Advisory Committee.  He is the past chairman of the Renown Health Foundation and a former board member of Renown Health.  He served two terms on the Nevada Real Estate Commission, and he served on the Board of Home Federal Bank.  Harvey is a member of the Rotary Club of Reno and has served as its President.  He is a past President of the Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation and a Founding Member of Montreux Golf & Country Club.

He is the past chairman of the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross. Prior to moving to Nevada, Mr. Fennell spent seventeen years with KPMG and finished his public accounting career in Nashville, Tenn., as an audit partner in 1987.  He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1970.

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Jason Frierson started his career representing the indigent, serving as a prosecutor of white-collar criminals and later as an agency attorney in protecting child abuse victims. In 2010, he was elected to the Nevada State Assembly and was voted the best freshman Assemblyman in 2011. After being re-elected for the 2013 session, he served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

After one term out of the legislature, Frierson was elected to return to the Nevada Assembly in 2016 and was then selected in a bipartisan and unanimous vote to serve as the Assembly's first African American Speaker in Nevada history. He served in that role for three consecutive legislative

sessions, leading one of the most diverse state legislatures in the country and the first female majority legislature in the country's history.

Since 2022, Jason Frierson served as the US Attorney for the District of Nevada after being nominated by President Biden, acting as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the District of Nevada, and the first African American to hold the position. In this role, Frierson led a team of

more than 100 prosecutors and staff professionals, including 55 attorneys who handled federal criminal, civil and appellate cases. In addition, he met regularly with local, state and federal law enforcement agency leaders, and other key community leaders and organizations to discuss investigations, current cases and developing trends.

In February 2025, Jason stepped down as US Attorney and started in a new role as a Principal and Counsel for Cornerstone Government Affairs, lobbying the Nevada legislature.

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Professor Daniel W. Hamilton is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the George Mason University School of Law, where he teaches legal history and constitutional law. He was for 8 years, Dean at the UNLV Boyd School of law from 2013 until 2021. He joined UNLV from the University of Illinois College of Law where he was the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Law and History. Dr. Hamilton received his Ph.D. in American legal history in 2003 from Harvard University. He received his J.D. from George Washington University and his B.A. from Oberlin College.

Dr. Hamilton researches and writes primarily on American property ideology and the legal and constitutional issues raised by the Civil War. He has written numerous articles and reviews on American legal history, including works in Civil War History, the Chicago-Kent Law Review, the Journal of Supreme Court History, the Journal of American History, the Journal of Southern History, the Journal of Interdisciplinary History, the Journal of National Security Law, and the Law and History Review.

His book, The Limits of Sovereignty: Property Confiscation in the Union and the Confederacy During the Civil War, was published by the University of Chicago Press.

Dr. Chris L. Heavey is an accomplished academic leader and distinguished researcher who was named UNLV’s interim president in April 2025. In this role, he oversees UNLV's academic, administrative, and financial operations and works closely with students, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders to advance the institution’s mission.

As a professor of psychology, his research focuses on improving understanding of the inner experience and its relationship to mental health. He is one of the nation’s leading scholars in the thoughts and feelings that make up the consciousness of people as they go about their everyday lives.

Yolanda King is the Principal Consultant at King Strategies, LLC, a firm specializing in organizational and fiscal strategy, social impact initiatives, and government relations.  Yolanda served more than three decades with Clark County, Nevada, the 11th largest county government in the nation, advancing through leadership roles in public finance before becoming Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Executive Officer/County Manager. In these roles, she oversaw a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, leading a workforce of more than 10,000 employees across a range of diverse, customer-facing departments that delivered essential public services to residents and visitors.

As a public servant, Yolanda demonstrated a strong commitment to being a good steward of taxpayer dollars, maintaining financial stability, and implementing solutions to improve the lives of residents. She has extensive experience working with local and state elected officials and has been a lobbyist for numerous legislative sessions.

