Valerie Wiener is an accomplished state senator, business owner, president and founding member of the Public Service Institute of Nevada and the Valerie Wiener Foundation. She was born October 30, 1948 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her service as senator for 16 years and her role as a public servant led her to become the first woman assistant majority leader of the state senate in Nevada. She graduated with a bachelor degree of Journalism at the University of Missouri/Columbia within the School of Journalism earning a Masters of Arts in Broadcast Journalism and a Master of Arts in Literature at the University of Illinois in Springfield while attending law school at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento in the 1970s. Her generosity is also seen through scholarships and activities at the Louis Wiener Jr. Elementary School. In addition, Valerie is a professional speaker, consultant, and internationally published author. She is the recipients of many awards, such as: ?Women of Achievement Award? in Media; ?Healthy Schools Heroes?; ?Public Affairs Champion Award?; ?Legislator of the Year?, and the Nevada Secretary of State?s recipient of the ?Jean Ford Participatory Democracy Award.? She stays active through her commitment to the Nevada Senior Olympics for both Fitness and Weightlifting earning 17 gold medals from 1998 to 2007. In this interview, Wiener discusses her childhood and being raised in Las Vegas in the 1950s as well as the academic path that led her career into politics. She shares memorable insight into the life of her father, Louis Isaac Wiener, Jr., an accomplished attorney and business man who represented the infamous Benjamin ?Bugsy? Siegel during the construction and opening of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in 1946. Throughout Wiener?s interview, she highlights the traditions of the small, but growing Las Vegas Jewish population in the 1960s. Among the people she recalls most vividly is her grandmother Kitty Wiener. Wiener also discusses her community service work and her life mantra of giving.

Maggie Arias-Petrel is a successful businessperson and philanthropist. Born in Quito, Ecuador in 1966, Maggie grew up during the Space Age, meeting astronauts through her father’s work as a NASA engineer. Her mother worked as a teacher in an all-girls school. When she was a teenager, Maggie visited her aunt in California and decided to stay in the U.S. She eventually returned to Ecuador and helped her mother run her toy store business, helping her manage multiple locations. Her entrepreneurship flourished as she helped the family business grow into a successful enterprise. Despite the success in her home country, Maggie always dreamed of coming back and living in the U.S. When her family returned, they settled in Las Vegas in 1991. Through her entrepreneurship, Maggie helped many doctors set up their practices, and began her own consulting business, Global Professional Consulting. Today, her expertise includes over 20 years of medical practice management, marketing and advertising for medical and legal, business development and consulting experience. Maggie is also the Chairwoman of the Executive Board of Directors of the Latin Chamber of Commerce of Nevada. She is responsible for changing the direction of the Chamber and helping it become what it is today. She is also the director of the Señoras of Excellence, a philanthropic organization that focuses on raising funds to help Latino students attend college. They have awarded thousands of dollars in scholarship funds to students across the Las Vegas Valley. Because of her work in the medical field, Maggie understands the importance of affordable health care and accessibility. During the Obama Administration, she was part of Senator Harry Reid’s promotion team for the Affordable Health Care Act. She also worked with Governor Jim Gibbons doing international research work in Mexico, and was invited to the White House for the Cinco de Mayo celebration through the U.S. Hispanic Chamber and the Latino Coalition. Maggie is also responsible for the partnership between the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, one of the most prestigious and accomplished institutions of higher education in Mexico, St. Rose Dominican Hospitals, and the Nevada System of Higher Education to develop nursing programs with direct collaboration from UAG to increase the number of bilingual-bicultural medical professionals in Nevada. She is the director for the Workforce Connections of Nevada Board and the Dignity HealthCare - St. Rose Dominican Hospital Board of Directors. Maggie has also received numerous accolades and awards such as the Community Service Award from the Latin Chamber of Commerce, Señoras of Excellence Award given to woman who excel in their professions, the Excellence in Advocacy Award by The Colors of Lupus Foundation, and the “Woman in Business” Award by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. In 2011, she was named one of the ten most influential Hispanics in the city by the Las Vegas Business Press. She is also one of the community leaders featured in the Las Vegas Latino Leaders Inaugural Edition Book. Maggie attended Los Angeles Mission College and Central University of Ecuador. She lives in Green Valley with her two sons.