Nevada Tourism Alliance

Tony F. Sanchez III, is the corporate senior vice president of public policy and external affairs for Sierra Pacific Resources. Mr. Sanchez, 41, was formerly with the law firm Jones Vargas from 1999 until joining Sierra Pacific, where his law practice concentrated on energy and utility matters, governmental relations, lobbying, and administrative law.

Mr. Sanchez, born and raised in Las Vegas, is a 1988 graduate of UNLV with a B.A. in Political Science. He received his law degree from Arizona State University in 1991. After a one-year judicial clerkship, he was associate legislative counsel handling energy and natural resource issues for Nevada’s then-U.S. Senator Richard H. Bryan 1992-1995 in Washington, D.C. He was assistant general counsel for the Nevada Public Utilities Commission from 1995 to 1998 before becoming executive assistant to then-Nevada Governor Bob Miller. He joined Jones Vargas at the conclusion of Gov. Miller’s term in 1999.

Mr. Sanchez has strong roots in the community where he currently serves on the boards of the Latin Chamber of Commerce president 2002-2004, Nevada Partners, the Latino Bar Association, UNLV Alumni Association and Clark County Pro Bono Foundation. He also serves as a member of the Nevada State College Diversity Board and the UNLV Task Force on Equity & Diversity. Additionally, he has served on the boards of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Southern Nevada and has been recognized as the Latin Chamber’s Hispanic of the Year, and the American Diabetes Association’s Person of the Year. Most recently, he was named to the 2007 list of “The Best Lawyers in America.”

Mr. Sanchez and his wife, Elaine, reside in Las Vegas with their two children, Antonio and Tomas.