Oral history interview with Erica Mosca conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on February 3, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Mosca reflects on her life journey from a low-income Asian American to a current serving Nevada State Assemblywoman. She recalls that most of her childhood was in Palm Springs, California where she enjoyed a diverse community of students within her education system. It was not until she moved to Navato, California where she first experienced the economic and resource gap between economically diverse areas. Mosca went on to be involved in a college readiness program and received a scholarship to Boston University. After college, Mosca went on to work for Teach for America where she was stationed on the east side of Las Vegas at Goldfarb Elementary School where she grew a passion for leadership. She eventually returned to school and graduated from Harvard University, returning to Las Vegas to start her nonprofit "Leaders in Training." Mosca hopes to inspire change in her communities by enacting legislation and initiatives targeted towards the communities she was and continutes to be a part of.

always thought I'd be more urban. I would live in a downtown city. I wouldn't have a car. I would walk around. I would work on these big skyscrapers.” At one point in his life, architect Craig Galati dreamt of designing large buildings in some of the nation’s biggest cities. Instead, he was drawn back to his childhood home of Las Vegas, where he created projects meant to preserve the city’s integrity, such as the Grant Sawyer State Office Building and the first building at the College of Southern Nevada Charleston Campus. He speaks to his work in preservation at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve and in welcoming visitors to Mount Charleston with his Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway design. In this interview, Galati talks about his parents’ decision to move from Ohio to Nevada and what it was like growing up in Las Vegas. He recalls his first teenage jobs in the Las Vegas of his youth and his studies in architecture at the University of Idaho. He recounts the dilemma of struggling to find architecture work he enjoyed and how that vision drew him back to Vegas. He describes various projects in his portfolio from his early years to the present. He speaks highly of his partnership with Ray Lucchesi and the basis for their vision: “We wanted to be a place that everybody liked to work for. Buildings were just tools to do something grander. They weren't an object. We had a philosophy that was not object based, it was people based.”

Frankie Perez (1986- ) is an individual that constantly found himself navigating two worlds, whether it was military versus civilian; female versus male; or being Latinx in the United States. As a result of this navigation, Perez has a unique perspective on our ever more complicated world that not many individuals possess. Perez served in the military during the Do Not Ask, Do Not Tell policy which made it difficult for someone dealing with gender identity, to seek out the proper support they need. Despite the policy, and other policies that were put in place afterwards to inhibit the transgender community in the military, Perez began his transition while still serving his country. In direct contradiction of popular opinion, Perez discovered that the military easily accommodated his transition. Outside of the military Perez is an active voice in the LGBTQ community. As a member of the LGBTQ, Latinx, and military community, Perez has a unique perspective that he uses to fight for both LGBTQ and Latinx rights. Currently, Perez is finishing his degree in gender and sexuality studies at UNLV. He hopes to use his education to help people have the difficult discussions and improve conditions for his communities.