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Allyson Felix reigns as the most decorated American Track & Field Olympian of all time. She officially retired from competitive running in the summer of 2022, concluding an illustrious career that includes thirty-one global medals across the Olympics and World Championships, with titles as both a World Record Holder and a Master’s World Record Holder. In 2024, she continued to impact sports globally with her election to the International Olympic Committee and co-founding Always Alpha, a first-of-its-kind women’s sports management firm.
In 2020, Felix broke records after winning her bronze and gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics – her fifth and final Olympic games. She continued to make history during the games by sporting racing spikes created by her company – lifestyle and footwear brand, Saysh – becoming the first Track & Field athlete to do so. Publicly launched post-Games in June 2021, Saysh not only aims to create an encouraging and supportive community for women, but it also designs and manufactures athletic-inspired footwear made for and by women, unlike most brands, whose shoes are created based on men’s feet and footwear. Running in her own spikes on the largest stage in the world, Felix exemplified that she is about more than just medals – she was running for change, equity, and acceptance for women and girls everywhere. In keeping with its mission to empower and serve women, Saysh sought out women-led, women-funded partners for the brand’s Series A fundraising round, which brought in $8 million and included the Gap Inc.-owned Athleta brand. Current products include the Saysh One and The Felix Runner, with past launches like the Saysh Slide, Saysh Two, and various limited edition collaborations. Saysh products are available online and through retailers like Kith, Footlocker, and Athleta.
Off the track, Felix is a fierce advocate for maternity rights for all women. In 2019, she wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times that called out Nike, her former sponsor, for not providing guaranteed protections for pregnant athletes and new moms. (Felix gave birth to her daughter Camryn in 2018.) The public reaction to the piece put pregnancy discrimination in athletics in the spotlight, and the practice was heavily criticized. More female athletes came to Felix’s side, offering their own stories of similarly unjust hardships. During the 2020 Olympics, Felix, in partnership with Athleta, created the Power of She Fund: Child Care Grant – a fund to assist mom-athletes with childcare while competing at the games. Recently, she also led the charge in bringing a Family Space to the Olympic Village in collaboration with P&G, ensuring a supportive environment for athletes and their families during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Felix’s passion for children and social impact is evident through her work as a member of the Right To Play board, where she advocates for underserved children in developing regions.
Felix resides in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter Camryn, and son Kenneth Maurice Ferguson III, affectionately known as Trey, who was born in 2024.
2025 Icon Award
After 17 years, two World Championships, two Olympic Gold Medals, and near unparalleled success as a marketing icon, Mia Hamm retired from professional soccer in 2004 as not only the best women’s soccer player in history but also as one of the most important and recognizable female figures in the history of sport. Hailed by ESPN as the greatest female athlete of the past 40 years, Mia was the youngest woman to ever appear in a match for the US Senior Squad at just 15 years old in 1987, and during her illustrious career playing for the national team shattered a litany of American records, most notably those for international goals (158) and assists (144).
In the years since her dominant run on the global stage as a player, Mia has continued to serve as an inspiration to young girls looking to rise to the pinnacle of the sporting world. Indeed, she has maintained an active presence within the soccer community and has served as an outspoken advocate for Title IX and gender equality across sporting lines, all the while cementing her status as the face of not merely a sport but rather of an entire generation of female athletes through her Foundation. Mia is also a part owner of the MLS’ Los Angeles Football Club and the expansion franchise, Angel FC of the NWSL.
2025 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.
Kerri Walsh Jennings is a 5-time Olympian, 3-time Olympic gold medalist, and 1-time bronze medalist in beach volleyball. She was a 4-time 1st Team All-American at Stanford University, where her teams won 2 National Championships (‘96, ‘97) and finished runner-up in ‘99. Kerri transitioned to beach volleyball after the 2000 Olympic Games, where her indoor USA Volleyball team finished 4th.
