Welcome to Our Newest Regents
In January, five new Regents joined the Nevada System of Higher Education. A ceremonial swearing-in ceremony was held on January 13, 2023. Nevada Supreme Court Justice Ron Paraguirre administered the oath of office.
Regent Susan Brager
Regent Susan Brager was elected in November 2022 to serve on the Board of Regents as the representative for District 7.
Regent Brager has lived in Las Vegas for 58 years. She and her husband have three children, 14 grandchildren, and 16 great grandchildren. Having attended elementary and middle school here, Regent Brager served as PTA President at C.H. Decker and then worked at many schools across the valley as a Special Education Aid. She also worked previously at C.H. Decker and Marion Earl Elementary as a Clerk.
In 2019, Regent Brager was honored to have been chosen by the American Mothers of Clark County to be Mother of the Year. She is currently serving the community at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services as a Realtor of 32 years.
Regent Heather Brown
Regent Heather Brown was elected in November 2022 to serve on the Board of Regents as the representative for District 6.
Regent Brown is a Las Vegas native, who graduated from Western High School and UNLV, and has dedicated her life to public service. As the youngest regent ever elected, a product of CCSD and NSHE, and a small-business owner, Heather brings an unique experience to guide her decision making on the Board of Regents. Her goal is to ensure the eight Nevada higher education institutions remain affordable, accessible, and have a relentless focus on excellence.
After graduating from UNLV, Heather spent a decade working in Washington, D.C. and two years in Brussels before returning to Southern Nevada. After returning home, she co-founded StartUp Vegas, an organization with a mission to boost startup culture and grow the entrepreneurship environment in Southern Nevada. The organization advances its mission by focusing on economic diversification, workforce development, and community building.
Regent Michelee “Shelly” Cruz-Crawford
Regent Michelee “Shelly” Cruz-Crawford was elected in November 2022 to serve on the Board of Regents as the representative for District 8.
Regent Cruz-Crawford is a first generation high school and college graduate, who serves as an officer in the Air Force National Guard, and is a school principal. Over the past twenty years, she has taught kindergarten through college. All of what she does is grounded in her “Why.” She strives to create opportunities through education advocacy because she believes education is the pathway to societal upward mobility. She has written Senate Bill SB352 which created $10 million dollars in state educator recruitment funding. She also assisted with the $65 billion 2021 Federal Recovery Broadband Act that ensures that all of our students have access to the internet. She truly believes we all have common goals and strives to work with everyone in the community to identify these goals and work collectively because we are better together!
Regent Jeffrey S. Downs
Regent Jeffrey S. Downs was elected in November 2022 to serve on the Board of Regents as the representative for District 11.
Regent Downs and his wife moved to Nevada in 2000. In that time, they have raised three wonderful children in Northern Nevada. Regent Downs has been an employee of NSHE since 2001, beginning at UNR as a Visiting Lecturer in Mathematics and becoming a tenured Community College Professor at WNC in 2008. Since then, Regent Downs has served as the Faculty Senate Chair twice, representing the interests of the faculty to the Board of Regents. Regent Downs has also served as an interim vice president for 2.5 years from 2019 to 2021.
Regent Stephanie Goodman
Regent Stephanie Goodman was elected in November 2022 to serve on the Board of Regents as the representative for District 13.
