Vegas Inc recognizes 40 locals under 40 years old for their leadership skills, business prowess, and community involvement. Every year the people who are selected showcase the best and brightest of Las Vegas. There is no shortage of talent and ambition in Southern Nevada and these 40 individuals prove it. These individuals represent an incredible array of accomplishments and industries and are responsible for creating growth and opportunity in our city. The honorees are leading the community through mentorship, hard work, and service. With a record number of nominations this year, the competition was fierce, but these individuals set themselves apart.
The 2022 40 Under 40 originally appeared in a special issue of Vegas Inc found inside of Las Vegas Weekly. Sign up to get each of Vegas Inc’s special publications delivered to your inbox on the day of their release.
Trenton Alenik - Executive Director, The Inspiring Children Foundation
Trent Alenik
Age: 34
First Job: Bus boy at Pasta Shop Ristorante
Trenton Alenik does it all. He’s the executive director at the Inspiring Children Foundation; he helps run his family’s business, Pasta Shop Ristorante; he’s a national championship winner in both tennis and pickleball and a community leader and philanthropist. Alenik leads with humility, integrity and hard work, all of which are reflected in his accomplishments.
Alexandra “Allie” Amato - Campaign Director, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Allie Amato
Age: 31
First Job: Kid Zone Counselor for the City of Henderson
Allie Amato is dedicated to improving the lives of others, and she works to inspire the next generation to do the same. As the campaign development director of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year program, she leads high school students through fundraising efforts with the ultimate goal of finding a cure for cancer.
Noah Azlan - Director of Marketing, AEG Presents Las Vegas
Noah Azlan
Age: 30
First Job: Social media manager
Growing up in both Pakistan and Las Vegas, Noah Azlan developed a love for music and live entertainment early in life. Azlan recognizes the power that performance can have to create connection, energy and lifelong memories, which he strives to create in his role as senior marketing manager at AEG Presents.
Hilary Billings - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Attentioneers
Hilary Billings
Age: 34
First Job: Pet sitter
Hilary Billings describes her career as incredibly unconventional. “From being a graduate school reject to an international travel blogger, lion trainer, burn-survivor-turned-beauty-queen, national journalist, red carpet host, celebrity interviewer, personal brand strategist, viral content creator and agency owner, I feel like each step has prepared me for the next,” Billings said. Today, she is the co-founder of Attentioneers, a company that seeks to help entrepreneurs share their message on social media.
Sabrina Borghoff - Vice President of Business Development, Martin-Harris Construction
Sabrina Borghoff
Age: 40
When Sabrina Borghoff started at Martin-Harris Construction 10 years ago, she was often the only woman at the table. Now she gets excited walking through the building and seeing that over half of the associates are women. In a traditionally male-dominated industry, Borghoff is grateful for the opportunity to empower the next generation of women.
Heather Brown - President, StartUp Vegas
Heather Brown
Age: 37
First Job: Administrative assistant
Heather Brown enthusiastically embraces the new opportunities and challenges that come her way, and that attitude has helped inform her professional trajectory. Growing up in a military family, Brown split time between Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia. “I was navigating new life experiences that shaped my identity and helped me develop a nuanced understanding and appreciation of cultural differences, and made me more adaptable and open-minded,” Brown said.
Kelly K. Campbell Smolen - Director of Event Sales, Area15
Kelly K. Campbell Smolen
Age: 34
First Job: MICROS Systems, Inc (now Oracle)
Kelly Campbell Smolen is a creative powerhouse, a dynamic businessperson and an approachable, humble leader. Originally from Maryland, Smolen is a former professional football player in the LFL, which originally brought her to Las Vegas. She went on to work on the special events team for House of Blues where she says she found her calling in the entertainment industry. She is now the director of event sales at Area15. In less than a year, she has more than doubled event revenue, client lists and built a high-performing team.
Ryan Christiansen - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ntooitive Digital
Ryan Christiansen
Age: 39
First Job: Electrician’s apprentice
Ryan Christiansen is a proud father who applies parenting principles to his work as the co-founder and CEO of Ntooitive Digital. His philosophy to dream big and be unafraid to fail has led Christiansen and his team to success, with Ntooitive Digital honored three times on Inc. 5000’s fastest growing companies in America list.
Adam Ciotti - Executive Director Business Partner Relationships and Executive Associate to Board, Palms Casino Resort
Adam Ciotti
Age: 37
First Job: Restaurant Industry
As executive director of business partner relationships for Palms Casino Resort, Adam Ciotti values the connections he makes and strives to foster a sense of community within the resort. With more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Ciotti is passionate about creating unforgettable experiences for others and continues working toward developing new concepts, implementing better service and making the resort a must-visit destination in Las Vegas.