Jennings partnered up with Misty May-Treanor in 2001 and started the greatest run of excellence for any beach volleyball duo in history. Together, Jennings and May-Treanor won 3 consecutive World Championships and 3 Olympic Gold medals over an 11-year period. They accrued a truly incredible 112-match win streak which broke their own record of an 89-match win streak. They were excellent at raising the bar and embodied sustained excellence at the highest level. They transformed the game here in America and globally.
Kerri is a very proud mother of 3 beautiful babes and the proud wife of Casey Jennings. Together, Kerri and Casey co-founded Platform 1440 & p1440 Foundation (p1440) which is dedicated to inspiring, empowering, and supporting our nation’s youth through the transformational power of sport – specifically volleyball.
Kerri Walsh Jennings officially retired from the Olympic pursuit in 2023 is creating and living a beautiful life with her family knowing the best is yet to come.
2025 Legacy 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.
Olympic gold medalist, head coach, sportscaster, and one of the top five women’s collegiate basketball players in NCAA history, Cheryl Miller is a basketball legend who helped popularize and elevate the women’s game.
A starting player throughout high school, Miller became the first athlete—male or female—named to the Parade All-America high school team for four straight years and set California records for points in a single game (105), points in a single season (1,156), and career points (3,405). On January 26, 1982, she became the first woman to dunk a basketball in organized play.
Still the most highly recruited male or female player ever, Miller chose the University of Southern California. There she became a four-time All-American and led the Trojans to a 112-20 record and to the NCAA title in 1983 and 1984. The back-to-back titles were an NCAA first, and she was tournament MVP both years. She won the Naismith Trophy and the Broderick Award as the nation’s best woman basketball player three times, shared the 1984 Honda Broderick Cup as the outstanding college athlete in any sport, and was the Wade Trophy winner in 1985. With 3,018 points—at a time when there was no three-point line—and 1,534 rebounds scored over 128 games, she ranks 14th among the NCAA’s all-time leading scorers and still holds USC records for points, rebounds, field goals, free throws, steals, and games played. In 1986, she became the first player whose jersey was retired by the university.
In the international arena, Miller led the U.S. women’s basketball team to a gold medal in the 1983 Pan American Games and to another gold in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1986, she added a gold medal at the Goodwill Games in Moscow as the U.S. team broke the Soviet Union’s 152-game winning streak.
When knee injuries cut her professional career short, Miller turned to coaching, including as head coach for USC, Cal State LA, Langston University, and the WNBA Phoenix Mercury, where she also served as general manager, becoming the first person to serve in both capacities in the history of the professional leagues. She also served as a basketball analyst and commentator for ABC, ESPN, TBS, and TNT. In November 1996, she became the first female analyst to call a nationally televised NBA game.
Miller’s recognition includes induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the FIBA Hall of Fame, and the California Hall of Fame. Most recently, received the 2025 National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award.
2025 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.
Mayor Shelley Berkley was elected by the people of Las Vegas in November 2024. Prior to taking office as mayor, she served as senior vice president of the Touro University system. Before this, she held the positions of CEO and senior provost at Touro University Western Division for a period of eight-and-a-half years.
Prior to joining Touro, Mayor Berkley served the state of Nevada in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2013. She was the first woman to serve the district and held the position for seven terms.
During her 14 years in Congress, Mayor Berkley served on the Transportation Committee, Small Business Committee, Veterans Affairs Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee and the Ways and Means Committee (healthcare subcommittee).
Among her proudest accomplishments during her time in Congress was building the new Veterans Administration medical complex in Southern Nevada to provide quality healthcare to the veterans in our community. She was a vocal supporter of providing more funding for graduate medical education (residencies), and a vocal advocate of reforming our nation’s healthcare system.
Mayor Berkley began her career in public service in 1983 as an assemblywoman in the Nevada State Legislature. She worked to strengthen consumer protection laws and to crack down on drunk driving. She created the Senior Law Project and wrote the Lemon Law, which protects new car owners from defective vehicles. Both programs continue to this day.
