EDUCATION
• University of Nevada, Reno Extension announced Jacob DeDecker has been appointed chairperson of the Western Extension Directors Association’s executive committee, a partnership that advances Extension programs across the Western U.S. and its territories.
In addition to his role as the university’s Extension director and associate dean for engagement for the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, DeDecker will oversee the regional association’s strategic direction, ensuring that it effectively addresses shared challenges, while elevating its priorities in federal discussions. His immediate focus is setting the agenda for upcoming meetings to address critical challenges facing communities served by member Extension programs. He also will organize leadership conferences to strengthen skills and foster partnerships within member groups and across the region.
The association’s ongoing agenda includes strengthening food systems, conserving natural resources and managing the region’s wildfires, exploring alternative energy, promoting nutrition and health and advancing community and economic development. Its membership comprises Extension directors of 13 Western states, as well as American Samoa, Guam, the freely associated states of Micronesia and the Northern Mariana Islands. It also collaborates with other 1994 land-grant institutions in the West.
In partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, and other regional and national partners, the association tackles widespread societal challenges such as mental health, nutrition, climate change, water scarcity and food insecurity. It also advocates federal policies and resources to support these efforts and improve Extension programming across the region.
DeDecker, who previously served as WEDA’s secretary, will serve a one-year term as executive committee chair, having assumed the role in September from Jon Boren, associate dean and director of New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service.
FINANCE
• Cashless payments trailblazer Marker Trax has added Jennifer Galloway to the team as its vice president and deputy counsel. Reporting directly to chief legal officer Mark Hemmerle, Galloway comes on board to help guide the company’s financial compliance and legal strategies, increasingly critical areas of focus as the digital innovator continues expanding into more markets around the country.
Supporting continued strategic growth while ensuring adherence to the highest regulatory standards, Galloway brings a strong track record of successfully managing large-scale compliance initiatives for fintech leaders including Elevate, and advising law firms like Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and others.
“Jennifer has a deep understanding of consumer financial law, and is a proven leader in regulatory compliance,” Hemmerle said. “She’s able to intuitively interpret complex regulatory requirements and translate them into actionable business strategies, key to our continued evolution. She’s the ideal addition to help us advance our position as standard-bearers in the cashless space.”
Galloway brings more than 15 years of experience in consumer financial law, regulatory compliance, and business law, with a focus on the financial services sector. Most recently, she served as assistant general counsel at Elevate, where she oversaw compliance for the company’s consumer lending products and provided guidance on various state and federal regulations. Before that, she was banking and financial services counsel at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, advising traditional and fintech lenders on compliance management systems and regulatory preparedness. She also holds a law degree and master of business administration degree from Stetson University College of Law and a degree in economics from the University of Georgia.
Galloway will be pivotal in reinforcing the company’s legal infrastructure. Her appointment comes at a time when Marker Trax is celebrating several key milestones, including a significant reinvestment from early investor Euronet Worldwide Inc., and being selected to lead a panel discussion at this year’s Global Gaming Expo.
“Jennifer joins us as a critical time in navigating new opportunities in the cashless payments space,” said Charlie Skinner, president of Marker Trax. “She’s an expert in building effective compliance programs and fostering relationships with key stakeholders. We’re leaders in this space, and building the best team is a big reason why.”
Marker Trax is a cashless, digital alternative to a casino marker. The product is the first of its kind to offer regulatory-compliant casino marker technology that takes inefficiency out of issuing advances and provides casinos with the tools to manage their casino credit underwriting and repayments. Developed and patented by the company’s founder, Gary Ellis, in 2018, Marker Trax makes for a more efficient gaming experience for players. The Marker Trax system allows players to be scored and given access to their markers in minutes. Marker Trax integrates into casino operating systems, allowing for easy start-up and player tracking.
GAMING
• Mesquite Gaming continued its recent growth by announcing the hire of Aleana Del Rosario as director of sales. She brings nine years of experience in the gaming hospitality industry to CasaBlanca and Virgin River, Mesquite Gaming’s properties located in Mesquite.
“Aleana has an in-depth understanding of what corporate and private customers value in destinations,” said Justin Moore, CEO, Mesquite Gaming. “Given all of the unique assets our Mesquite properties offer, I’m certain her leadership skills will help us meet our ambitious goals.”
Working with the sales, catering and marketing teams, Aleana will be responsible for developing and maintaining a robust account base through outbound efforts and customer relationships that maximize revenues and drive customer loyalty. Del Rosario’s hospitality sales career began with Station Casinos where she served as a sales manager for all Station Casinos brand properties. Most recently, she was the senior sales manager for Embassy Suites by Hilton Convention Center in Las Vegas.