Aida Correa - Director of Marketing, Clique Hospitality
Aida Correa
Age: 39
First Job: Sticker sales business in elementary school
Aida Correa has a lot on her plate. The restaurant marketing director for Clique Hospitality oversees five different venues, and she thrives in a challenging and creative environment.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Correa received a law degree at the University of Guadalajara before moving to Las Vegas and experimenting with marketing strategies to aid local restaurants in finding success. As she furthered her marketing experience, Correa found a deep interest in the dynamic nature of the profession. She uses her 16 years of experience to cater to Clique venues’ unique audiences, while maintaining consistent brand values.
Nathan Drane - Senior Vice President Global Product Management, Light & Wonder
Nathaniel Drane
Age: 36
Nathan Drane is an innovator by nature. Over the past 15 years, he has watched the gaming world evolve while the online gaming space has experienced accelerated growth. As the senior vice president global product management of Light & Wonder, Drane looks forward to using the real-time feedback and data from online gaming to make land-based gaming faster, with a better ability to manage content and player engagement.
Curtis Edenfield - Chief Executive Officer, Thrive Aviation
Curtis Edenfield
Age: 37
First Job: Real estate consulting
Curtis Edenfield is a self-described aviation nerd who has been around the industry his entire life—both parents worked in aviation, and his brother Stuart is a pilot and one of the co-founders of Thrive Aviation. “I was destined for a career in aviation from the time I could walk, and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Edenfield said.
Kayla Fishman - Co-Host of The Chet Buchanan Show, 98.5 KLUC || Audacy
Kayla Fishman
Age: 34
First Job: Weekend personality on Hot 101.5 in Tampa
Kayla Fishman has been working in radio for more than a decade and considers her tenure in the industry one of her greatest gifts. “My biggest passion in life is making people smile; that's why I'm on the radio. You can hear it in people's voices when they call in to win a contest or to contribute to a topic. You can hear their face light up, and there is no greater sound on Earth in my opinion,” Fishman said.
Chris Griffin - Chief Financial Officer, Treasure Island and Circus Circus Las Vegas
Christopher Griffin
Age: 39
First Job: McDonald’s
Chris Griffin has spent nearly 20 years in finance for the hospitality and gaming industry. He’s been a banker, an auditor and has held numerous positions in middle and upper management covering accounting, strategy, yielding, development and more. Today, Griffin is the chief financial officer for two megaresorts on the Strip. And he’s only getting started.
Tyson Harding - Vice President of Casino Marketing, Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino
Tyson Harding
Age: 37
First Job: Front desk agent
For Tyson Harding, mentorship and community service go hand in hand. “Being involved with your community is important because you’re providing support for others that need it. We all have needed help at one point in our lives,” Harding said. “It’s important to remember that a small amount of your time can have a large amount of impact on someone else’s life.” This support takes many forms in Harding’s life, from coaching youth soccer teams to mentoring casino hosts into leadership roles.
Melisa Hooper - Vice President of Booking, Allegiant Stadium
Melisa Hooper
Age: 34
Melisa Hooper is the vice president of booking at Allegiant stadium, and from her perspective, every event is like a puzzle. It takes a lot of coordination to piece together each project, and Hooper is a pro at problem-solving and fitting everything into the big picture.
Dustin Iannotti - Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Artisans on Fire & HighRanking.com
Dustin Iannotti
Age: 39
First Job: Professional wrestler
Dustin Iannotti has always been a creator at heart. “As a kid, I used to write scripts for my WWE action figures. I ran a student-run ad agency in college. I used our home printer to produce my own magazine at age 10,” Iannotti said. With this drive and desire to create, and relentless focus on service for every client, he founded Artisans on Fire in 2015. Today, it’s a full-service agency specializing in emerging markets, including cannabis, online gaming, fantasy sports and more.
Andrew Kyle Insigne - Senior Director of Event Marketing, Tao Group Hospitality
Andrew Insigne
Age: 32
First Job: Celebrity assistant
Andrew Insigne joined Tao Group immediately after graduating from UNLV, and he has never looked back. With a background in events marketing and expertise in crafting perfectly executed and detail-oriented events, Insigne has made a name for himself in this competitive industry. Over the past 12 years with Tao, he has held several different titles and worked on an endless array of different projects, all of which have led to the growth and development of Tao’s event programming.
Sandra Jauregui - Majority Leader, Nevada State Assembly
Sandra Jauregui
Age: 39
First Job: Conroy's
Sandra Jauregui has dedicated her life to improving the lives of Southern Nevadans. As a first-generation American, Jauregui watched her parents sacrifice and persevere to provide her with every opportunity to succeed. She now uses her position in the Nevada Assembly to provide those same opportunities for others.
