Southern Nevada Public Television (SNPT) Board & Councils

The Friends of Channel 10 was founded in 1971 to provide financial, promotional, governmental and volunteer support for KLVX-TV. The Friends recruit volunteers for pledge drives, conduct special fund raising events, provide information to policy makers, apply for grants, assist with business operations of online adult education, and manage endowment funds for public television. In 1999, the Friends decided to restructure the board to assist KLVX with the federally mandated conversion to digital television. The 25 member board was renamed Southern Nevada Public Television (SNPT) restructured to include several councils with up to twenty members. KLVX-TV, Channel 10 also rebranded itself as Vegas PBS.

Tracy Bower

Desert Research Institute (DRI)

Tracy Bower is the Director of External Affairs for the Desert Research Institute (DRI). DRI is one of eight institutions within the Nevada System of Higher Education with campuses in Las Vegas and Reno. DRI faculty conduct environmental research here in Nevada and around the world in a variety of disciplines.

A UNLV alumnae with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies and a Master of Arts in Ethics and Policy Studies, Bower holds more than 15 years of experience as a communications professional. She has worked with a number of public agencies in Southern Nevada, and in the news media for broadcast stations in Nevada and Washington.

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Linda P. Cavazos

Clark County School District (CCSD) Board of Trustee

Linda P. Cavazos was appointed to the Clark County School District (CCSD) Board of Trustees on August 17, 2017, then was elected in November of 2018 to a full four year term. Trustee Cavazos represents District G.

Ms. Cavazos is from Superior, Arizona, a small copper mining community, where she attended public schools with two sisters and three brothers. Her parents strongly supported higher education, so with the help of loans and scholarships, Ms. Cavazos first began college at Arizona State University before transferring to, and graduating from, UNLV with a Bachelors in Secondary Education and a Masters in Educational Psychology and Counseling. She has spent more than 40 years in Southern Nevada working in the Henderson/Las Vegas community. Ms. Cavazos also worked as a food server to help finance her university education, and after graduation, taught at Basic High School for 15 years. She then was an adjunct instructor at UNLV for 9 years, while beginning a private counseling practice. Trustee Cavazos currently works as a family therapist part time, working with young children and adolescents, suicide and gun violence survivors, and veterans suffering from PTSD.

She believes the trustee position is an effective way to combine her counseling and teaching experience into meeting the many challenges that our students, staff, and communities face at this time. Trustee Cavazos very much wants to familiarize herself with and understand the unique needs of the schools and their neighborhoods in District G and to reduce the dropout rate by ensuring that every student has the best opportunity and access to resources that the District can offer. Trustee Cavazos and her husband Bob have five grown children, and seven grandchildren, with with one of the grandkids currently attending school in CCSD, and two others who graduated in 2019 from Green Valley and Arbor View High Schools.

Michael Cunningham

Bank of Nevada
SNPT Secretary

Michael Cunningham is Executive Vice President, Regional President, for Bank of Nevada and is a member of the Nevada leadership team. He joined the organization in 2014 and has more than 30 years of banking industry experience in the Southern Nevada business community.

Mr. Cunningham’s community involvement encompasses the arts, education and economic development. He serves currently as a board member of the Public Education Foundation, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance and the Neon Museum. He also is part of the finance department advisory council for the Lee School of Business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

He was recognized, by the Las Vegas Business Press as a “Who’s Who in Banking,” and is a graduate of the FBI Citizen’s Academy and Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership program.

Mr. Cunningham graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and earned a Master in Business Administration degree from UNLV. Additionally, he completed advanced banking education programs from ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania and from the Pacific Coast Banking School.

Bill Curran

Ballard Spahr, LLP
SNPT Emeritus

Bill Curran is the Senior Counsel in the Ballard Spahr, LLP Las Vegas office. He practices administrative and government law, particularly in the areas of real estate, land use, and gaming. He serves on numerous compliance committees for gaming companies and resort hotels.

Bill is a member of the American Bar Association Board of Governors (2006-09) State Bar of Nevada, President (1988-89). His service includes: President, Nevada Legal Services (2012-present); President, SNPT Board of Directors (2016-present); Chairman, Nevada Gaming Commission (1991-99); Chairman, International Association of Gaming Regulators (1993-94); Admissions: Nevada, California, DC, U.S. Supreme Court. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (J.D. 1972); University of Minnesota (B.A. 1969).

