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Jill Tolles is the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. She taught at the University of Nevada, Reno from 2005 to 2023, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Communication Studies. She serves on the faculty of the National Judicial College, where she teaches courtroom management, collaborative decision-making, and procedural fairness to judges from around the nation and the world.
Prior to joining the Guinn Center, Jill served three terms in the Nevada Legislature as the Assemblywoman for District 25, where she has served on the Education, Judiciary, Commerce and Labor, and Ways and Means Committees. Additionally, she served in two special sessions and three interims on the Interim Finance Committee, Legislative Committee on Education, Legislative Committee on Energy, Commission on Special License Plates, and the Nevada Sentencing Commission.
Jill has given back to the community by serving on numerous boards and commissions over the years. She serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Effective Lawmaking, currently serves as the Chair of the Northern Nevada Sex Trafficking Task Force, and completed her terms as Vice Chair of the Attorney General’s Statewide Substance Use Response Working Group and as a member of the Education Alliance Board. She has been recognized as the University of Nevada, Reno 2026 Alumna of the Year for the College of Liberal Arts, a recipient of the 2023 W. Clark Santini Cup award, the 2025 PBS Spotlight Award recipient, a Junior Achievement Hall of Fame honoree, an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow, and a member of the International Women’s Forum.
