LAS VEGAS – Communities In Schools of Nevada (CIS), the nation’s leading evidence-based stay-in-school organization serving 118 Nevada schools with regional offices in the Clark, Elko, Humboldt and Washoe County school districts, announces the appointment of new board members, Nelson Araujo of R&R Partners, Casey Flair of Aristocrat Gaming and Leslie Goicoechea of Nevada Gold Mines.
Nelson Araujo serves as vice president of community affairs and partnerships for R&R Partners, leading efforts to bring a new large-scale studio to Las Vegas and spearheading a communitywide coalition to welcome another major league sports team to Southern Nevada. As a former state legislator, he forged coalitions to pass impactful laws, and as chief of staff for a U.S. senator, he managed diverse constituencies across cultural, demographic and political lines.
As director of corporate social responsibility & corporate affairs for Aristocrat Gaming, Casey Flair has more than a decade of experience working in various nonprofit leadership positions with organizations including The Just One Project, Hakkasan Group, Goodie Two Shoes Foundation and After School All-Stars Las Vegas. Flair graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and played football for UNLV where he broke multiple records.
Leslie Goicoechea is the community engagement and development manager for Nevada Gold Mines. No stranger to CIS, Leslie previously served as the Executive Director of the CIS of Northeastern Nevada affiliate and worked in various roles within the organization for over eight years. She holds an Associate of Applied Science in General Business. Throughout her career, Leslie has been deeply committed to creating positive change and fostering community development.
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About Communities In Schools of Nevada
CIS places full-time and professionally trained site coordinators in 118 Title I and high-needs schools across Nevada to support more than 100,000 students in grades K-12 who face barriers to their success—increasing the likelihood of students staying in school and graduating on time. The organization taps into a statewide network of more than 120 community nonprofits, partners, and agencies, bringing the community into the school to get students whatever they need to overcome the barriers they face that prevent them from achieving academically. From eyeglasses, dental care, health care, and professional counseling to food, school supplies, clothing, and housing, CIS identifies student needs and finds a way to address them, closing the gaps they experience in their everyday lives. CIS’s long-term vision is for every child enrolled in a Title I or high-needs school to access a CIS site coordinator and their evidence-based model of integrated student support, otherwise known as wraparound services. The graduation rate for CIS case-managed high school seniors in Nevada for the 2023-2024 school year was 97 percent. For more information, visit http://www.cisnevada.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Contact: Cherryl Kaopua, Communities In Schools of Nevada, cherryl@twgpr.com, 702-408-8334
