ML - Vegas Magazine

Vegas - 2015 - Issue 7 - November - Natalie Dormer

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 95 PAULA LAWRENCE CREATING A NETWORK FOR WOMEN Paula Lawrence's career stemmed from an unlikely source: "I ran a bodyguard company," she explains, "and the ones who were the most hirable were those who had the most social skills." With that in mind, Lawrence founded Keynote Academy, a social protocol program she now shares with hospitality groups, retail- ers, and hotel properties—as well as the women of Dress for Success Southern Nevada, where she has served as executive director for the past four years. "The resources we provide are something you'd do for a family member or friend," Lawrence says of the organiza- tion, which supplies interview attire, career counseling, and networking opportunities to job- seeking women. "It's extremely rewarding to know that I get to be there when a woman looks in the mirror for the fi rst time and feels great." dressforsuccesssouthernnevada.org ON PAULA LAWRENCE: Dress, Balenciaga ($2,225). Clutch, Stella McCartney ($3,800). Barneys New York, Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian and Palazzo, 702-629-4200; barneys.com. Bracelet and heels, Lawrence's own MAURICIA BACA CHAMPIONING VEGAS'S OUTDOOR WONDERS A Nevada transplant by way of New York City, Mauricia Baca was pleasantly surprised by the sheer size of public lands in the Silver State upon moving here 10 years ago. "There are so many incredible places in this valley—there's Red Rock and Mount Charleston—but very few people I talked to realized the variety of trails and parks available," Baca says. Her passion for Southern Nevada's great outdoors is now the driving force behind her work as executive director of the Outside Las Vegas Foundation, an organization dedicated to protecting the area's thousands of miles of parks, trails, and open spaces through interactive fi eld trips, educational trainings, and volunteer-based ini- tiatives like the county's Adopt-a-Trail program. "The best thing we can do for our environment," she says, "is to share the story that Las Vegas and Southern Nevada are absolutely wonderful places to live and to visit." outsidelasvegas.org ON MAURICIA BACA: Dress, Valentino ($6,990). Barneys New York, Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian and Palazzo, 702-629-4200; barneys.com. Heels, Baca's own NANCY HOUSSELS BUILDING A HOME FOR THE ARTS For Nancy Houssels, the road that led to the founding of what is now the Nevada Ballet Theatre (NBT) included stops from Hollywood to Europe, where she toured extensively before landing in Vegas to appear in Tropicana's Folies Bergère. Immersed in the city's nascent performing arts community, and working with fellow dancer Vassili Sulich, she con- ceived of the plan for the dance theater in 1972. "About 15 of us met in my living room," she recalls, "and we each put up $1,000." Thanks in large part to Houssels, who assisted with the development of a ballet training facility in Summerlin and the opening of the Smith Center in 2012, both the organization and its budget have expanded dramatically since. "Continuing to educate is so important," she adds, "and so is bringing in the fi nest talent and productions we can fi nd." nevadaballet.org V ON NANCY HOUSSELS: All Houssels's own "CONTINUING TO EDUCATE IS SO IMPORTANT. " —NANCY HOUSSELS

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