Min Kim - Executive Chef, Mizumi at Wynn Las Vegas
Min Kim
Age: 37
First Job: Apprentice in his dad’s restaurant
Creativity is the flagship of Min Kim’s working philosophy. Kim spent years learning from the masters—first his dad, from whom he inherited his love of the restaurant industry, and later from legendary chefs in Japan who taught him to differentiate himself by being innovative and creative. From his mentors and his personal experience, Kim has developed a world-class work ethic and brought traditional Japanese training and cuisine to Las Vegas.
Kat Klehm - Executive Director, Lincoln Dynamic Foundation; Chief Executive Officer, Kat K Fitness
Kat Klehm
Age: 38
First Job: Pizza shop
Kat Klehm says she was born to teach. She moved to Las Vegas in 2008 to pursue a career in education, and during that time, she began her physical fitness journey and started training others, too. Connections that she made through training ultimately led her to the Lincoln Dynamic Foundation.
Brian Kline - Regional General Manager - West, House of Blues
Brian Kline
Age: 37
First Job: Dishwasher at an Italian restaurant
Brian Kline gives 110% to everything he does. He describes himself as a music person with the desire to create shows that leave a lasting impact on audiences. “Some of my best life experiences have been going to different shows,” Kline said. Today, his favorite part of his job at House of Blues is creating lifetime memories for fans.
Glenn Light - Partner, Lewis Roca
Glenn Light
Age: 39
First Job: Worked at his dad's barber shop
Throughout Glenn Light’s childhood in England, he and his family regularly attended horse races, where his interest in the gaming industry was piqued. In law school, Light was the only person in his class to write his dissertation on gaming law.
Lauren Lopez - Vice President Ticketing Operations, MGM Resorts Entertainment & Sports
Lauren Lopez
Age: 39
First Job: Dress runner at David's Bridal
For many, the business of Las Vegas is show business, and Lauren Lopez knows it inside and out. Lopez began working at the Luxor while she was still a student at UNLV, and her time at the box office there led to a 17-year career with MGM Resorts. During her time at MGM, Lopez was empowered and given the opportunity to cultivate a well-rounded understanding of the entertainment business. “Cross-functional knowledge is really underrated and, in my experience, has always come in handy in the nick of time,” Lopez said.
Kristen Santero Manville - Director of Entertainment Marketing, Caesars Entertainment
Kristen Santero Manville
Age: 31
First Job: Los Angeles Clippers Community Relations Intern
As a child, Kristen Santero Manville loved boy bands and basketball. She was a tennis player, a musician and a DECA competitor. Today, she’s the director of entertainment marketing at Caesars Entertainment and is humbled to be combining her childhood passions in her chosen profession.
Dr. Vishisht Mehta - Director of Interventional Pulmonology, Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada
Vishisht Mehta
Age: 34
First Job: Current
Dr. Vishisht Mehta works at the intersection of lung diseases and cancer with a focus on the early detection and diagnosis of lung cancer. Mehta is passionate about people, and it is reflected in his work. He participates in local community outreach by meeting with patients and other physicians and spreading information about early detection of lung cancer. He also co-founded the Lung India Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on rural lung health.
Tiffany Mondell - Co-producer, Stabile Productions
Tiffany Mondell
Age: 39
First Job: Hostess at an Italian restaurant
Tiffany Mondell says that growing up in show business was her “entertainment college.” Mondell inherited her love of entertainment from her parents Angela and Matt Stabile, the co-producers and directors of Stabile Productions.
As a co-producer and manager, Mondell has made significant contributions to some of the longest-running shows on the Strip including X Burlesque, X Country and Piff the Magic Dragon. Mondell has an eye for talent and continues to grow the brand.
Michael Naft - Clark County Commissioner
Michael Naft
Age: 36
First Job: Runner for a law firm
Michael Naft chose a career in public service to improve the community. As County Commissioner, Naft is in a unique position to have hands-on participation in a wide variety of industries. Day to day, he is involved in healthcare, public safety, transportation, social and family services, and travel and tourism.
Andrew Pacheco - Nightlife professional
Andrew Pacheco
Age: 37
First Job: Server
“Don’t let anyone outwork you” is the best advice Andrew Pacheco has ever received, and that mentality has led him throughout his career. Beginning as a lunch server, he steadily rose through positions before entering the nightlife arena and becoming one of the highest-revenue-producing VIP hosts in Las Vegas. It was this dedication, hard work and remarkable standard for high-end customer service that propelled him throughout his career.
