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2024 Game Changer Award
Athletes who changed the narrative within her sport. They captivated our culture with her grace, poise, and affirmation that anything is possible.
Kristi Yamaguchi captured the gold medal in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France in figure skating.
As a trailblazer and role model, Kristi became the first Asian American to win a gold medal, World Champion, two-time U.S. National Champion, member of the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the US Olympic Hall of Fame. Following a long and successful career in professional figure skating, Kristi took to the dance floor to win top honors with partner Mark Ballas on the popular TV show “Dancing With The Stars.”
Kristi has added New York Times Best-Selling author to her list of achievements with three children’s books, “Dream Big, Little Pig!”, and then following up with “It’s A Big World, Little Pig!” and “Cara’s Kindness.”
In 1996, she created Always Dream whose mission is to ensure children from low‑income families have access to high‑quality books in the home environment and extensive family engagement support. Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream believes their greatest gift and ability to proactively impact a child’s life is by building a love of reading and engaging the parents at an early stage.
Recently, Kristi was recognized with the “Community Spirit” Award from the US Olympic Committee and the Heisman Humanitarian Award.
2024 Legacy Award
A woman who has trailblazed a path forward for women. She is a pivotal figure in our history in our quest for equality. She has led by example and relentlessly paved the way for all of us.
Born and raised in Wichita, KS, Lynette Woodardfell in love with basketball when fewopportunities in the sport were available towomen. Despite this and many other obstacles,Ms. Woodard has gone on to have an impressivecareer which includes playing for the Universityof Kansas Jayhawks, US Olympics, WNBA, andthe Harlem Globetrotters. She has also coachedseveral college teams and worked with youthorganizations. Today, Ms. Woodard continues toinspire younger generations through heradvocacy work and by sharing her story ofperseverance, dedication, and leadership toinspire others to pursue their dreams.
2024 Impact Award
A woman who has strengthened our community by positively influencing and investing in the lives of young girls and boys. Her life’s work inspires others to reach their full potential.
Kris Engelstad is a longtime resident of Nevada, and a graduate of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She serves as Trustee of the Engelstad Family Foundation, which her parents Betty and Ralph implemented in 2002, and is dedicated to improving the communities she and her parents have called home.
Kris channels her passion for education reform, veterans’ issues, and improving the lives of people with disabilities and serious illnesses into her work with the Foundation, directing funding to impactful programs working on these issues in Minnesota, southern Nevada, and North Dakota. Kris is leading the charge for legislative change in educational reform through her work on the Question 1 initiative for a Nevada constitutional amendment. Thanks in part to her efforts as Trustee, the Engelstad Family Foundation has endowed more than $300 million grants since 2002 and over 300 educational scholarships every year, and is now a major benefactor of these and nearly 200 other organizations.
Multiple organizations have recognized Kris for her work with the Foundation, and as a member of the greater Las Vegas community.
2024 Next Gen Award
A Title IX beneficiary who displays outstanding character and incredible achievement in academics and athletics. She serves as a role model for the next generation of leaders.
Selena Williams is a junior at Brown University concentrating in Computer Science and was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Selena played on the D1 Brown University Tennis Team in 2022 and has played high level tennis the majority of her life. Before Brown, Selena attended Odyssey Charter High School, was Named USTA Nevada Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Received the USTA Nevada Award for Academic Excellence (2014-19). She is Five-time Sectional Doubles Champion, a Two-time culminating speaker at Richard Branson’s Necker Cup, representing the National Tennis Foundation, an Ambassador for National Tennis Foundation, a Co-leader and spokesperson for Team Bryan, a NJTL excellence team supported by the Bryan Bros, a Bill & Melinda Gates Scholar, a Rogers Scholar, a Winner of the Arthur Ashe Essay Contest for the Intermountain Section, a Semi-finalist in Poetry Nation’s National Amateur Poetry Competition, and an AP Scholar with Distinction.
2023 Game Changer Award
Athletes who changed the narrative within her sport. They captivated our culture with her grace, poise, and affirmation that anything is possible.
Olympic gold and silver medalist, Jessica Mendoza has been a trailblazer as an athlete and as a sports commentator for ESPN.
As an athlete, she was Stanford University’s first and only 4X first team All-American. She graduated as the program’s all-time leader in five career categories, including batting average (.416), hits (327), home runs (50), runs scored (230) and slugging percentage (.719), while ranking second in stolen bases (86) and third in RBI (188) and doubles (70).
In addition to being inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012, Jessica enjoyed a stellar international career, having been named the 2006 USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year while claiming two Olympic medals (gold in 2004 in Athens and silver in 2008 in Beijing).
