Events

19th Annual Salute to Women of Achievement

More than 1,000 community leaders attended the Nevada Women's Fund's 2010 Salute to Women of Achievement luncheon. This annual event was held at John Ascuaga's Nugget on May 20th and featured Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Sheryl UwDunn as the keynote speaker. WuDunn co-authored Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide in 2009 with her husband, Nicholas Kristof, and has reported from inside some of the toughest regimes in the world as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times. Also at this year's event, Joni Kaiser received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her more than 30 years of service to women and families as the Executive Director of the Committee to Aid Abused Women.

In addition, this year's luncheon recognized and celebrated the achievements of 48 women who inspire and support all those around them.

2010 Honorees

Tammy Abe

Be-Be Adams

Jacque Anderson

Linda Ash-Jackson, M.D.

Alice Baldwin

Carolyn Barbash

Krys T. Bart

Carina A. Black, Ph.D.

Elena Bubnova

Cindy Buchanan

Cindy Chase

Linda Clift

Julie Crandall

Anjeanette Damon

Tamara Dethmers

Kathleen Drakulich

Arlene Feola

Suzanne Goodwin

Mae S. Gustin, Ph.D.

Patti S. Hart

Robin Hayes

Jody Hedgcorth

Cherie Jamason

Laura Kennedy

Meg Kennedy

Denise Kline

Joan Kruse

Whitney Lauren

Rae McElroy

Maureen McKissick

Jennifer Mehlhoff

Janet K. Mello

Marcia Morse

Lidia O'Bryant

Courtney Peterson

Nanette Quitt

Rosalyne Reynolds

Jen Richards, Ph.D.

Michele Salonek

Gail Sande

Jana Smoley

Tammey Stewart

Heather Tryon

Tracy Peterson Turner, Ph.D.

Holly Van Valkenburgh

Mary Vesco

Bonnie Weber

Tiffany Williamson

PAST EVENTS:

Professional Development Workshop

Featuring Joelle Jay, Ph.D.

Friday, January 29th

8:00 am to Noon

Silver Legacy Resort Casino

Silver Baron Room C

$75 / $65 NWF Members

(includes all workshop materials and continental breakfast)

Joelle Jay, Ph.D., is an executive coach, speker and the author of The Inner Edge: The 10 Practices of Personal Leadership. Joelle works with business leaders and Fortune 500 companies to enhance their performance and maximize business results. Joelle was recently recognized for her accomplishments by the Reno Gazette-Journal and the Reno Tahoe Young Professionals Network as a Twenty Under 40 award winner.

This interactive workshop targeted leaders of all levels. Drawing on her experience with top executieves, and highlighting the ten practices of personal leadership laid out in her book The Inner Edge, Joelle showed that leadership is not just a label; it is a way of life.

Autumn Harvest Beer and Food Pairing

Featuring Buckbean Brewing Company and Back of the House

The Nevada Women's Fund hosted a beer tasting paired with delectable bites prepared by Barbara Mills of Back of the House on Thursday, November 12th at Buckbean Breawing Company.

The 2009 Power of the Purse event held on Thursday, October 8th at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa was a great success!

Thank you to all those who attended and supported the wonderful women of northern Nevada! Guests enjoyed an evening of giving that included delicious wines paired with delectable treats, boutique shopping and one lucky guest won a luxurious vacation at Mazatlan, Mexico's Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay Resort.

This years event included:

Extraordinary jewelry and one-of-a-kind gifts from local artists & vendors.
Wines from Steele Winery, Kendall-Jackson, Guenoc, Bonterra, Clos du Val and Truchard (provided by Wirtz Beverage Nevada in partnership with Whispering Vine Wine Co.) with food pairings specially created by the Atlatis culinary staff.
A designer handbag raffle and silent auction of baskets full of delightful goodies.

Proceeds from this ultimate shopping and wine tasting experience support women and families in our community who need our help now more than ever.

The Nevada Women's Fund

18th Annual Salute to Women of Achievement

Thursday, May 21st

Grand Sierra Resort

Featuring Carla Christofferson

Carla Christofferson’s accomplishments can not be summed up in just a few words or phrases.

Growing up in a small North Dakota town (Tulna, population 202) Christofferson was a farmer’s daughter and a tomboy who excelled at sports (she was an all-state basketball player in high school).

Christofferson says she never wore a dress before she was coerced to enter her first beauty pageant as a high school senior. It was her success in beauty pageants (she was Miss Teen North Dakota, first runner-up in the Miss Teen USA pageant and ultimately Miss North Dakota) that brought scholarship money and the eventual opportunity to attend Yale Law School.

Yale Law School opened up worlds of opportunity for Christofferson. Her career has included litigation involving the Exxon Valdez episode and clients such as Trader Joe’s, Christina Aguilera and the American rock band, the Eagles. Since the age of 31 she has been partner and head of the flagship office of the powerful international law firm O’Melveny and Meyers.

In 2006, her continued passion for basketball and her interest in supporting high achieving women in non-traditional fields, led her to make a momentous decision: she and a fellow Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA team) fan decided to buy the team. It was a historic move: when the deal was finalized, Christofferson and her business partner became not only the first women to own a WNBA team but the first women ever to own any professional sports franchise without the support of a husband.

A self-made mogul and entrepreneur, Christofferson represents the next stage in the evolution of women and sports; and in addition to its historical significance, Christofferson also feels a tremendous sense of responsibility in this role. She enjoys speaking engagements because she feels that they give her the opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of female athletes and to showcase women in a positive light. Ultimately she hopes this will help to change perspectives about how women are perceived - both by adults and by future generations of children.