Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY), a Southern Nevada coalition working to address the growing number of homeless youth in the Las Vegas Valley, announces the addition of eight of Southern Nevada’s top business professionals to its Board of Directors:
- Tommy Burns, M.A., CPP; President, Burns & Associates
- Amy Chasey; Assistant Vice President, Marketing Communications, Credit One Bank
- Tami Hance; Communities in Schools of Nevada
- Darin Marques; Sales Manager, ASCAYA
- Magaly Munoz-Mejorado; National Diversity Relations Manager, MGM Resorts International
- Marita Schifalacqua, RN; Healthcare consultant
- Craig Tann; Broker and Owner, Huntington & Ellis – A Real Estate Agency
- Daniel Wathen; Director of Gaming, Expedia
“We’re honored and thrilled to have such a diverse group of engaged community leaders helping direct our organization,” said Arash Ghafoori, executive director of NPHY. “Thanks to the wealth of knowledge, passion and business expertise this team provides, the entire NPHY family will thrive as we continue to achieve our mission: to eliminate homelessness among Nevada’s youth.”
Burns brings more than 40 years of law enforcement and security experience to the board, previously serving as Chief of Police for the Henderson Police Department, as well as Director of Security for various Las Vegas resorts. In addition to his responsibilities with NPHY, he is also an independent security and police management consultant, as well as a faculty member of the Criminal Justice and Security program at University of Phoenix.
Chasey, a Las Vegas native, contributes nearly two decades of marketing communication experience to the board of directors. In addition to her work as AVP of Marketing Communications with Credit One Bank, she has spent most of her career working throughout Las Vegas’ resort and entertainment industry, previously serving in key communications roles with the Golden Nugget, Westgate, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Hance delivers an exceptional wealth of knowledge of Southern Nevada’s tourism industry, having worked for 26 years as SVP of Destinations by Design, the largest destination marketing and special event company in Las Vegas. In concert with her work at NPHY, she is also a previous president and current volunteer with the Las Vegas Hospitality Alliance, president of Nevada Women’s Philanthropy, a volunteer with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and a board member for Nevada Community Foundation.
Marques, a 30-year resident of Las Vegas, is the sales manager and spokesperson for Henderson’s luxurious ASCAYA community. Prior to this, he worked for several years in vacant-land sales, served as project manager on a variety of custom home projects throughout Southern Nevada and held the title of top-rated sales associate with Las Vegas’ number one custom fireplace and window contractor. Together, these experiences deliver a deep knowledge of the Valley’s real estate market, as well as keen business acumen, to the NPHY board.
As the National Diversity Relations Manager for MGM Resorts International, Munoz-Mejorado spends her days overseeing her company’s relationships with the Asian Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino and Native American market segments, a skillset she also contributes to the NPHY board. Committed to community involvement, she contributes much of her time to a variety of causes, including serving in board member capacities with the Asian Community Development Council and the Urban Chamber of Commerce’s Business Council.
As board chair, Schifalacqua leads the activities of her fellow board members in their guidance of NPHY. She takes on this role following a multi-year relationship with NPHY where she has served on the board since 2016. A healthcare consultant and master change agent by trade, she focuses much of her professional time implementing improvements throughout the healthcare sector, using her experience working with the Institute of Healthcare Improvement combined with her skills as a Certified Master Change Agent from GE Healthcare.
As a leading Las Vegas real estate broker and owner of Huntington & Ellis – A Real Estate Agency, Tann is best known for his impeccable reputation throughout the Las Vegas community. His team has been recognized as one of the top real estate teams throughout the nation, and he personally has received honors from the New York Times, BBC News, Las Vegas Review-Journal and CNN Unique Homes. He joins the board of directors following more five years contributing and working in various roles with NPHY.
Wathen is currently the Director of Gaming with Expedia’s Las Vegas office, an organization he has been a part of since 1999. In addition to his leadership roles with the company, for several years he has also engineered a variety of opportunities for Expedia to be directly involved with NPHY, providing a volunteer army to help stock food and hygiene pantries, assemble survival packs and sack lunches, and provide financial services to help the agency meet its ever-growing demand.
NPHY is proud to welcome each of these individuals to the organization’s board of directors. Together, this group of top Southern Nevada business minds will help NPHY continue to positively impact the lives of the Valley’s homeless youth.
“The current state of youth homelessness in Southern Nevada is near the highest level in the country. There are many reasons for youth living on the street. This is a vulnerable population, being a youth and being homeless and often without any support to survive and thrive,” said Schifalacqua, board chair. “NPHY looks at each youth who comes through their doors to develop a plan for the moment and to plan for the future. NPHY has targeted programs for Outreach, Safety, Family Reconciliation, Education & Housing that are available for an individual-focused approach. We as an agency, a community and as a society need to put our time, talents and resources together to eliminate youth homelessness in Southern Nevada. The youth of today are our leaders of tomorrow.”
About Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth is the most comprehensive service provider for more than 14,000 homeless youth in Southern Nevada, serving hundreds of youth through its core programs and by touching the lives of thousands more through outreach each year. Programs stabilize homeless teens’ lives, meeting their immediate needs and providing a safe, supportive environment and a path to self-sufficiency. They include: Outreach, Safe Place Mobile Crisis Intervention, Operation Go Home Family Reunification, Drop-In Center, Emergency Shelter, and Independent Living Program. For information and to support NPHY’s critical work to get homeless youth off the streets, visit www.nphy.org or follow NPHY on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nevadapartnershipforhomelessyouth.