Yolanda has held several key leadership and board roles, including Vice Chair and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Public Employees’ Retirement System Board, and Treasurer of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance. Her current appointments include serving on the Governor’s Office of Economic Development Board, as Secretary of the Desert Research Institute Board, and as a Board Member for Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada. She is also an active member of the International Women’s Forum and the Nevada Commission on School Funding.

Yolanda was born, raised, and continues to reside in Las Vegas.

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Trudy Larson, MD, a third generation Nevadan, was born in Reno, raised in California and returned to Reno to establish her medical career in Pediatrics/Infectious Diseases. She began her career as an assistant professor at the UNR School of Medicine in 1984, specializing in HIV/AIDS and Immunizations. During her 27 year tenure at the medical school she became a professor, department chair, and associate dean did clinical work at the Washoe County Health Department, helped found NN HOPES for HIV care where she saw HIV/AIDS patients, and was the medical director of the immunization program at the health department.

She contributed to numerous community organizations and international medical education projects. In 2011, she became the Director of the School of Community Health Sciences at UNR, overseeing the transition to a free-standing school as founding Dean and heading up the accreditation as a School of Public Health in 2021. She continued to work in public health at the state and county levels until her retirement from UNR in 2021. She currently chairs the Board of Directors of NN HOPES, is a member of the Nevada Donor Network board (past chair), and previously served on the State board of Health and the Governor’s Medical Advisory team for COVID-19.

Dr. Larson attended UC Davis undergrad, UC Irvine Medical School, and completed a fellowship at UCLA.

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Erin McMullen Midby is Vice President of Government Affairs for Boyd Gaming, and is responsible for the state and local policy and regulation that impacts the company in Nevada, California, and Hawaii. An attorney with over two decades of experience in government affairs and legislative advocacy—including roles at R&R Partners, Snell & Wilmer, and in U.S. Senator Harry Reid’s Washington, D.C. office—Erin brings deep political insight and legal expertise to everything she does.

She’s a member of the State Bar of Nevada, and has been an adjunct professor of legislative policy and advocacy at the UNLV Boyd School of Law.

In addition to serving as a Board Member and the Development Committee Chair for the Guinn Center, she is also Chair of the Nevada Commission for Women, board member of the R&R Partners Foundation, and a member of the City of Henderson Charter Review Committee.

In 2021, Erin was named one of Vegas Inc.’s 40 Under Forty honorees, and has provided pro bono lobbying and advocacy services to a variety of organizations, including Communities in Schools of Nevada, Nevada Humanities, and Three Square Food Bank.

Erin is a proud fifth-generation Nevadan who earned her B.S. in linguistics from Georgetown University in 2003, and her J.D. from California Western School of Law in 2008. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, attending concerts, and spending time with her husband, Eric, and their two children, Mia and Matthew.

Dr. Erin Russell, Ph.D., is the regional vice president of external affairs for UnitedHealth Group. A health care executive for more than a decade, she currently manages advocacy engagements in the west region, including her beloved home of Nevada. She previously led the company’s state advocacy in Nevada. Prior to joining UnitedHealth Group, Dr. Russell worked at a statewide law firm advocating for various business and community interests.

Dr. Russell survived a stroke at the age of 31. Her road to recovery was filled with support, driving her passion as a health care advocate in the community and state that her family has proudly called home since the 1850s. Dr. Russell received a dual bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, a master’s degree from George Washington University, and doctorate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is on the advisory board of Spread the Word Nevada, and previously served two gubernatorial appointments to the Nevada Commission on Postsecondary Education. She and her husband, Trevor Hayes, are proud parents of two children.

Culminating a 25+-year career as a senior executive in the gaming industry, Mathur currently operates her own business as a speaker, trainer and writer.

Most recently, she served as Executive Director of the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation. Within a long list of service roles she’s held over the years, she has received appointments to statewide leadership positions by Nevada’s last four Governors and currently serves as an appointed member of the Commission on School Funding, as Vice Chair of the Board of Communities In Schools of Nevada, and on the board of The Guinn Center.

An ardent champion for children and public education, she has received numerous awards and recognition, however, the role of which she is proudest is as Mom to her three remarkable sons and one spectacular daughter. And, the role she is most joyful about is as a grandmother.

