WISE (Women in Sports and Events) Las Vegas has honored six Las Vegas women and one former resident for their contributions in the sports and entertainment world and their continuing efforts to shape it.
This year’s honorees represent excellence across a spectrum of disciplines and include Lindy La Rocque, head coach of UNLV women’s basketball team; Lori Nelson-Kraft, senior vice president, corporate affairs for the Las Vegas Grand Prix; Stephanie Bruckner, executive director of global portfolio strategy with Light & Wonder; Ivette Fernandez, vice president of government relations with TKO, which operates UFC and WWE; Kim Frank, president of the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation; and Diana Bennett, chair of the board and co-founder of Paragon Gaming and founder of Rebels EmpowHer; and Brette Sadler, founder of the WISE Las Vegas chapter and currently with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL.
— La Rocque has crafted a championship-winning team in just her second season at UNLV. She is the eighth full-time head coach in UNLV women’s basketball history, and is the first originally from Las Vegas to be hired to lead the Lady Rebel program.
In her first four seasons at the helm of the Lady Rebels, La Rocque became the first head coach in program history to reach the 100-win mark in the same amount of time. La Rocque, who is entering her sixth season as head coach of the program became the first Mountain West coach to be named Coach of the Year three times in just her first five seasons. In her first season, she became UNLV’s first Mountain West Coach of the Year after leading the squad to a second-place finish in the conference, despite being picked ninth in the preseason poll.
— Sadler, senior director of marketing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. began her sports and entertainment career working for University of Miami Athletics, while she finished her BS in PR, psychology and minor in sport management. She joined the Florida Panthers Hockey Club & Sunrise Sports & Entertainment where her career launched her from ticket sales to senior director of partnership activation.
After 13 years, she relocated to Atlanta, where she joined Octagon and worked on Home Depot’s partnerships.
In 2011, Sadler headed west to Las Vegas to the home of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and led the Global Marketing Partnership Activation team. In 2017, she launched the WISE Las Vegas chapter.
After eight years, she was named Head of Corporate Partnerships at MGM Resorts International, where she led the team that focused on corporate partnership sales and client management. In 2022, Brette joined PRP, a full-service sports management company and then went onto the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee. The Washington Commanders brought her on board to help restructure their new partnerships team. Since July 2024, she has overseen marketing for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
— Bennett is a second-generation casino operator and philanthropist. She serves on multiple 501C3 boards throughout Nevada. She and her cousin, Scott Menke, founded Paragon Gaming, an owner, operator and developer of multiple properties throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Paragon is still running various properties in Nevada.
As president of the Bennett Family Foundation, she is one of Nevada’s most recognized philanthropists. Her foundation supports many organizations that focus on health, education and well-being of women and children throughout the valley.
In 2024, Bennett founded Rebels EmpowHer, a transformative career development program designed to empower UNLV student-athletes and prepare them for life after sports.
Bennett has been recognized as one of the top 10 women in gaming and received the ultimate honor of being inducted into the American Gaming Hall of Fame in 2017.
With almost two decades in gaming, technology and hospitality, Bruckner serves as the executive director of Global Portfolio Strategy at Light & Wonder. Since 2016, she has advanced through pivotal roles in market research, customer/player insights and business analytics to now oversee global hardware and technical product management, as well as shaping the global games portfolio strategy. She is passionate about building high-performing teams that drive ambitious organizational and product growth.
— Bruckner’s career began at Paragon Gaming in 2006 as a development analyst, and she then ascended to development manager, where she oversaw new business casino and resort development opportunities across North America.
Over the years, Bruckner has held various roles at Caesars Entertainment, including director of enterprise gaming analytics and product owner at Caesars Interactive Entertainment (now Caesars Digital), where she managed the Caesars online gaming platform for the New Jersey market. Before that, she launched the North America Market Research program at Aristocrat Gaming, delivering key customer insights, player segmentation and market analytics to drive player-led product and commercial strategies.
Bruckner co-founded and co-chairs Light and Wonder’s EmpowHer Employee Resource Group. She most recently co-launched and sponsors the UNLV Rebels EmpowHer presented by Diana Bennett — a career center dedicated to equipping student-athletes with the resources to launch their careers post-collegiate sports, which will retain and seed future women leaders into our local economy.
— Nelson-Kraft in her role oversees communications, government affairs and community engagement. Before joining the LVGP, she served five years as senior vice president of communications for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and 14 years as vice president of corporate communications for Station Casinos.
Nelson-Kraft serves as a board trustee for the Vegas Chamber of Commerce and as the president of the Leadership Foundation. She also serves on the board of directors for Noah’s Animal House, a full-service pet shelter located next door and in partnership with The Shade Tree Shelter in Southern Nevada and with the Domestic Violence Resource Center in Northern Nevada in support of victims of domestic violence.
— Fernandez has more than 25 years of experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She serves as the vice president of government relations for TKO.
Before joining the private and nonprofit sectors, she worked for President George W. Bush at The White House; as a political appointee at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and in the U.S. Senate for two of Alaska’s senators.
Fernandez has been recognized for her contributions to the community by numerous entities, including in 2023 by the Clark County Commission during Hispanic Heritage Month for her company leadership position and service to the Las Vegas community. Additionally, she was honored with the United Way of NYC’s 2012 Women’s Leadership Council Woman of Distinction Award, and in 2008, she was the feature of LATINA Style Magazine’s article “Inspirational Latina, Ivette Fernandez,” and was 1 of 15 nationwide recipients in 2006 recognized as a Hispanic American leader by the Government of Spain’s Young Hispanic Leaders Program, where she was honored by HRH Crown Prince Felipe of Spain.
Fernandez is a board member and former chair of the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas LIFE board of directors and was selected to be a member of the 2024 Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee for Community Affairs. She is also a member of several nonprofit organizations, including the Easy Day Foundation Event Committee, Vegas Chamber Executive Women’s Council, Women in Sports & Events Las Vegas Chapter, Hispanic Scholarship Fund Las Vegas Advisory Council and Junior League of Las Vegas.
— Frank has 20 years of experience in sports marketing, community involvement and brand development. As president of The Folded Flag Foundation and the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, Frank supports initiatives that honor military families and strengthen community bonds in Southern Nevada and beyond.
In her role with the Vegas Golden Knights, Frank also manages community relations and player initiatives. She fosters meaningful connections between players and fans, spearheads impactful outreach programs and cultivates a culture of giving within the organization. Her skills cover partnerships, large event management, digital and social media strategies and growing fan engagement for professional and college sports.
Throughout her career, Frank has held important positions with major sports organizations, including the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards and Georgetown University Athletics.
