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COVER STORY EDDIE ESCOBEDO JR. , 51 - EL MUNDO NEWSPAPER itself, Escobedo Jr. said. Eddie Escobedo Sr. was well known in the Las Vegas Hispanic community for his civic involvement, good nature and characteristic Homburg-style hat. For 30 years, he ran El Mundo, Las Vegas' Spani sh-language newspaper. When he died at the end of 2010, his son was left to take over the job. The smoothly Escobedo Jr. LEILA NAVIDI TONY ALAMO, 48 - DOCTOR, GAMING COMMISSIONER Tony Alamo was born in Reno to Cuban parents and, except for a few years away at school, has spent his entire life in the Silver State. He has shaped some of Nevada's most visible industries. Alamo served on the Nevada State Athletic Commission for six years and was recently reappointed to the Nevada State Gaming Commission by Gov. Brian Sandoval for a second four-year term. During his tenure on the Gaming Commission, members for the first time tackled the regulation of Internet poker in anticipation of the federal allowance of interstate Internet gambling. While on the Athletic Commission, Alamo was part of the 2002 decision to deny a boxing license to Mike Tyson. Alamo also coauthored a paper in the Journal of Neurotrauma about traumatic brain injury in unarmed combatants. As a physician, Alamo has served as the chief of staff of two hospitals: Sunrise Hospital and Children's Medical Center, the largest hospital in Nevada, from 2002 to 2004 and St. Rose Hospitals-San Martin campus from 2006 to 2009. He also has worked as the tactical physician for the SWAT bureau of Metro Police for 14 years. He is currently medical director of the Alamo Medical Clinic in Henderson and specializes in internal medicine. FELICIA ORTIZ, 33 - CLUSTER CONSTRUCTION CONSULTING, LLC Felicia Ortiz grew up in Las Vegas, N.M. and moved to Las Vegas, Nev., in 2001. Ten years later, she started her own company with partner Mark Bodner. Cluster Construction Consulting and assesses revamps c on s t r u c t i on businesses' systems. At software first, Ortiz only the two partners ran the operation. Now, they have nine employees. Ortiz said she has had to battle many stereotypes while working to gain new clients. "I'm young and a girl, and you are not always taken seriously in the industry," me, being involved in ALPFA is my way of giving back." she said. 16 Today, Garcia runs the Investment Counsel Company, which Barron's named the top investment firm in | 4 JUNE 2012 | Ortiz also serves as president of the local chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships and services to Latino in business, finance and related fields. She has started a scholarship through the association for college-bound Las Vegas students. "I don't see a lot of young Latinos in our industry, in technology or construction, and I hope I'm creating a path for others," Ortiz said. "I've had a really good mentor, who is now my business partner. I also got lucky in high school and had great mentors who helped me see all that was out there, and because of that I set higher goals for myself. For Eddie Escobedo transition went because Jr. had been by his father's side almost constantly as the paper grew since its inception in 1980. When El Mundo started, it filled the niche left by La Verdad, a Spanish- language publication that failed. For the next 16 years, El Mundo had the market to its website, The paper, which recently relaunched is now a vital source of information for the Spanish-speaking community and sponsors local soccer leagues, ballet folklorico groups and other organizations. Escobedo Jr. has served as president of the National Association of Hispanic Publications, on the Las Vegas zoning board and on the Latin Chamber of Commerce board of directors. "It's a continuation of what my dad actually started, but it's nothing new to me because I was always with him," Escobedo Jr. said. "We'll always have the goal to be part of the community, represent the community. the community and help It's not just about participation, but getting involved and engagement." TONY SANCHEZ , 48 - NV ENERGY Tony Sanchez's title at NV Energy, Senior Vice President for Government and Community Strategy, doesn't do justice to Las all the respect roles he plays for the utility. The Vegas native who graduated from Valley School High oversees Sanchez local and regulatory matters, the environmental state and safety division, political issues, corporate communications and all of the company's philanthropic efforts. With guidance from CEO Michael Yackira, Sanchez worked with UNLV to set up a minor in renewable energy with a focus on solar power. A similar program was set up at UNR for geothermal energy. Sanchez employees encourages NV Energy's to be active in their RANDY GARCIA, 58 - THE INVESTMENT COUNSEL COMPANY Nevada in 2010 and 2011. Randy Garcia was in his first year of law school on a Fulbright scholarship when he realized he didn't want practice law for the rest of his life. to "In this field, I felt the opportunities rested on my shoulders and it was a chance to create my own destiny," Garcia said. Now, Garcia tries to shape the destinies of young Nevadans with support for to education is special," said Sanchez, who is on the Executive Committee of the Clark County Public Education Foundation. "This is our future work force, and NV Energy needs educated employees, engineers, biologists, geologists. We even have an archeologist that works for us. We need people in finance, lawyers of course, political scientists. That's why we are so focused on education." college In May, NV Energy granted $1,000 scholarships to students. Sanchez has also previously served as chairman of at Nevada Partners, the Latin Chamber of Commerce and is a current board member a organization that conducts job training and youth programs. 95 Nevada communities, and last year the firm's 3,000 employees volunteer hours. "For me, completed 30,000 everything we do with