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10A WOMEN TO WATCH Heather Valera T Marketing Director | Galleria at Sunset here are plenty of people out there saying that the neigh- borhood mall is dead. Photos Zarnaz 'Zee' Zandi Director of Nightclub Entertainment Wynn Las Vegas her priorities for 2012. "I'm the mom of an 11-year-old boy, Dimitri, so I my number-one priority is defi nitely being the best parent I can be for him," she says. "That's defi nitely the most important. With his sports and his aca- demics, his schedule is very busy. I also want to con- tinue being a great friend and a daughter as well, because I defi nitely believe that to be happy at work you have to be happy within yourself." Having brought her passion for electronic music from Seattle in 1994, Zandi—dubbed the "Queen of House" — ascended quickly from cocktail waitress to bartender and VIP host to booking DJs for some of Las Vegas top nightlife venues, including XS and Tryst at Wynn Las Vegas. She has managed to put together a roster of talent for the nightlife venues' 2012 residencies that is nearly unimaginable for many in the industry. Also high on Zandi's list of things to accomplish in 2012 is getting more involved with her commu- nity. "One of my girlfriends is part of the Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation. In the past I've gone to events with her and I defi nitely want to get to be more involved with that, as well." The Vegas nightlife scene will continue to evolve in the months ahead, Zandi predicts, "especially with electronic music, which is what I specialize in. I defi nitely think that Las Vegas is one of the big- gest nightlife destinations in the world at this point. You can fi nd some of the best international DJs here seven nights a week in this city." Another of Zandi's missions for the year ahead, she explains, will be "taking the artists that we have right now and really having them cross over within the city so that people realize these DJs aren't just people who come play music, but that they're art- ists. They make amazing music, they produce their music. We want to educate the community about this music, and how it effects everybody in the city." —Howard Riell t's worth noting that despite her position near the epicenter of Las Vegas' nightlife scene, Zarnaz 'Zee' Zandi mentions family fi rst among of vacant large boxes and boarded- up once-thriving sites have been the norm in the media for the past few years. But Heather Valera, marketing director for Galleria at Sunset in Henderson, refuses to see her indus- try that way. Change is happening. And you can either fi ght it or work with it. She has excelled in the lat- ter, helping to keep occupancy at or above 85 percent during the reces- sion at Henderson's only indoor mall. The key for Valera has been to reinvent space and think of it beyond simply dollars and cents per square foot. Today, the mall has a library branch, and exhibits from the Hen- derson Space and Science Center. It hosts more than 100 community and group events a year, bringing people out of their homes to attractions while adding needed foot traffi c for mall merchants. "People still want to go out and touch, taste and feel something. That's very human. That's not going to go away," Valera said. "But now you have to have vision and be com- munity minded." For her efforts over the past few years, she won the International Council of Shopping Centers MAXI Award, one of the highest distinc- tions in the industry. Valera is also a volunteer on UNLV's Alumni Association board of directors. The marketing pro heads the association's membership and marketing committee and has brought great results to the group's social media efforts. The associa- tion's Facebook fan-base has grown by 400 percent in the past two years and marketing costs overall have decreased by $30,000 annually sim- ply by using more electronic com- munication instead of mailers. The alumni association will also be one of the fi rst in the nation to unveil a phone app for renewing member- ships and accessing membership perks. "It's certainly been a labor of love. That higher education experience was so impressionable and valuable. I always wanted, as an alum, to give back," she said. For 2012, Valera's goals are to keep an eye out for more community partnerships that hopefully translate into win-wins for the mall and area businesses or non-profi ts. "To me this shopping center lives and breathes and my goal is to weave it into the fabric of the lives of the residents of Henderson," she added. —Brian Sodoma Stacey Wedding N Founder, CEO | Professionals in Philanthropy ative Nevadan Stacey Wedding harbors an inherent spirit of compassion and altruism, and has been involved in fundraising and volunteerism since age 5. "When I was 2, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and as a result my par- ents became very active with the Juve- nile Diabetes Research Foundation," said Wedding, who served as a poster child for the organization. "As a result, giving back, philanthropy and volun- teerism became a very big part of my life." After attending UNLV and earning a degree in communications, Wedding worked at Nevada Power Co. then took a position at a small public relations fi rm. After a seven-year stint with the Nevada Community Foundation, she still felt compelled to further challenge herself. So in 2006, Wedding launched Pro- fessionals in Philanthropy, which part- ners with nonprofi ts and charitable organizations to help strengthen their ability to make meaningful changes in the communities they serve. PIP has two components, a Strategic Philanthropy Division and a Nonprofi t Division, and is a one-stop-shop that serves both ends of the giving equation: those who give of their fi nancial resources and those who receive these gifts. "This year I am really looking to put greater emphasis on the Strategic Phi- lanthropy Division," said Wedding, who donates 10 percent of PIP's net income to charitable causes and personally vol- unteered more than 1,200 hours of her time in 2011. "Given the economy, the Nonprofi t Division has done surprising- ly well, but the Strategic Philanthropy Division is kind of status quo. We have some plans for new services and offer- ings, such as intergenerational philan- thropy, where we really look at getting the next generation of youth involved in giving back." This year Wedding is also exploring expansion opportunities into neighbor- ing states including Utah, Arizona and Idaho, and she also plans to maintain her ongoing commitment to the non- profi t NevadaGIVES. As a board mem- ber and past president of the organi- zation, Wedding was instrumental in coordinating the Big Give, Nevada's fi rst online giving day, which took place last Nov. 17 and raised some $413,000 for the more than 400 charities. "One of my goals in 2012 is taking what we learned in 2011 and making the Big Give even bigger and better," she said, adding that philanthropy is in her blood. "My whole world—my free time and even my income—is all about giv- ing back." —Danielle Birkin