Meet the Steering Committee

Audra Hamernik is an affordable housing industry leader with over 30 years of experience spanning real estate, finance, social impact investing, and public service. As President and CEO of Nevada HAND since 2019, Audra leads the state’s largest non-profit developer, builder, and manager of affordable housing, with over $1B in assets including 38 multi-family communities serving more than 8,300 low-income residents.

Audra’s service leadership roles include the Board of the Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care, the CEO Exchange, the National Association of Homebuilders Affordable Housing Steering Committee, the Nevada Advisory Council on Federal Assistance, and the NeighborWorks Capital Loan Committee. A sought-after expert on affordable housing policy, Audra has testified before U.S. Congress and regularly contributes insights at national and regional conferences.

Blake Pang is the President & CEO of United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra (UWNNS) as well as an elected member of the United Way Worldwide (UWW) Network Advisory Council (NAC). He has spent more than 20 years in the nonprofit sector serving in the states of Hawaii, Ohio, Washington, Oregon and Nevada. He is married to an Educator and has two daughters.

During his career, Blake was instrumental in launching Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library across the states of Washington and Oregon. He has also led efforts to support and raise-up other nonprofits across the nation which have helped many of his partners access new resources and survive during challenging times like those we experience Today. In 2025, Blake was recognized as a “Community Icon” by the Nevada State Legislature Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Committee.

Robert M. (Bob) Brown is the President and CEO of Opportunity Village, Nevada’s largest organization providing employment, training, and other essential services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He also oversees Betty’s Village, the state’s largest residential community supporting individuals with disabilities. Bob is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

Bob is the former Publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and has previously served as Board Chairman of the Vegas Chamber. He served on the National Council on Disability, appointed to the position by Congress. He is currently the President of Together for Choice, a national nonprofit dedicated to preserving employment and residential choices for people with disabilities. Bob has also served on the Boards of Directors for Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada and The Public Education Foundation. In addition, Governor Brian Sandoval appointed him to Nevada’s 150th Anniversary Committee. Bob is also proud to serve as Vice President on the National Council of SourceAmerica Employers Executive Committee.

Caroline is a leadership coach, consultant, and founder of Leadership Guide. She works with small and mid-size organizations, both nonprofit and for-profit, most often alongside CEOs, owners, and their leadership teams. Her clients span community foundations, human services organizations, and family-owned businesses. She serves as a consultant to Nevada Community Foundation, supporting organizational strategy, leadership, and community impact initiatives, and represents the Foundation on the Nevada Nonprofits Steering Committee. In her work, she helps organizations create the structure that allows good people and good leadership to thrive.

Before becoming a consultant and coach, Caroline spent more than two decades as a nonprofit and community leader, including serving as President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. During her tenure, she led significant fundraising growth and secured 7,000 square feet of donated space to create The Wishing Place. Earlier in her career, she led Community and Government Affairs for Cash America, Inc., building partnerships between corporate and community leaders. She holds an MBA and an undergraduate degree in marketing.

Erin Engelstad serves as Trustee and Chief Granting Officer of the Engelstad Foundation, where she helps the foundation’s grantmaking and community partnerships. A Nevada native and third-generation leader of the foundation, Erin works alongside her family and team to build on the legacy of her grandparents, Betty and Ralph, while continuing to evolve the foundation’s approach to philanthropy.

In her role, Erin focuses on strengthening Nevada’s nonprofit sector through collaboration, capacity building, leadership development, and cross-sector partnerships. She is particularly interested in how funders can work more closely with nonprofit and community leaders, reduce duplication and support solutions that create lasting value beyond a single grant or program. She is a graduate of UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and USC with a Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership and Management.

Jeff serves as the Founder and CEO of the Nevada Nonprofit Center. Over his career, he has successfully navigated Washington, D.C. bureaucracy to invest in nonprofit efforts focused on conservation and habitat restoration, agricultural education and research, and national service initiatives. During this time, Jeff has founded and built multiple successful nonprofits, developed and executed dynamic strategies with high-impact results, and led high-stakes negotiations resulting in historic conservation victories.

Maricela serves as the Director of Community Engagement at the Community Foundation of Northern Nevada, where she leads initiatives to connect local nonprofits, donors, and community members, fostering impact through philanthropy. With a background in nonprofit leadership and public service, Maricela has spent the last decade building partnerships, leading outreach initiatives, and advocating for underrepresented communities worldwide. Known for her heart-forward leadership and collaborative spirit, Maricela continues to champion spaces where culture, community, and compassion intersect.

She is a proud first-generation Mexican-American and University of Nevada, Reno alumna with a deep-rooted passion for building strong, resilient communities in Northern Nevada. She currently serves on the boards of the Nevada Latino Alumni Chapter and the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Sierra Chapter. Maricela also holds a Masters in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Arizona State University.

Miles Dickson is CEO of Nevada GrantLab, a nonprofit he founded in 2020 with a mission to support nonprofits and their government partners to successfully access and administer federal grants that benefit Nevadans and strengthen their organizations. Prior to GrantLab, Miles worked as a consultant supporting local governments and nonprofit organizations for more than a decade, and also briefly served as Chief of Staff in the Nevada State Treasurer’s Office.

A third-generation Las Vegan, Miles is deeply involved in the community, including serving on the Boards of Directors of Opportunity 180 and Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, the Community Board of Jeremiah Program Las Vegas, and previously on the advisory boards of Guinn Center for Policy Priorities, Teach for America Las Vegas Valley, and William S. Boyd School of Law. He is also a proud tribal member of Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Miles holds a Juris Doctorate from the Boyd School of Law and bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs, both at UNLV, and is a graduate of UCLA Anderson School of Management’s Executive Program.

Sam serves as the President & CEO of United Way of Southern Nevada. Under his leadership, the organization continues to thrive, with Sam at the forefront of driving community engagement and innovative solutions to address Southern Nevada’s most pressing needs. His passion for service, community, and building a strong, thriving United Way remains at the heart of his work.

Sam’s leadership is instrumental in increasing visibility and public engagement with United Way. He plays a key role in fostering partnerships with local businesses and civic leaders, ensuring that UWSN’s mission to address education, workforce development, and crisis support was amplified across the region. His guidance is essential to organizing high-impact initiatives, including large-scale community drives and fundraising events that brought significant resources back into Southern Nevada.

With over 30 years of experience, Sam brings a wealth of expertise in operations, financial management, and non-profit management across diverse industries. His professional journey consists of leadership roles in both the non-profit and financial sectors.