• Golden Entertainment, Inc. has announced the promotion of Skylar Dice to the role of senior vice president and general manager of The STRAT. With more than two decades of experience in hospitality and gaming, Dice brings a wealth of industry knowledge and leadership to his new position at The STRAT, a cornerstone of the Las Vegas Strip.
Dice first joined The STRAT in November 2021 as vice president and assistant general manager, where he was instrumental in overseeing day-to-day operations and driving the property’s success. In his newly appointed role, Dice will lead all aspects of The STRAT’s operations, including its 2,427-room hotel, 80,000-square-foot casino and the tallest freestanding observation tower in the U.S.
“Skylar has demonstrated exceptional leadership and operational expertise during his time at The STRAT, and we are confident in his ability to continue enhancing the guest experience while driving growth across all areas of the property,” said Blake Sartini II, executive vice president and COO of Golden Entertainment, Inc. “His promotion reflects the trust we have in his capabilities to lead this iconic destination on the Las Vegas Strip.”
Before joining The STRAT, Dice served as vice president and general manager of Rocky Gap Casino Resort, another Golden Entertainment property. During his tenure at Rocky Gap, he managed the AAA Four Diamond Hotel, Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and led the resort’s philanthropic outreach efforts, emphasizing team member recognition and community engagement.
Dice’s career in the gaming industry began in 1997 as a dealer at Turtle Creek Casino in Williamsburg, Michigan. Since then, he has held leadership roles at several renowned casinos across the country, including Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit, Four Winds Casinos in Indiana and Red Hawk Casino in California.
Dice holds a business management degree from University of Maryland Global. Outside of work, he is deeply committed to supporting charitable causes, especially in youth sports and education, with his wife, Jennifer, and their four children: Alijah, Kenedie, Addison and Alexandria.
LAW
• Bailey Kennedy LLP is expanding its accomplished legal team with the addition of Giacomo “Jack” Silvestri as the firm’s newest associate attorney.
Silvestri earned his Juris Doctor from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He recently passed the Nevada bar exam and was sworn in by Chief Justice Elissa F. Cadish of the Supreme Court of Nevada.
Silvestri previously served as a law clerk at Bailey Kennedy. As an attorney, his responsibilities include client interaction and legal representation, as well as drafting letters, motions and oppositions for clients in litigation, ethics and health care matters.
“Jack has already proven his dedication and talent during his time as a law clerk, and we look forward to seeing him excel in this next chapter of his legal career,” said John R. Bailey, managing partner.
“What attracted me to Bailey Kennedy was its size and strong local presence in Las Vegas,” Silvestri said. “Smaller firms often produce higher-quality work, in my opinion, and I appreciate the close-knit environment where everyone truly gets to know each other.”
Prior to working at Bailey Kennedy, Silvestri was a legal intern for the Clark County Water Reclamation District and an extern for Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler, Judge Jennifer Dorsey and Judge Andrew Gordon. He also received his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Creighton University.
Upon earning his Juris Doctor, Silvestri was a recipient of the Dean’s Award from the Dean of the William S. Boyd School of Law, Dean Leah Chan Grinvald.
Silvestri volunteers with Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada by serving meals to those in need. He is also involved with the Mark 10:14 Program at Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School, which provides opportunities for students with special needs to participate in educational and on-campus activities.
Founded in 2001 by managing partner John R. Bailey, Bailey Kennedy, LLP is a Nevada law firm focusing on litigation, health care law, real estate law and administrative law.
NONPROFIT
• 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, welcomes Christin Dixon as the state data and systems analyst and promotes Dr. Jessica Kurr to programs, data and learning director.
Dixon is a former CIS site coordinator who has experience in business and data analytics. In her new position as state data and systems analyst, Dixon is responsible for building and optimizing programs to drive efficiency for the organization statewide and for shaping and implementing data strategies for special initiatives and projects. Dixon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in corporate communications from Lamar University, Texas and is certified in Google data analytics.
In her new role, Kurr oversees the organization’s programmatic quality standards for curriculum, data and training. Relying on over a decade of experience designing curriculum, facilitating K-12 outreach programs and teaching higher education, she collaborates with organizational leadership across the state to ensure that CIS site coordinators, program managers and other staff can support CIS’ students. Additionally, she leads the CIS’ Diversity, Equity, Belonging and Inclusion program initiatives that uplift both students and staff. Kurr previously worked in CIS’ grants department where she helped expand the private grants portfolio and assisted in streamlining the organization’s coordinated fundraising efforts.
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 2022-2023 school year was 95 percent.