Moises (Mo) Denis

Former Nevada State Senator

Moises Denis was born in New York City to parents who immigrated from Cuba. Denis is Mormon and served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Uruguay. He studied at Brigham Young University. He has also served as a bishop in the LDS Church as well as in other positions. He is a cousin of United States Senator from Florida Marco Rubio.

Political Career - Prior to winning election to the Nevada Senate, Denis was a member of the Nevada Assembly, representing Clark County District 28 from 2004 to 2010. In August 2011, majority leader Steven Horsford appointed Denis to lead the caucus election efforts during the 2012 election cycle.

In December 2011, Denis resigned from his job with the Nevada Public Utilities Commission following an alleged conflict between his executive and legislative roles. After the 2012 elections, Denis was chosen by his colleagues to lead the Democratic Caucus as Majority Leader.

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Clark Dumont

Dumont Communications, LLC
SNPT Emeritus

Clark Dumont, M.S., APR, Fellow PRSA is a FORTUNE 500 C-level communicator, and Principal & Founder of Dumont Communications, LLC where he focuses on strategic organizational reputation and relationships for organizations, and the people in them.

Prior to the founding of his practice in 2018, he was Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff to the Chairman & CEO of MGM Resorts International. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, where he led the company’s executive communications, corporate citizenship and public affairs functions. He has served in other senior communications positions with BAE Systems, Inc.; Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of New Hampshire and Nevada Cancer Institute. He began his career as a broadcast journalist.

He has a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from The American University, and a Master's Degree in Communications Management from Syracuse University. He is recognized as a member of the College of Fellows and accredited as a public relations practitioner by the Public Relations Society of America (APR). He is the president of the Public Relations Society of America Las Vegas Valley Chapter. He is a member of the National Press Club, Washington, DC. He has served on the Dean’s Council at the Greenspun School of Urban Affairs at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and George Washington University’s Columbia College.

In addition to Southern Nevada Public Television, he is an emeritus Board member and chair of the American Red Cross of Nevada. He also served on the Board of the Neon Museum.

Jason Gastwirth

Caesars Entertainment
SNPT Vice-President

Jason Gastwirth is President of Entertainment at Caesars Entertainment, where he is responsible for the live entertainment programming across the company's 40+ venues nationwide – with Caesars recognized as the #3 live entertainment promoter in the world based on ticket revenues -- as well as the company’s brand alliances/sponsorship and tv and film production divisions inclusive oversight of Caesars Entertainment Studios. Gastwirth spearheaded the successful launch of the world-class theater The Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood that launched Britney Spears in the world’s first pop resident show as well as residencies featuring Jennifer Lopez, Lionel Richie, Pitbull and Backstreet Boys.

Prior to joining Caesars, Gastwirth served as the Chief Marketing Officer of the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas where he oversaw property marketing, hotel sales, revenue management, e-commerce, public relations, entertainment, sponsorship and call center operations. Gastwirth also worked at Las Vegas Sands Corp. as Vice President of Casino Marketing and Corporate Entertainment where he was responsible for expanding the VIP gaming customer base while negotiating entertainment deals for the company’s properties in Las Vegas, Macao and Singapore.

Before joining the hospitality and entertainment industry, Gastwirth held strategy positions in San Francisco and New York at Gap Inc. and management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Gastwirth earned his bachelor’s degree in government with honors at Harvard University and his MBA at Stanford University.

Gastwirth was recognized as “40 Under 40” by Vegas Inc. magazine in 2012. He has a wife and three daughters, and serves on the American Cancer Society’s Southern Nevada Leadership Board and gala organizing committee for the Tyler Robinson Foundation.

Peter Guzman

President-Latin Chamber of Commerce

Peter Guzman is currently the President of the Latin Chamber of Commerce. The LCC is the most powerful Hispanic Chamber in Nevada with over 45 years of community work and business representation. The LCC has provided services for the community for over 40 years and continues to grow. “The Latin Chamber of Commerce is a beacon of light for the business community and a shining star of hope for those in need of assistance in our great community”.   

He is an accomplished Realtor, Small Business Owner and Real Estate Investor. Mr. Guzman came to Nevada 50 years ago at the age of 2.  Mr. Guzman has worked very hard in helping people achieve the dream of home ownership. Mr. Guzman started his career with Lynn Wardley and that continues to this very day.  His work has been recognized nationally by all of the major Real Estate Organizations and he has been recognized as the Top Producer for the entire company in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, with over $700 million in sales. 

