We are a group of volunteers dedicated to serving young, emerging nonprofit professionals in Southern Nevada.

Executive Assistant, Discovery Children's Museum

My name is Ayesha Inayat and I am the Executive Assistant to the CEO at DISCOVERY Children's Museum. My work as an Executive Assistant entails being the main liason with the Museums Board of Trustees and managing the CEOs calendar. I have been with the Museum for almost 6 years and have had the opportunity to take on many different roles. I have my BA in Psychology and worked as a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Counselor for about 1.5 years. My role as a counselor was to assist my clients in achieving behavioral goals that they had. In my free time I enjoy cooking, reading and watching TV. I also love hiking and going to Museums (though I don't usually get an opportunity to go). I am fluent in Urdu and come from a large family. I come from a large family and am the middle of 7 siblings.

Research Analyst, Nevada Community Foundation

Suthakorn (Seth) Wongsavit is the Research Analyst and Community Impact Officer for the Nevada Community Foundation. In this role, he brings ten years of experience as a nonprofit professional specializing in program development, community impact, and research, with a deep understanding of the philanthropic space in Nevada as well as broader innovations in philanthropy and nonprofit governance.

Originally from Bangkok, Thailand, he moved to the United States in 2008. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a bachelor’s degree in History.

Seth actively volunteers for the nonprofit community in Las Vegas. He currently serves as a Chapter Congress Rep and is the former co-chair ofthe Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) Southern Nevada.

Events & Data Manager, Spread the Word Nevada

Samantha Picazo is the Events and Data Manager for Spread the Word Nevada, the state’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit. She manages the nonprofit’s CRM database, social media presence, and event marketing.

While earning her B.A. in Journalism and Media Studies from the University of Nevada of Las Vegas (’19), her passion for helping children in the community first led her to Discovery Children’s Museum, overseeing the Membership Department.

Samantha also acted as Social Media Specialist for the Other Mama Restaurant Group, providing original content and photography for the group’s entire restaurant portfolio, including a James Beard Foundation finalist.

When she is not writing content or planning events, Samantha enjoys cooking, hiking at Red Rock Canyon, and spending time with her fiancé Mick and cat Basil.

Director of Business Development, Next Level Nonprofits

Jacqueline Wayment is the Director of Business Development at Next Level Nonprofits, a nonprofit consulting company focused on providing board development, strategic planning, social media and PR, and fundraising expertise and services to nonprofit organizations. NLN’s clients include the Children’s Advocacy Center Foundation, Golden Rainbow, National Shoe Travelers, Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, and others. Jacqueline supports organizations in becoming more efficient and effective in achieving their mission.

Jacqueline also leads a practicum site at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the School of Journalism and Media Studies. The program matches students with real world clients to provide hands-on learning experiences in social media and content production, PR, website development and more.

Jacqueline is also Social Media Strategist for Decision Counsel, a digital media agency focused on B2B strategies.

Jacqueline has a B.A. from Boise State University in Journalism with a minor in Political Science. Her passion for service and civic engagement is only rivaled by her love of books and travel.

Angelique graduated from Smith College in 2007, and immediately started a career working with the senior population. In Las Vegas, she spent over 5 years with a local non-profit working directly with seniors and families with low incomes.

In 2020, she transitioned from working with the older population to the younger group. In response to the pandemic and distance-learning school models, she created a learning pod to supplement the school lessons and provide a safe and encouraging learning environment for children ages 1-7.

Program Manager, The Cupcake Girls

Bri’s (she/hers) passion for encouraging, uplifting, and affirming members of marginalized communities is what drew her toward The Cupcake Girls in May 2019. Her background is in Psychology, Human Services, and Educational Psychology, and she brings a decade of mentoring, training, and leadership experience to their team.

As the Program Manager for the Las Vegas branch, she serves their Outreach, Advocacy, and Support Group teams in order to guide them in connecting with and caring for their clients well.

Of the many things she enjoys, Bri is an avid foodie, a dance instructor, and a proud auntie. She’s a firm believer that everyone deserves respect, kindness, and a shot at wholeness.

