Meet The TEAM
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senator Dina Neal
of the
A native Nevadan, Dina Neal was born in North Las Vegas, Nevada, and is a single mother of two children. All of her siblings including herself went to elementary, middle, and high school in Clark County.
As the daughter of former state Sen. Joe Neal, Dina Neal has been soaked in politics since birth. Her first trip to the Legislature came a year after she was born, when her dad, the first black person to serve in the state Senate, arrived for the first of his eight consecutive terms. She was raised mostly by her mother Estelle Neal, a dietitian, whom Dina lost in a long battle with breast cancer in 1997.
Dina’s parents were the bedrock of the moral values in which, she stands for today. Both of her parents believed that most battles worth fighting for are the fights, which are the toughest. Dina, at 15, started her first lesson of learning unrelenting commitment from her mother. Her mother had two battles with cancer, fighting each day to live the best life and to serve others. Her mother served St. James Catholic Church, maintained her own consulting business, and left a legacy of warmth, caring, and dedication to her friends and church. Her father did the same in his quest to serve the state with respect, integrity, honesty, and dignity.
Dina began her public service early in life. She spent her early days traveling to Carson City, to visit the legislature. She was always reading and analyzing even as a child. She walked her fathers’ district and put up campaign signs year after year. She took a special interest in reading the law and eventually went to law school.
When she left for college she continued her public service and leadership, she immediately became Opinion Editor on Southern A&M University newspaper for three years. She became president of Pre-Law Association, Political Science Association, Pi Sigma Alpha, plus reared her 6-month-old daughter, and made the Dean's List.
After her graduation, she left and enrolled in Southern University Law School, so as not to uproot her family. She worked actively on Social Justice and Environmental issues in Louisiana. She worked part-time while in law school and went to school full-time and raised her family.
After graduating from law school, she decided she wanted to teach, to help the children in Clark County. She spent years teaching English and being an Adjunct Professor at the College of Southern Nevada.
She got involved in local boards and community organizations, SNEC (Southern Nevada Economic Enterprise Board); Clark County Community Development Advisory Board; Assembly District Leader for 7; 2008 Democratic Caucus Chair for Precinct 4017; Clark County Democratic Party; NAACP Education Committee, Political Action, Legal Redress, and Economic Development.
Dina strongly believes in the success of working families; she is apart of that group, and she is determined to make sure that these families survive. She is a person who believes in people, who want to serve their best interests, not her own.
Champion cause
Associate Professor of Film
Brett Levner
Brett Levner is an award winning filmmaker and an Associate Professor of Film at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Brett received her BFA with honors in Film & TV Production from New York University and her MFA in Directing from Columbia University.
Ngai Pindell
International Gaming Institute Professor of Law
Professor Ngai Pindell teaches and writes in the areas of property law, wills and trusts, affordable housing, community development, and local government law. As Director of Gaming Programs at Boyd, he helped develop the law school's Master of Laws (LL.M.) program in Gaming Law and Regulation. He holds the International Gaming Institute Professorship and works closely with the International Gaming Institute and the International Center for Gaming Regulation on campus and community projects.
Frank Fritz
Senior Fellow & Adjunct Professor
Frank Fritz serves as a Senior Fellow and adjunct professor at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. He focuses on developing legal techniques to fight climate change and is the founder of the Climate and Sustainability Law Project at Boyd.
Olivé
Graduate Assistant
"Olivé is a Polynesian writer, digital content creator, and current MFA candidate in the Writing for Dramatic Media program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Through this program, she is determined to hone her craft and cultivate her storytelling ability, in all aspects of filmmaking, to become a more creative artist with a reach that goes beyond the borders of America."
Shahab Zargari
Social Media Consultant
Shahab Zargari is an award-winning filmmaker with a passion for art, photography, music, and creative advertising. He graduated in 2000 from the University of California at Irvine with a degree in Sociology, and a minor in Education.
He joined UNLV in November 2016 as the communications coordinator for the College of Fine Arts & Performing Arts Center. His job responsibilities include communications and social media management for the departments of art, dance, film, theatre, the School of Architecture, the School of Music, and the Performing Arts Center.
Sebastian Ross
Research Assistant
Sebastian Ross attends the William S. Boyd School of Law. He serves as Editor-in-Chief for the UNLV Gaming Law Journal. His past engagements include serving as president for the UNLV Black Law Students Association, and working as a Legislative Extern during the 81st Nevada Legislative Session. Ross researches and writes about environmental inequity relating to the historically African-American North Las Vegas neighborhood of Windsor Park. His experience includes working as a teaching assistant, and as a law clerk for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from the UNLV Hank Greenspun School of Journalism.
Candace Mays
Research Assistant
Candace Mays is a second year law student at UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law. She is the Dean's Appointee for the Just and Inclusive Law School Committee, is a Junior Editor on the Nevada Law Review Journal, and serves as members of both the Black Law Student Association and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. She was the recipient of the Audre Lorde Award for Outstanding Commitment to Social Justice, serves as a student attorney for the Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic and teaches Record Sealing Courses as a part of the Community Service Program at Boyd.