Jan Jones Blackhurst is a long-time political and business leader who spent most of the 1990s as the first woman mayor of Las Vegas – one of the most popular mayors in the city’s history. She then joined Caesars Entertainment, where she and her teams developed the industry’s first responsible gaming practices, advanced environmental stewardship, and advocated for important social issues.

Jan speaks extensively at many universities and helped establish the International Gaming Institution Center of Excellence at UNLV. After leading corporate social responsibility and public policy at Caesars for two decades, she joined the company’s board of directors in 2019 where she chairs the Corporate Social Responsibility committee. She also became chief executive in residence at the UNLV International Gaming Institute, where she was a popular faculty member and key player in the “Expanding the Leaderverse” initiative. She then became the executive director of the UNLV Black Fire Leadership Initiative in January 2021. In May 2022, Jan was appointed to the board of directors of Esports Entertainment Group, a full stack esports and online gaming company, and in March 2023, she joined the Hospitality Group of World Choice Investments.

Committed to education, Jan served as chairwoman for the Public Education Foundation. She has also earned numerous awards and accolades while serving on several boards, including the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, Vegas Chamber, and the Nevada Resort Association. In 2014, she was one of the first women to be inducted into the American Gaming Association (AGA) Gaming Hall of Fame.

Jones Blackhurst holds a bachelor's degree in English from Stanford University.