Founder, The Remissionaries

Hi! I’m Christina Wu. I relocated to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in 2004 with my husband of 20 years. We share a beautiful home with our 2 fur babies, Ginger and Pepper. Las Vegas has become home, but I will forever be a Southern California gal. I use words like “dude” and “rad” very frequently. I grew up a competitive figure skater and spent every waking hour practicing and traveling for competitions. My dream was to compete in the Olympics which never came to fruition. I did, however, finally attend an Olympic games as a spectator in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Shortly after returning from South Korea, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I immediately began chemotherapy treatments, and eventually had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. I was declared cancer free and completed all treatments in May 2019. Since then, I’ve founded a nonprofit organization called The Remissionaries. Our mission is to provide comfort for women undergoing chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer. It has been one of the most challenging and fulfilling achievements of my life. I will never be happy to have had breast cancer but am grateful for the path I’ve created because of it.

I’m extremely passionate about advocating for others, especially those in the breast cancer, and AAPI communities. In 2021, I helped organize the first annual AAPI Heritage Month festival to promote Stop AAPI Hate. We were given a Proclamation from the Governor.

In my spare time, I enjoy winter sports and travel every year to snowboard all over the globe. So far, Japan is my favorite place to ride. Ask me anything about coffee or food and I’ll talk your ear off. I love Broadway musicals/plays, live music/concerts, comedy shows, and hockey games. I also love to shoot pool, throw darts, and play board games.

Educator, Nevada Preparatory Academy

Elysa Arroyo teaches English at Nevada Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is the Manager of Compliance and Grants Administration for Aerospace Machine and Supply. She holds a Master of Public Administration and Policy degree from American University and a Master of Education degree from UNLV, and . She has a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Studies and Comparative Ancient Civilizations from UC Riverside. In addition to teaching and working in Aerospace Manufacturing, Elysa also currently does community organizing on the leadership team of Igniting Nevada's Education System Together (INVEST). Additionally, Elysa has ample local government and public policy experience, having completed Public Policy Fellowships with Teach Plus Nevada, the Nevada Department of Education, the Nevada Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation, and Opportunity 180.

Though originally from Southern California, Elysa has been a Las Vegas resident for almost nine years, and currently lives in the Northwest with her husband, three dogs, and a crested gecko. Elysa is completely devoted to her students, families, and community here in Las Vegas. In her free time, she loves to read, go to concerts, roller skate, line dance

Founder/President, The Pride Tree

Member Success Manager, Conscious Capitalism

After graduating from Arizona State University with an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a master's degree in Business Management, Grant joined the highly competitive Teach for America program and moved to Las Vegas.

Grant spent two years teaching 4th grade in East Las Vegas. Following his two-year commitment, Grant spent 5 more years teaching multiple grades including second grade and middle and high school social studies.

Grant is also the founder of The Pride Tree, a local nonprofit which provides LGBTQ+ youth and straight allies with identity-based afterschool, family, and summer programming.

Grant currently works as a Member Success Manager at Conscious Capitalism.

In his free time, Grant enjoys reading, spending time with his family, and loving on his two adorable cats named Mia and Emma.

Senior Database Manager, The Neon Museum

Samantha Wilson is originally from Spokane, Washington and has called Las Vegas her home since 2014. She holds a B.A. from Eastern Washington University in Communication Studies (’09) and a second B.A. from UNLV in Art (’17). She recently graduated from Fort Hays State University (’20) with a Master’s of Liberal Studies in art history. Samantha is Neon Museum’s Senior Database Manager and previously held the role of Development Manager from 2018-2021, raising money to preserve and protect one of the most unique treasures in Las Vegas: neon signs.

Samantha has a passion for teaching, museums, art and history and hopes to one day teach art history in higher education. She loves being a youth mentor, helping inspire students to reach their full potential. One of her favorite volunteer roles was when she volunteered and ran the Nevada Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) yearly youth leadership seminars at UNLV. When she is not at work or volunteering, you can find Samantha traveling, reading, writing, painting, drawing, and spending time with her five animals and husband.

Coordinator of Arts and Humanities, DISCOVERY Children’s Museum

Vanessa Valdivia is a native Las Vegas artist. Valdivia is a fine arts student, exhibiting artist, the Coordinator of Arts and Humanities at DISCOVERY Children’s Museum and the resident Visual Arts Instructor for the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs. Vanessa is responsible for managing the Museum’s art galleries and Presenters, and coordinating partnerships with community artists to increase accessibility to the arts for children.

Vanessa is committed to connecting her love of visual arts and cultural heritage with the greater Las Vegas community.