Mayor Berkley was appointed and twice elected to the Nevada State Board of Regents, serving from 1990 to 1998.
Prior to serving in Congress, Mayor Berkley was a practicing attorney. She was an attorney for the Nevada State Commerce Department, in-house counsel for Southwest Gas Corporation and vice president for government and legal affairs for the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.
Mayor Berkley is married to Dr. Larry Lehrner, a kidney specialist, and she is the proud mother of two sons, two stepchildren and four grandchildren.
Raised in Las Vegas, Mayor Berkley attended John C. Fremont Junior High School and Valley High School. She was the first person in her family to go to college. She graduated from UNLV in 1973 where she was student body president.
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 Icon Award
Tennis champion Stefanie Graf, winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, remains the only player to win Wimbledon, the French Open, the US Open and the Australian Open at least four times.
In a career spanning 17 years, Graf won 107 singles titles and is the first—and still only— woman player to achieve the “Golden Slam” by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same year.
Graf was ranked No. 1 for a WTA-record 377 weeks, the longest of any player, male or female, since rankings began.
With the same purposeful strength she brought to professional tennis, Stefanie turned her attention to aid suffering children. In 1998, she founded Children for Tomorrow, a charity focused on providing psychological help for children and families who have suffered the trauma of war, violence, abuse, exile or loss of the family. She established the organization in conjunction with Outpatient Clinic for Refugee Children and their Families at the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf.
The special outpatient unit for children’s psychiatry and psychotherapy treats refugee children from all over the world and their families. The majority of patients are from Afghanistan, southern Europe and West-African countries. In 2016, 543 children have received psychiatry and psychotherapy treatment.
In addition to the current international projects in Uganda and Eritrea, the new Hamburg headquarters opened in April 2011. The Hamburg location is the foundation headquarters and will be an Outpatient Clinic for Regugee Children as well as a training center for therapists and crisis area workers.
At the beginning of 2017, in order to reach more of the younger refugee children, the foundation started a psychosocial project for the therapeutic care of refugee children in primary schools in Hamburg. Not only do the children receive art, music, exercise and play therapy in groups and individual settings, but the teachers also receive special support. At the beginning, the project was expected to reach 60 children in groups and 25 children in individual therapy. The goal is to extend this service to other primary schools in Hamburg.
In 1999, Graf retired from the women’s professional tennis tour. She considers herself fortunate to be able to balance her family time with her foundation and working with her numerous, long-standing partners.
She is married to former tennis superstar Andre Agassi. The couple resides in Las Vegas with their children, Jaden Gil and Jaz Elle.
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 Icon Award
Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a true icon in the world of sports and one of the most decorated female athletes in history. A six-time Olympic medalist and the first woman to win consecutive gold medals in the heptathlon (1988, 1992), she also earned Olympic medals in the long jump, showcasing her extraordinary versatility and dominance in track and field.
Her world record in the heptathlon, set in 1988, still stands—an enduring symbol of her elite athleticism and determination.
Raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, Joyner-Kersee rose from humble beginnings to global stardom, becoming a symbol of excellence, resilience, and grace under pressure. She competed at a time when opportunities for women in sports were expanding but still limited, and she became a trailblazer—both as an African American woman and as a competitor whose grit and humility captivated the world.
Beyond her athletic achievements, Joyner-Kersee has made a profound impact off the track. In 1988, she founded the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation to support underserved youth and families through education, health, leadership, and sports programming. The Foundation has been instrumental in building safe spaces and offering life-changing resources in communities that often go overlooked. Her center in East St. Louis serves as a model for how athletics and education can be used together to uplift the next generation.
A passionate advocate for youth development, equal access to sport, and women’s empowerment, Joyner-Kersee continues to serve as a mentor, speaker, and role model across the country. She has been honored with numerous awards, including being named the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated for Women and induction into multiple halls of fame, including the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame and the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s legacy is not only defined by her unmatched records and Olympic triumphs, but also by her lifelong commitment to inspiring others to dream big, work hard, and never give up.
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.