Rikki Tanenbaum is SVP of Strategic Partnerships at FanDuel where she oversees government affairs. She previously served as Chief Operating Officer for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, where her portfolio including revenue generation, government affairs and M&A among other areas. She held the role of Chief Marketing Officer for the Tribe and its casino, where she had responsibility for marketing, communications and philanthropy. Prior to that, Ms. Tanenbaum served as Chief Marketing Officer for Golden Nugget Casinos (Landry’s), and has held marketing roles at Caesars Entertainment and Penn National Gaming in regional markets. Ms. Tanenbaum started her career with MGM Resorts International, holding marketing and business development roles in Las Vegas. Rikki resides in Las Vegas with her family.

Tammi Tiger is a citizen of Choctaw Nation, and Muscogee Nation descendant. She is the Director of the San Manuel Tribal Education Initiative in the College of Hospitality at UNLV.

Tammi’s career in public service started with Clark County – Department of Public Works, where she has over 20 years of experience in administration. She serves in two state appointments, with the Nevada Indian Commission and the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Participatory Democracy.

Tammi is a Native community organizer supporting local and national Indigenous organizations including; UNLV Native American Alumni Club, IAF, Inc and Native Organizers Alliance. Further, Tammi previously served on the Board of Directors with the Las Vegas Indian Center for several years and was awarded their Community Service award. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration; and is mom to Trevon, who is also a UNLV graduate.

Rick Trachok is Senior Counsel with McDonald Carano, focusing his practice on international regulatory and gaming law. Mr. Trachok has an extensive background in gaming law, particularly from the international perspective. Clients frequently turn to Mr. Trachok for his knowledge of the complexities of the licensing issues facing European companies, as well as his understanding of the unique aspects of European ownership structures, financing, and culture. He has been involved in many acquisitions and joint ventures of European, Russian, and Latin American companies on behalf of European clients.

Mr. Trachok serves as Chairman of Compliance for the German gaming Group, Gauselmann AG, and has been responsible for obtaining gaming licenses for them in approximately 200 jurisdictions throughout the world. He also served from 2004 – 2025 as Chairman of the Global Compliance and Governance Committee for the world’s largest gaming manufacturer and lottery company, International Game Technology (IGT).

Mr. Trachok has been recognized by his peers and consistently is included in the annual Best Lawyers rankings for Gaming Law, Energy Law and was designated lawyer of the year for Administrative and Legislative Law in 2021 and for Gaming Law in 2022. He served 15 years as an adjunct professor at UNR, teaching construction law in the graduate construction management program (1988-2003). He was also an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law from 2006 to 2013, teaching the Laws of International Trade. Mr. Trachok is currently a Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, teaching 1L Contracts, Contracts and Sales for LLMs, Secured Transactions, and Gaming Law.

Mr. Trachok is a member of the advisory boards for the Berkeley Center for Law and Business and the Civil Justice Research Initiative. He is a governor’s appointee for the Davidson Academy, a member of the GuinnCenter for Public Policy Board of Directors, a former trustee of The NatureConservancy, and an advisory board member of KUNR public radio. 

Mr. Trachok is Executive Director the University of Nevada, Reno Center for Constitutional Law.

Mr. Trachok has served as the Chair of the Nevada Board of Bar Examiners since 2000 and has been a member of the board since 1991. He also was a member of the University of Nevada System Board of Regents, serving as its Vice-chair from 2013-2015 and its Chair from 2015-2017.

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Gi W. Yun is Dean of the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on social psychological aspects of media and communication. The topics of his publications range from theories of communication, internet research methodology, social media, health communication, agenda-setting, newspaper’s community capital, and social network analysis to big social media data analysis. He enjoys thinking about tools and theories developed by media and communication scholars.

He is currently working on projects in the areas of health care advertising in local media, machine bias in information production and consumption, local media agenda-setting on immigration stories, and others. His research projects are funded by National Science Foundation, Google, or Online News Association.

Yun received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His journalism and mass communication undergraduate degree is from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.

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