Nora Luna

UNR Cooperative Extension
SNPT President

Nora Luna is currently the 4H Youth Development Programs Coordinator at the University of Nevada, Cooperative Extension (UNCE). She oversees 4H programming in Clark County. In her prior position, she was the Director of Diversity & Grant Funding for Nathan Adelson Hospice, the only non-profit hospice in Southern Nevada. She developed, implemented, managed and evaluated hospice and palliative care outreach programs for diverse cultural communities. She facilitated partnerships with Latinx organizations and other diverse groups. She led the organization’s diversity and inclusion priorities and was responsible for grant writing and reporting as well. In 2013, she was the recipient of the Vegas Inc. Women to Watch award. Under her leadership, the Nathan Adelson Hospice Latino Outreach Program was awarded the California Hospice and Palliative Care Organization “Outstanding Program Achievement Award” in 2013.

Ms. Luna formerly served as an Assistant Professor and School Retention Specialist for UNCE. She developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated programs to enhance school engagement, prevent high school dropout and increase college attendance among underrepresented youth in Clark County. Before that, she served as the Associate Director of the U.S. – Mexico Border Communities Alliance for the Western Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT) at UNR. She provided training and technical assistance related to evidence-based substance abuse prevention and youth development to state, school and community personnel in the western region and the U.S.-Mexico border region. During her employment at the YMCA of Southern Nevada, Ms. Luna implemented positive youth development programs, parenting programs and after-school tutoring programs.

Nora Luna has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and a Master’s degree in Education from UNR. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of Southern Nevada Public Television and the Nevada Charter School Authority. Nora Luna is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and she was born in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Marydean Martin

Marydean & Associates
SNPT Emeritus

Marydean Martin has an extensive history of education related community service. Currently she is an honorary member of the UNLV Lied Library Advisory Board. She funded the Hi-Lo (high interest-low intensity) book collection at the Teacher Development and Resources Library at UNLV. She serves on the Vegas PBS Board of Directors where she began as a volunteer mentor to the Ready to Learn program.

She was on the founding committee and the original Nevada State College Foundation and is on the President’s Advisory Council. She was given the NSC President’s Medal of Honor for this work. The NSC Marydean Martin Library is named for her. She now teaches individual classes on how to write poetry and mentors poetry teachers. She advises new authors through the process of self-publishing. Her husband, Charlie Silvestri, worked with the Clark County School District for twenty six years. The district named the Charles A. Silvestri Middle School after him.

Mary Mazur

Vegas PBS President and General Manager 
SNPT Executive Director

Mary Mazur, an award-winning television executive with more than 30 years of experience in commercial and public media, most recently served as the general manager of Arizona PBS.

Under Mazur's leadership Arizona PBS produced 120 hours of news content annually, and launched two new local programs, receiving multiple regional Emmy nominations and awards. Prior to joining Arizona PBS, Mazur was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Los Angeles-based KCETLink Media Group, where she oversaw the move to a new state-of-the-art facility and was part of the executive team that guided the successful merger between KCET and LinkTV. She was executive producer of KCET's nationally distributed programs A Place of Our Own and its Spanish language companion Los Niños en Su Casa - these curriculum-based programs were designed to help informal care providers better prepare children for kindergarten.

Prior to joining KCETLink Media Group, Mazur was senior vice president of series development at Cosgrove/Meurer Productions and served in a similar role at Patchett Kaufman Entertainment. A graduate of Santa Clara University, Mazur has also worked in program development for both the NBC and CBS networks.

Benson Riseman 

President & CEO of BENSEA Enterprises, LLC 

Benson Riseman is President & CEO of BENSEA Enterprises, LLC; an Entrepreneurial Think Tank and Consultancy established in 2009 to transform ideas into independent, freestanding businesses.  BENSEA Enterprises specializes in strategy, branding, marketing, revenue generation and the distribution of supportive business resources to client companies.  

Prior to Founding BENSEA Enterprises, Mr. Riseman Co-Founded Green Dot Corporation and served as Executive Vice President of Retail Strategy up until the company went public in 2010 (GDOT/NYSE).  Green Dot is widely recognized as the inventor of the prepaid debit card industry and is the largest provider of reloadable prepaid debit cards and cash reload processing services in the United States. 

