One by one, they entered a UNLV auditorium, escaping the chilly December air. They had come to discuss the mental health of Southern Nevada’s children.

Most stories that spotlight the foster care system are focused on the heinous crimes that foster parents commit or on the imperfect system itself, but northwest Las Vegas resident Judy Tudor has a different story to share.

Just before her two children arrive home on a September evening, Colleen McKenna sinks into her couch, seemingly ready to relax in yoga pants. But the three-inch binder, stuffed to the gills, sitting on her lap belies the scene.

Ramona Denby-Brinson, a social work professor within the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs, became the first female researcher to win UNLV’s top annual research award: the Harry Reid Silver State Research Award. She was recognized for her work on social services, the foster system and children’s mental health.

Las Vegas, the city so lit up that some astronauts report its famous central strip is the brightest spot on earth, is trying to change course. The neon lights of its early years are being replaced by LED screens and the casinos and hotels are cutting their energy and water use.

Ramona Denby-Brinson is the 2015 recipient of the Harry Reid Silver State Research Award. She’s the first woman to receive that recognition.