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4A WOMEN TO WATCH Alison Gramenos E Creative Director | Silverton Casino Resort ven as a 'tween-age girl, Alison Gramenos had a tangible grasp on her professional ambitions. "I knew at a pretty young age that I Dawn Gibbons Director of Community Affairs Intermountain West Communications T he state's former fi rst lady took on her share of heavy topics like autism and methamphetamine use in her time at the Governor's mansion and as a legislator. Today, she's showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to addressing pressing issues. In her role as the director of community affairs at Intermountain West Communications (which has 12 NBC and one Fox affi liate in the state), Gibbons, through public service announcements and other means, gets the word out to the community about those in need and the resources in place to help the many struggling Las Vegans. She's not shy about using infl u- ence and her many personal friends and connections to do the right thing for a person or group in crisis. "I'm able to help a lot of charities … help them to get opportunities to the press, try to be their advocate," she said. "I'll be honest. Not a day goes by where I don't get a call from someone that needs help. … I do have the ability to put the right resources and the right people together to make our families whole in Nevada." This year, Gibbons is chairwoman for the Ameri- can Heart Association's Go for Red campaign, which brings awareness to heart disease among women. She is on the advisory board of Easter Seals, Positively Kids and Goodwill. She also is involved with the All Star Kids program, where Intermountain West coordinates youth internships and tours for at-risk youth in its tele- vision studios. "We want to expose as many children and students to the media because that's the most important voice the public has. You can hear what the politicians tell you, but people rely on the media for the truth," she added. Gibbons was also a successful businesswoman in Reno, owning two wedding chapels and limousine busi- nesses, in addition to her successful political career. However, she doesn't see herself returning to politics or the business world anytime soon. "I love what I'm doing right now," she added. "In the media, there are a lot of people who are in a position where they can help. … These problems aren't going to go away. It's important for us to get these stories out, to point people in a direction for help." —Brian Sodoma wanted to be an interior designer," said Gramenos, a native of Chicago who moved to Las Vegas to attend UNLV. "I used to go to my girlfriend's house, and we would always clean and orga- nize and rearrange and her room. We ripped up the carpet and refi nished the hardwood fl oors and painted the walls peach when we were 11. It's just some- thing I've always had a passion for." Having launched her career as the youngest designer at Christopher Homes, she went on to found Alison Victoria Interiors—with offi ces in Chicago and Las Vegas—where she worked on projects such as Chicago's Trump Tower. Then, in 2008, she received a call from Silverton president Craig Cavileer, who tasked her with taking on the property's $160 million expansion. After quickly proving her aptitude, Gramenos was hired as Silverton's cre- ative director, where she continues to develop and enhance the resort's over- all brand and feel. While the expansion process is still under way, Gramenos has numerous other objectives for the property this year. "My goals for the Silverton are to continue building on our database and to focus heavily on inactive players with trigger-based marketing," said Grame- nos, who is also putting her knack for event planning to practical use, having spearheaded successful fundraising events at the Silverton such as "Musta- chio Bashio," which brought awareness to prostate cancer, and "One Drunk Puppy," which benefi ted the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "This year I'm also looking to form relationships with locals companies and foundations and create this sense of community with these quirky par- ties to raise money awareness and make sure I'm also giving back. I also want to make sure I'm building from within and focus on employee reten- tion. I want employees to want to stay here, and the only way I can do that is by listening to them." Besides her responsibilities at Sil- verton, Gramenos (who works profes- sionally as Alison Victoria) is also the fi rst female host of the popular "Crash- ers" franchise on DIY Network, having been tapped as the star of "Kitchen Crashers," whereby she surprises hom- eowners in Las Vegas and Chicago with extravagant kitchen makeovers completed in just three days. —Danielle Birkin Terri Janison Regional Director Gov. Sandoval's Office of Economic Development Janison. "If we do our jobs right then, hopefully, we're going to be able to move the state into a place where there are more jobs created … so that we can take the whole state forward on a positive note." Named to her post by Gov. San- "I doval in October 2011, Janison is responsible for outreach, busi- ness relationships and coordina- tion with education and workforce development. She had formerly been elected to the Clark County School Board, where she served from 2005 to 2010, the last two as president. In that role, she was the liaison for the Bond Oversight Committee, Debt Management and Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition. During her years with the school board, Jani- 'm not sure it's actually me to watch, but rather what we're doing," insists Terri son helped to navigate the district through record school construc- tion, unprecedented budget cuts and the selection of two superin- tendents. What occupies long-time child advocate Janison as 2012 begins is building her staff. "We're look- ing statewide for a lot of folks— marketing, branding, messaging people. A lot of them are going to be in Las Vegas and Clark County." Their mission is to help businesses statewide grow and expand, "which obviously would mean new jobs. It's not always about bringing in new businesses, but also working with those that already here to see that they stay stable and can increase in their capacities." The momentum is already build- ing, Janison has found. "I think we've got some real potential as we move through. It might not be as fast as we want it, and it might not be as fast as everyone who lives here wants it. But I do believe you're going to see some increases, and I have to tell you it's been fas- cinating even in these fi rst three months. I get at least a phone call a day from site selectors looking for information about what Nevada can offer." Can success, then, be far behind? "We'll keep our fi ngers crossed on that," she concludes. —Howard Riell