Prior to Co-Founding Green Dot Corporation, Mr. Riseman enjoyed a 20 year career in radio broadcasting working in Local, National and Network Managerial/Sales positions for companies including Metro Networks, CBS, Westinghouse, Greater Media, Paxson Broadcasting, Capitol Broadcasting and RKO General.  During his broadcasting tenure he worked in the Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Orlando, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, DC and surrounding Mid-Atlantic area markets.  

Mr. Riseman currently serves on the Board of Trustees and The Lowth Entrepreneurship Center Advisory Board at his alma mater, The University of Tampa, Florida; Board of Directors for WEDU-TV (PBS), Tampa, Florida and the Board of Directors for Vegas PBS, Nevada; Founder & Chairman of The Riseman Foundation and former Board of Directors Member of The Smith Center for The Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada.  In addition, he is the lead philanthropist for the Riseman Family Theatre in his home town of Chelsea, Massachusetts and a second Riseman Family Theatre in the Las Vegas DISCOVERY Children’s Museum as well as the Benson Alex Riseman Fitness & Recreation Center on the University of Tampa campus. Benson was bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Tampa in 2015.  

Mr. Riseman is a graduate of the University of Tampa with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.  In addition, Benson has completed Executive Management Programs at Harvard University and Kellogg School of Management along with completing the Landmark Education curriculum. Mr. Riseman grew up in the Boston area graduating from Chelsea High School.  He currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and enjoys his family of 7 adult children and 4 grandchildren.

Karen Rubel

President and CEO
Nathan Adelson Hospice

Karen Rubel currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer at Nathan Adelson Hospice. She joined the organization in 2007 as the Vice President for Development. She has extensive experience in operations, administration, major gifts fundraising and building development programs, along with strong leadership skills and strategic planning abilities.

Ms. Rubel has been influential in developing programs to enhance the experience of the hospice’s patients and their loved ones. Aside from leading the hospice team in forging relationships with large donors and health care entities, she has been instrumental in enhancing hospice operations and community outreach programs. Her accomplishments are many, with thousands of individuals in the Southern Nevada community being helped at a sensitive time in their lives.

Ms. Rubel earned a B.A. in English from Eastern Illinois University, and an M.A. in Administration from Dominican University in Illinois. She is a graduate of the Thayer Institute with a Master’s in Leadership Arts and Sciences. Her professional and community accomplishments include serving as a board member, National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, member of the Board of Directors for Girls Scouts of Southern Nevada, member Board of Directors, Nevada Donor Network, former board member, The Unforgettables Foundation, former member of the Board of Directors for The Center. She is listed as one a 2022 Women to Watch by Nevada Business Magazine, Top 100 Women by My Vegas magazine, 2015 Women to Watch by Vegas Inc., recognized as one of 10 Women Who Mean Business by the Las Vegas Business Press in 2012. She is a 2018 Jameson Fellow and graduated Leadership Las Vegas in 2011.

Andrew Thurlow

U.S. Bank 

As a Private Wealth Advisor, Andrew is responsible for providing comprehensive wealth management strategies tailored to his clients’ specific needs. These strategies encompass Investment Management, Private Banking, Trust and Estate Services, and Wealth Planning. Andrew takes the time to understand his clients’ unique needs and directs teams of specialists —often working closely with other client advisors, such as attorneys and accountants —to provide services that help his clients work toward their goals.

Andrew began his career in the banking and financial services industry in 1997. Prior to joining U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, Andrew worked as a Wealth Management Advisor at TIAA. His professional background includes extensive experience in asset management, income tax planning and estate planning.

Andrew is an active member of his community and donates time to various local charities including Junior Achievement and the Community Cat Coalition of Clark County (C5). Andrew resides in Las Vegas and serves clients in the Henderson and Las Vegas metro area. When he is not at work, he enjoys playing chess, hiking and Jeeping.
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™(CFP®), Chartered Financial Consultant®(ChFC®), B.A., University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, NMLS #2286332 

Kim Walker

Kim Walker, Inc.
SNPT Treasurer and SNPT Planned Giving Council Chair

Kim Walker is a 3rd generation Las Vegan who received her accounting degree from the University of Santa Clara. She became a Certified Public Accountant and has worked in public accounting for the past 38 years. In 1989, she opened her own accounting firm which she still maintains. She specializes in tax and financial issues related to both individuals and small businesses.

Kim is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Southern Nevada Public Television Treasurer and a board member of the Planned Giving Council, the Lions Club, officer and district director of Toastmasters and serves as the alumni president of the Las Vegas Santa Clara Alumni organization.