Elizabeth Kagele, former banking executive for nearly 25 years and business entrepreneur, has been named trustee president of Olive Crest in Nevada.
Kagele, 38, joined Olive Crest’s trustee group in 2020 while working as an executive with U.S. Bank in Las Vegas. Olive Crest was one of the non-profits being supported by U.S. Bank, and at the time her desire was give back to the Las Vegas community.
“I didn’t feel fulfilled,” Kagele recalls. “My parents had instilled in me a desire to serve others, and when I decided to reach out to the former trustee president and (Olive Crest CEO) Donald Verleur, I became so impressed with the work they were doing to protect kids and improve families that I wanted to be part of it.”
After joining the board, Kagele started reaching out to Jimmy Monaghan, Olive Crest’s Nevada executive director, to ask what she could be doing to help.
“I showed up many times at the office and learned more about the mission, and then began to be an advocate wherever I went in Las Vegas,” Kagele says. “I just fell in love with Olive Crest. What I had been missing as far as having a real cause to commit myself to was found!”
Kagele brings a wealth of financial and philanthropy experience to her role as trustee president. She started her banking career in her native Colorado with Wells Fargo and eventually became a district manager. Her career with Wells Fargo took her to Las Vegas for 11 years and then to Florida in 2017, where she was one of seven state leaders in the state creating business initiatives that impacted consumer and business banking.
“I loved Florida but it was hard to stay connected to my family back in Colorado,” Kagele says. “I had an opportunity to come back to Las Vegas – it was as close as I could get to my family without shoveling snow – and work for U.S. Bank and help oversee digital banking, which meant all things mobile and online banking. I was able to teach our employees and work directly with consumers.”
It was during that time that she connected with Olive Crest, and now she leads a robust group of business and philanthropy leaders who are helping make a difference as ambassadors for Nevada’s leading organization to end child abuse and neglect.
“We have opportunities to do really good things as a board,” Kagele says. “We have a group of folks who truly show up in the community – who not only talk the talk but walk the walk. My desire is to navigate us as a team to pull people into Olive Crest so that we can inspire them to sponsor and benefit the kids who Olive Crest serves.”
As an entrepreneur, Kagele co-founded “Looking Inward for Tomorrow” – or LIFT – and utilizes former bankers to help tech and other start-ups with business and strategic partnerships.
“There are so many gaps with businesses in providing effective client and customer service,” she explains. “We need to solve this. The goal of LIFT is to help businesses with their ‘Why’ and their motivation. We also help find funding and the right people for start-ups.”
Kagele is also a philanthropist, and believes “there are lots of good things happening here” to grow generosity in Las Vegas.
“Vegas is home for me, and there’s so much more potential for philanthropy to be fun,” she says. “Philanthropy should be fun and inviting again; there are especially a lot of young people who want to be involved and make a difference. Philanthropy has allowed me to build new relationships and listen with a different set of ears than when I was in business. We can help a whole different group of people to join in the fun!”
Kagele is a graduate of Metropolitan State College in Denver. She and her husband, Malcolm (who works in capital funding) have two children: Emma, 16 and Lane, 14.
About Olive Crest
Since 1973, Olive Crest has transformed the lives of nearly 200,000 children and their families. The organization works tirelessly to meet the individual needs of kids in crisis by providing safe homes, counseling and education for both youth and parents.
Olive Crest’s many innovative programs reflect a conviction that strengthening the family is the most powerful way to help heal children. Olive Crest’s 98% stability rate is a testament to the lifelong commitment and unwavering compassion that the Olive Crest family maintain to the children and families served, even after they have graduated from the programs.
Olive Crest serves 4,000 children and families each day throughout the western United States. For information, call (702) 685-3459 or visit www.olivecrest.org/nevada.