Ramya Pulipati - Senior Director, Global Product Management, International Game Technology
Ramya Pulipati
Age: 39
First Job: Management trainee
Ramya Pulipati fell in love with casino gaming systems early in her career. She started out as a software engineer, and 17 years later, she continues to use her creative problem-solving skills to improve gaming technology and inspire her team. These days, she gets to work with the data and numbers with which she was so fascinated in the beginning, while participating in the larger vision of company-wide goals and strategy.
Kirk Reed - Marketing Director, Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas & Co-Founder, We the Beat
Kirk Reed
Age: 32
First Job: Busboy
Marketing director at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas and co-founder of We the Beat, Kirk Reed is helping build the music industry in Las Vegas, which to him is nothing short of a dream come true. Reed realized in high school that music would be his life’s mission and has been working in, or adjacent to, the scene ever since.
Domenica Richards - Vice President, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Domenica Richards
Age: 33
First Job: Abercrombie & Fitch
Domenica Richards is one of the co-founding advisors and vice president of J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s first Las Vegas office. She has had an interest in financial literacy from a young age and began investing young. After starting a finance blog and writing industry articles for Forbes, she was recruited into the private banking and financial services industry, where she has been for nearly a decade.
Cindy Rivelli - Senior Associate Vice President, Development and Principal Gifts, UNLV Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement
Cindy Rivelli
Age: 39
First Job: Front office coordinator
Cindy Rivelli is a seasoned fundraiser and manager who found her calling while studying and working abroad. After graduating from the University of Oregon, she taught English in Lille, France, before moving on to pursue her master’s degree in international relations at King’s College London. While there, Rivelli stumbled into fundraising after taking a job at UNICEF UK.
Scott Sellers - Vice President and Regional Field Sales Manager – Nevada/Northern LA, City National Bank
Scott Sellers
Age: 38
First Job: Construction worker
Scott Sellers wears many hats at City National Bank. He drives sales initiatives, coaches colleagues and assists with consumer and commercial deals. As the vice president and regional field sales manager, Sellers spends a lot of time traveling between Las Vegas and LA, building connections with clients and peers alike. Because of these relationships, Sellers can use his leadership and creativity to customize sales approaches for his teammates based on their strengths and weaknesses.
Caitlin Shea - Vice President of Development, Discovery Children's Museum
Caitlin Shea
Age: 36
First Job: Cashier at Joann Fabrics
Caitlin Shea has had a passion for service from a young age, and she has followed that lead throughout her career, working in nonprofits for the past 14 years. Her thoughtful approach to fundraising has yielded incredible results. In 2018, Shea’s first year at Discovery Children’s Museum, contribution revenue increased from 30% to nearly 70% in one fiscal year. Since then, she has continued to push forward and contribute to the organization’s growth.
Suzanne Steelman Taylor - Vice President of Strategy, Steelman Partners
Suzanne Steelman Taylor
Age: 36
First Job: Restaurant hostess
Growing up, Suzanne Steelman Taylor remembers traveling the world with her father to visit famous architectural buildings. Seeing the world through his interests shaped her own, and as a mother, Steelman now looks forward to sharing her interests and adventures with her son.
Jacob Tiranno - Director of Programming, VRLU
Jacob Tiranno
Age: 31
First Job: Hollywood Video
It was a leap of faith that landed Jacob Tiranno in the world of virtual reality and in his role as Director of Programming at VRLU. With a history in marketing and video production, Tiranno had little experience in virtual reality, but he jumped in headfirst and never looked back.
Morgan Waldron - Director of Marketing and Communications, Goodwill of Southern Nevada
Morgan Waldron
Age: 38
First Job: Line production in a small machine shop
As the director of marketing at Goodwill Southern Nevada, Morgan Waldron finds fulfillment in providing service and resources to the community. After studying finance in college, Waldron found her superpower in a marketing class while learning about moving large audiences to take specific action. She’s still inspired and challenged by the opportunity to motivate communities through communication.
Sean Walker - President, The Taffer Companies
Sean Walker
Age: 34
First Job: Augusta National
“A cocktail requires the perfect ratio of three parts: spirits, sweetness, and sourness,” Sean Walker said. “It’s called the golden ratio. I feel a leader also requires the perfect ratio of three parts: authenticity (spirits), ability to empathize (sweetness) and just the right amount of adaptability (sourness). I work hard every day to find that golden ratio within business, personally and in my community.”
Amalie Zinsser - Director of Community and Belonging, UnCommons
Amalie Zinsser
Age: 34
First Job: Waitress at Mustang Sally’s
Driven by purpose and human experience, Amalie Zinsser firmly believes that it takes a village. Her role at UnCommons is to foster an environment that instills a sense of belonging and encourages meaningful community connections—something about which Zinsser is personally passionate.