March 2, 2022
HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO
INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP
HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO | MARCH 2, 2022
Inclusive Leadership with Beth Ruffin
In today’s global world, the most important skill leaders need is inclusive leadership. Studies show that focusing on inclusion increase the bottom line, improve employee retention, and increase innovation in the workplace. Learn how to identify & mitigate bias, address microaggressions, and create a personal strategy to role-model inclusion to your teams.
So Long Stress, We’re Breaking Up with Robin Brockelsby
How are you at handling your stress load? According to the World Health Organization, not so well – because stress is now classified as the health epidemic of the 21st century. Together, we will discover how to improve your health by adapting daily strategies to change your perception and response to stress. We’ll learn crucial skills on how to better handle work and life pressures, beat back anxiety and discover why some stress can be good for us.
Special Lunch Session with Diana Bennett
Welcoming special guest Diana Bennett, Chairman of the Board & Co-Founder of Paragon Gaming, for an intimate lunch in Park Prime Steakhouse to share her personal story and tools for success.
-
It all started in my hometown of Abington, PA, where I had the great opportunity to attend school surrounded by people from all races, ethnicities, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic classes.
I consider myself fortunate to have friends that are so diverse and different from me. I then spent many years in Pittsburgh, PA after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh and eventually entered the field of insurance. Insurance was not a diverse industry at all. There were many times when I became the first Black woman to enter a room or a management position and far too many times, I was the only person in the room who looked like me. I spent much of my Corporate career begging for my value to be seen.
Much of my career was in account management, where I worked with large clients, ensuring they had everything they needed to be successful. I loved traveling across to different parts of the country to visit clients and build new relationships. I’ve always been that way – I’ve loved meeting new people and making new friends while providing out of box solutions to their problems.
5 years ago, I got the wonderful opportunity to build the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program for my employer, a Fortune 250 Company. It gave me the chance to do all the things I loved: work with people all over the country, teach others, and create. And I was focused on one of my core values: inclusion. I couldn’t believe that I got paid each day to teach people how to be inclusive. I got to talk about things like race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and more. I realized that for a lot of people, these topics can be quite uncomfortable. But I had a knack of making people comfortable with the comfortable.
So, I spent the next few years learning everything I could about DEI practice, theory, and education. In 2019, I left Corporate America, after 20 years to start my own consulting firm and I’ve written 2 books and created a podcast too!
BETH RUFFIN
GUEST SPEAKER
The Everyday Inclusionist
GUEST SPEAKER
ROBIN BROCKELSBY
-
As an entrepreneur, renowned speaker, leadership consultant and Founder of Embrace the PATH, Robin has owned and operated multiple businesses in Northern Nevada, including Creative Coverings - a Reno based company that is recognized as one of the nations’ leading special event linen rental & sales companies.
Robin is known as an accomplished motivator with a solid reputation for providing vision, business development, creating company cohesion and fostering an energetic business environment primed for growth. She has been a featured speaker at many national events and conferences (including: TEDx University of Nevada - 2 time TEDx Speaker, The National Association of Business Women, American Rental Association, University of Notre Dame, Catersource, The Association of Country Club Professionals, and The Special Event). Robin’s engagement within the community, combined with her desire to inspire, empower and support others, has helped countless individuals and companies attain their highest potential.
Founder of Embrace the Path /Health & Wellness Specialist
DIANA BENNETT
GUEST SPEAKER
-
As CEO and co-founder of Paragon Gaming, a developer and operator of gaming-based properties, Diana L. Bennett is a second-generation casino operator and one of the most effective and respected executives in the gaming industry today. She and her partner, Scott Menke, have created a company that developed, constructed, and now manages the River Cree Hotel and Resort on the River Cree Reserve outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This was the first-ever First Nations gaming property in Alberta. Paragon also owns the Edgewater Casino in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and the Eagle River Casino Travel Plaza in Whitecourt, Alberta.
After attending Arizona State University, Bennett's career started under the tutelage of her father, industry icon William Bennett. As an executive of Circus Circus Enterprises' leadership team, Bennett opened and operated multiple gaming operations that became landmark gaming properties, including the Luxor and Excalibur. She also led the merger of the executive staffs of the Edgewater Hotel and Casino and the Colorado Belle Hotel and Casino in Laughlin. She also directed the purchase, takeover, and integration of new management into one of the timeless icons of the Las Vegas Strip, the Sahara Hotel and Casino, acquired by the Bennett family's Gordon Gaming division in 1995.
Bennett has been personally responsible for the management of multiple casino operations. She is recognized as an expert in establishing gaming systems, and served as president and chief operating officer of Casino Data Systems, where she planned, grew and managed one of the major gaming manufacturers in North America and became licensed in multiple gaming jurisdictions. In 2007 she was named as one of the Top Ten Great Women of Gaming in the U.S.
Bennett serves as chair of the Three Square Board of Directors as well as Noah's House Board of Directors. She is the treasurer on the Executive Committee of the UNLV Foundation Board. She also serves on the Boards of Directors for the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV and the Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
As president of the Bennett Family Foundation, she supports various youth and women's organizations such as Child Focus, an affiliate of St. Jude's Ranch, the Nevada Children's Center, Opportunity Village and various organizations aimed at improving education in Nevada. Bennett is co-founder of the Greater Good Council, an organization of philanthropic leaders from all walks of life in Southern Nevada; sponsor of The Center in Las Vegas, which furthers the human rights of the gay community; and the co-founder of the Nevada chapter of the International Women's Forum. She was recognized for her support of the I Have a Dream Foundation in 2009. Since 1994, she has been named repeatedly to the Outstanding Women of Nevada.
Chairman of the Board & Co-Founder of Paragon Gaming