An industry trailblazer, she became the first female broadcaster in the booth for ESPN’s College World Series coverage in June of 2015 and, two months later, became the first female commentator for a Major League Baseball game in the history of ESPN. In 2020, Jessica made history again becoming the first female commentator for the World Series (MLB). In 2022, in addition to her continued work for ESPN in MLB, college softball and the Little League World Series, she was also hired as the first female analyst for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
2023 Legacy Award
A woman who has trailblazed a path forward for women. She is a pivotal figure in our history in our quest for equality. She has led by example and relentlessly paved the way for all of us.
Tyus, from Tennessee State University, participated in the 1964 Summer Olympics at age 19. In the heats of the event, she equaled Wilma Rudolph’s world record, propelling her to a favored position for the final, where her main rival was fellow American Edith McGuire. Tyus won the final, beating McGuire by 0.2 seconds. At the same Olympics, she also won a silver medal with the 4 × 100 m relay team.
The following years, Tyus won numerous national championships in the sprint events, and a gold medal in the 200 m at the Pan-American Games. In 1968, she returned to the Olympics to defend her title in the 100 m. In the final, she set a new world record of 11.08 s to become the first person, male or female, to retain the Olympic 100 metres title. Tyus also qualified for the 200 m final, in which she finished sixth. Running the final leg for the relay team, Tyus helped setting a new world record, winning her third gold medal.
Director Bud Greenspan filmed Tyus casually dancing behind her starting blocks before the Olympic final. When interviewed later she said she was doing the “Tighten Up” to stay loose.
Tyus retired from amateur sports after the 1968 Olympics. In 1973 she was invited to compete in the 60-yard dash in the new Professional International Track Association competitions. In her first-year return, she won eight of eighteen events. The following year, she won every event she entered, a total of twenty-two races. Tyus continued to compete in the 60 yard dash up until 1982.
Tyus went on to coach at Beverly Hills High School, and was a founding member of the Women’s Sports Foundation.
During the Richard Dawson era of Family Feud, Tyus appeared with her family (1980). They won the $5,000 prize. In 1976 Tyus was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. In 1980, Tyus was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, she was one of eleven athletes who carried in the Olympic Flag during the Opening Ceremony. In 1985, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
In 1999 her hometown Griffin, Georgia honored her with the unveiling of the Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park. The 2010 Breeder’s World Cup featured a two-year-old filly racing horse bearing her namesake. In 2018 she published the memoir Tigerbelle : the Wyomia Tyus story, with co-author Elizabeth Terzakis; it is part of Dave Zirin’s Edge of Sports series.
2023 Impact Award
A woman who has strengthened our community by positively influencing and investing in the lives of young girls and boys. Her life’s work inspires others to reach their full potential.
Elaine Wynn has established herself as a savvy business leader, an indomitable crusader for children’s welfare and an influential philanthropist.
Elaine co-founded Wynn Resorts in 2000 and helped guide the company’s expansion from the opening of Wynn Las Vegas in April 2005 and Wynn Macau in September 2006 to the unveiling of Encore in December 2008. Previously, Elaine co-founded and led Mirage Resorts from 1976 to 2000. Her pioneering contribution to the gaming and entertainment industry in America was recognized by her induction into the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1999.
Just as her success in business is indicative of Elaine’s intellect, her humanitarianism is indicative of her heart. As a Trustee of the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation, Elaine is personally and actively involved, with her family, in a variety of community organizations whose passions and priorities mirror her own.
Elaine’s commitment to improve children’s lives through education has engaged her in numerous leadership roles at local, state and national levels. Over the past thirty years, in her home state of Nevada, the last five Governors have drafted Elaine into leadership positions addressing public education. In 2011, she was appointed to co-chair Nevada’s Blue Ribbon Education Reform Task Force, which resulted in the enactment of ambitious new reform legislation. In 2013 and again in 2015, Governor Brian Sandoval appointed Elaine to Nevada’s State Board of Education. She continued in the role at the request of incumbent Governor Steve Sisolak and remained the Board’s elected President until her departure in December 2020. Her devotion extends to higher education too. Elaine chaired for eight years the UNLV Foundation, the private fundraising arm of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is also a past member of the Executive Board of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education.
Elaine is a tireless advocate of programs and services for children who live in poverty. For nearly two decades, she has been actively engaged with Communities in Schools (CIS), the oldest and most successful stay-in-school organization in America. With a mission to surround students with a community of support, CIS will serve 1.62 million vulnerable children in more than 2,500 schools in 25 states and the District of Columbia, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Elaine has been a member of the national board since 1999, and was elected chairman in 2007, a position she proudly holds today. She was also the founding chairman of CIS Nevada. She also works to improve opportunities for children in poverty as a board member of the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation.
Inspired by a lifelong love affair with the arts, Elaine’s enthusiasm is demonstrated by her participation on the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees from 2010 to 2018, an appointment made by President Barack Obama. In 2011, she joined the board of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the largest art museum in the western United States and, in 2015, was elected co-chair. In 2022, she joined the Board of Directors of the Triple Aught Foundation, which oversees and operates Michael Heizer’s monumental sculpture, City in Garden Valley, Nevada.
