Las Vegas nonprofit CEOs working to foster more women leaders

Of the 10 largest nonprofits by revenue in the Las Vegas Valley, two of them are headed by women, according to 2017 IRS data compiled by UNLV professor Jessica Word.

A group of local nonprofit women CEOs is looking to change that.

CEO of Grant a Gift Autism Foundation Terri Janison, who organized the group, said that it can be lonely at the top and that she would like to see a larger pipeline of women leaders in the nonprofit space.

“If we can run major corporations, we can run major nonprofits,” Janison said. “It’s just the confidence to put yourself out there and take the chance to show that you can run it that women supporting women creates.”

While women assume the majority of nonprofit employment nationally at 73 percent, 45 percent of nonprofit CEO roles were held by women, according to The White House Project report on gender in nonprofits. The report was released in 2009, the most recent data available.

Even with greater parity among nonprofit CEOs, the organizations women lead tend to be smaller, and they are paid less than their male counterparts, a 2018 Guidestar study found.

In both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, Janison said, women face unique challenges, and establishing a network of women executives allows for open communication about those difficulties and the ways they can foster female leadership among their organizations.

Janison met with a few CEOs in November before organizing the first larger group meeting in February at a downtown bar, where 16 women showed up. The event was informal and served as a way for executives to become acquainted with one another, but Janison said it was a springboard for other opportunities.

Through speaking with CEO of Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada Kimberly Trueba at that meeting, Janison learned that the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada had acquired a new campground in Alamo, with an establishment called A Cowboy’s Dream.

Trueba organized the next meeting: an overnight retreat at the site.

The idea was met with overwhelming interest, Trueba said, so the retreat was split into two days, one in April and the other in May, where eight executives spent the night each trip.

“We shared ideas, and we talked about what true collaboration means,” Trueba said. “The term is used loosely, so what does that really mean that benefits two or more organizations in helping our community?”

Existing partnerships were fostered, and new ones began on the retreat, Trueba said, as her organization plans to work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and others whose CEOs were in attendance.

In their few meetings, Janison said she has learned more about the kind of benefits other CEOs offer their employees and how the women deal with the stress of heading their organizations.

Beth Barbre, the CEO of Nevada Ballet Theatre, was one of the attendees of both gatherings. Barbre has led the ballet company for more than 10 years, which she said allowed her to mentor to some of the women who recently took on a CEO position.

“It’s so nice to know there are other people dealing with similar issues and to impart some of what I’ve learned in my time here,” Barbre said.

The women hope to meet once per quarter, and Trueba said she has already set aside time in her 2020 schedule to host another overnight retreat for the CEOs. She added that she wants to integrate male CEOs into the group but that an all-female space can be beneficial to bolster other women.

Contact Amanda Bradford at abradford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Follow @amandabrad_uc on Twitter.