Trailblazing Women: Shaping Las Vegas’s Next Chapter

Date: March 27, 2025
Time:
7 to 8:15 p.m.
Cost:
Free for Museum Members or with Museum Admission
Join The Mob Museum for an inspiring panel discussion featuring three remarkable women who have played pivotal roles in shaping modern Las Vegas. This special Women’s History Month event will bring together trailblazers from politics, entertainment and sports to reflect on their journeys and share their visions for the city’s future. This dynamic discussion will explore the panelists’ experiences as they broke barriers in their respective fields and their perspectives on Las Vegas’ next chapter.
Featured Speaker
Sandra Douglass Morgan
was named President of the Las Vegas Raiders by Owner Mark Davis in July of 2022. She has more than two decades of leadership experience in the sports, gaming, legal and corporate sectors, and has served as a chief regulator, director, attorney, and advisor to integrated resorts, casinos, and telecommunications companies. Having an adept understanding of the community as a native Las Vegan, Sandra is incredibly proud to lead the Silver and Black in her hometown.
Prior to her joining the Raiders, Sandra served as Chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. As the chief regulator for Nevada's dominant billion-dollar gaming industry, Sandra led the passage and implementation of cashless wagering regulations, ensured that gaming licensees adopted policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment, and led a team of 400 employees in five cities across the state of Nevada. Sandra also served as a Commissioner on the Nevada State Athletic Commission and was the first Black City Attorney in the State of Nevada when she was the chief legal officer for the City of North Las Vegas, where she served from 2008 to 2016. Sandra was previously with Covington & Burling, LLP and served as an advisor to the State of Nevada's COVID-19 task force charged with finding solutions for access to personal protection equipment, virtual education options, and expanding testing capabilities so that the state could reopen its doors to tens of millions of visitors from across the globe.
Widely recognized for her commitment to Nevada businesses, education, and support for local causes, she is the recipient of the UNLV Boyd School of Law's Distinguished Service Alumni Award and the Corporate to Community Connector award from the National Urban League Young Professionals. She was honored to be included in the EBONY 2022 Power 100 List, the most influential "Women in Business and Politics," receiving an award from the Urban Chamber of Commerce in 2015 along with the Ladies of Distinction Award in 2013 from Olive Crest, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting abused and neglected children. In 2012, Sandra was named Attorney of the Year by the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association which recognized her commitment to serving the local community, especially communities of color.
Sandra has served on a variety of nonprofit boards and is currently the vice chair of Super Bowl LVIII Host Committee, which will take place at Allegiant Stadium in 2024, marking the first time Las Vegas will host one of the most-watched annual sporting events in the world. Additionally, Sandra serves on the Board of Directors of Allegiant Travel Company and Fidelity National Financial, Inc., and is on the Board of Trustees for the UNLV Foundation. She is also a member of the State Bar of Nevada and the District of Columbia Bar.
Sandra graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in Political Science and holds a Juris Doctor from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She resides in Las Vegas with her husband Don and their two children.
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.
Sue Kim
was a member of the popular singing group The Kim Sisters, a South Korean female trio who made their career in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. The group included Sue (Sook-ja), Aija (Ai-ja) and Min (Minja) Kim.
She was born in Seoul, South Korean and started singing with her sisters at the age of ten. She played 13 different instruments, sang and danced.
The sisters arrived in Las Vegas in 1959 and appeared in the China Doll Revue at the Thunderbird Hotel. After fulfilling their contract at the Thunderbird, the entertainment director for the Stardust Hotel picked up their option, which started her journey of "4 weeks with a 4-week option". In 1959, while Ed Sullivan was broadcasting live from the Stardust he asked The Kim Sisters to appear on the show. They were such a big hit that he invited their mother and the Kim brothers to sing on his show in New York. Afterwards, he offered them an exclusive 22-show contract. The Kim family made their home in Las Vegas where they were accepted by the Las Vegas audiences and the local media. This led them to a 15-year engagement at the Stardust, followed by 5 years at the Las Vegas Hilton and then 15 years at the Holiday Casino where Sue Kim and her brothers were the starring act.
When not performing in Las Vegas, they traveled all around the world and appeared on major television shows: The Dean Martin Variety Show, The Dinah Shore Show, Hollywood Palace, Operation Entertainment, The Steve Allen Show, The Joey Bishop Show, and The Merv Griffin Show. While appearing in Las Vegas The Kim Sisters co-starred with Maurice Chevalier, Louis Armstrong, George Burns, Jack Benny, Don Rickles, Helen Reddy, Phyllis Diller, Tony Martin, Phil Harris, Don Adams, Bob Newhart, Dick Shawn, Ames Brothers, Victor Borge, George Kirby, Jayne Mansfield, Diana Dors, and Martin Denny.