Elaine’s impact has garnered numerous awards and accolades including the Governor’s Philanthropist of the Year in 2005 and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1986. She was awarded one of seven National Promise of America Founder’s Awards for improving children’s lives at a ceremony at the White House. In 2011, The National Child Labor Committee awarded Elaine with the Lewis Hine Award for Service to Children and Youth. She is especially proud of the dedication of the Elaine Wynn Elementary School in 1991.
The ripples of her philanthropy extend further through The Elaine Wynn Palliative Care Program at Nathan Adelson Hospice and The Elaine Wynn Studio for Arts Education at The Smith Center for Performing Arts, both in Las Vegas, and the Elaine Wynn & Family Education Wing on the main campus of Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater, in New York City.
Elaine’s hobby is her passion for the sport of basketball and led to her appointment to the Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Governors in 2010.
Born and raised in New York City, Elaine graduated from George Washington University in 1964 with a BA in Political Science. She resided in Washington D.C. before moving to Las Vegas in 1967.
2023 Next Gen Award
A Title IX beneficiary who displays outstanding character and incredible achievement in academics and athletics. She serves as a role model for the next generation of leaders.
Annick holds the second-lowest scoring average in BYU Women’s golf history of 72.22. She was also a 3x Team Captain. Annick won the Texas State invitational her senior year, and throughout her career at BYU, she had four top 5 finishes and nine top 10 finishes and was on the West Coast Conference All-Team.
Annick recently graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and an emphasis on Sports Media.
Before university, Annick won the Nevada state title at Palo Verde High School, finished first at regionals three years in a row, and reached the Round of 16 at U.S. Girls Junior. She was a National Academic Honors recipient and recruited by BYU, ASU, and UNLV.
2022 Game Changer Award
Athletes who changed the narrative within her sport. They
captivated our culture with her grace, poise, and affirmation that anything is possible.
2022 Legacy Award
A woman who has trailblazed a path forward for women. She is a pivotal figure in our history in our quest for equality. She has led by example and relentlessly paved the way for all of us.
Billie Jean King is undoubtedly the greatest figure in women’s sports today. Billie Jean has fought for equality in every step of her tennis career and beyond. She is widely known for her victorious tennis match “Battle of the Sexes” against Bobby Riggs in 1973, one year after the signing of Title IX. In that same year, she founded the WTA, Women’s Tennis Association and became its first President. She then founded the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1974 “to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity.”
In 2009, Billie Jean King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. She continues to relentlessly pursue equal opportunities for all.
2022 Impact Award
A woman who has strengthened our community by positively influencing and investing in the lives of young girls and boys. Her life’s work inspires others to reach their full potential.
Jan Jones Blackhurst is a long-time political and business leader who spent most of the 1990s as the first woman mayor of Las Vegas – one of the most popular mayors in the city’s history. She then joined Caesars Entertainment, where she and her teams developed the industry’s first Responsible Gaming practices, advancing environmental stewardship and advocating for important social issues. Jan speaks extensively at many universities and helped establish the International Gaming Institution Center of Excellence at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. After leading Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Policy at Caesars for two decades, she joined the Company’s Board of Directors in 2019 where she chairs the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. She also became Chief Executive in Residence at the UNLV International Gaming Institute, where she was a popular faculty member and key player in the “Expanding the Leaderverse” initiative. She became Executive Director, UNLV Black Fire Leadership Initiative January 2021.
Committed to education, Jan serves as Chairwoman for the Public Education Foundation; she has earned numerous awards and accolades while serving on several boards, including the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, Vegas Chamber, Gaming and Hospitality Acquisition Corp. and the Nevada Resort Association. In 2014, she was one of the first women to be inducted into the American Gaming Association (AGA) Gaming Hall of Fame.
Jones Blackhurst holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University.
Executive Director, UNLV Black Fire Leadership Initiative
Caesars Entertainment Board of Directors
Chief Executive in Residence, UNLV International Gaming Institute
2022 Next Gen Award
A Title IX beneficiary who displays outstanding character and incredible achievement in academics and athletics. She serves as a role model for the next generation of leaders.
Ashley Prandecki is currently a resident physician practicing Internal Medicine in Las Vegas, Nevada. She received her M.D. degree from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. Growing up in Las Vegas, most of her time was spent playing tennis with her father and three younger sisters. With the help of her parents and the Inspiring Children Foundation, she earned a scholarship to play tennis at Western New Mexico University. While at WNMU, she was named team captain as a sophomore and led her team to win multiple conference championships. She was named Senior Student-Athlete of the Year during her final year. Her scholarship to college enabled her to grow academically and build the skills and experience necessary to start her career in medicine and she was accepted on a full-tuition scholarship to the charter class of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV and is now the president of the school’s alumni chapter. She continues her involvement in the Inspiring Children Foundation, as the foundation’s whole-human approach to developing leadership skills was invaluable in her journey.
