Diversify Nevada is joined today by Dr. Dorian Stonebarger, GOED's deputy director. Before joining GOED in 2023, Dorian was Chief Policy Advisor to Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Brian Knudsen and worked to create the city's first affordable housing ordinance. In addition to economic development, Dorian is passionate about health and nutrition, and has done a lot of great work in that space. Most recently, Dorian was named one of the 2025 Women to Watch by Nevada Business Magazine. We talked with Dorian about all that and more, including her work in helping develop Nevada's economic development strategy.
Speaker 2 (00:00)
Welcome! You're listening to Diversify Nevada, a podcast produced by the Governor's Office of Economic Development. Diversify Nevada provides insightful discussions and expert analysis on the driving forces behind our state's economic, workforce, and community development. I'm Tom Burns, the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
And we're your hosts, Carli Smith and Evan Haddad. Today's guest is Dr. Dorian Stonebarger, the Deputy Director of GOED. In her role, Dorian works with community leaders and other government agencies to diversify and strengthen Nevada's economy. She oversees GOED's strategic projects and public policy efforts and is currently involved with mapping out the state's next strategic plan. Before joining GOED in 2023, Dorian was Chief Policy Advisor to Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Brian Knudsen and worked to create the city's first affordable housing ordinance. She's also passionate about health and nutrition, and she's done a lot of great work in that space. Most recently, Dorian was named one of the 2025 Women to Watch by Nevada Business Magazine. We're very excited to have her on, and we have lots to discuss. Dorian Stonebarger, welcome to the show.
Speaker 1 (01:11)
Thank you, happy to be here.
So let's get started. First off, congratulations on being named a 2025 Woman to Watch. Tell us a bit more about your background and how you found yourself here at GOED.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:25)
All right. Well, I was born and raised here in Southern Nevada. I went to trade school after high school and became an esthetician, which is skincare. And I did that for the first 10 years of my career. During that time, I slowly went to community college in my free time. Back then, it was still CCSN. And that's not the only thing that I will say that is going to age me. But I ended up with two associate's degrees before realizing that maybe I did want a bachelor's degree. So I transferred to UNLV.
And I got a bachelor's of science in nutrition thinking at the time of how it would relate to skincare. But it instead led me to Three Square Food Bank, where I oversaw childhood and senior nutrition programs for the next decade of my life, which was incredibly rewarding. And it also introduced me to Clark, Lincoln, Nye, and Esmeralda County down here in Southern Nevada. So it expanded my sort of scope of Southern Nevada.
During my time there, I got my master's in urban leadership and then ended up working for City of Las Vegas Councilman Brian Knudsen, which you had mentioned during his first four years as a city councilman. And while at the city and during COVID, I returned to UNLV for my third and final time to earn my doctorate in public policy.
And that is where I met GOED's former deputy director and now director of business and industry, Chris Sanchez, who pulled me onto the team, which I'm so happy that he did. Outside of my work here, my husband and I own small businesses in the downtown Las Vegas arts district, but I can't take credit for any of those. That is what he does daily because I work here. But I wanted to provide that particular background because I think the connections are all there. So trade, community college, university, when we talk about career pathways, urban planning, local government, nonprofit, public policy, all of those are involved in economic development and what led me here.
Speaker 2 (03:25)
Wow, that's amazing. You've had such a rich background. I actually didn't know that you were an esthetician. Were you a practicing esthetician or did you just go to training and just decided to ditch it?
No, did it for, actually I kept my license until 2015 because I didn't know at any point if I would return to it, but I operated in that space for full 10 years. specialized in acne. I also worked for a plastic surgeon doing laser hair removal at one point and I taught product knowledge courses for a skincare line at one point as well.
I don't want to say like I'm going where the wind blows me, but I sort of feel like I go where I'm needed.
Speaker 2 (04:15)
Yeah, I that makes sense. Actually, I think I might have even been to one of your and your husband's restaurants or bars when I was living in Las Vegas. Like I was living by the premium outlets kind of down by downtown. You know I'm talking about? It's like on Alta Drive. Isn't one of the bars over that way?
Speaker 1 (04:30)
Yes, two of them are. So Rebar and Davies are both on.
Speaker 2 (04:36)
I know exactly where those are. That's is hilarious.
I love that for both of us. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (04:40)
So anyways, you know, now that you're here at GOED, give us an idea of some of the things that you're passionate about in your daily role here at GOED. Like, what are some of the things that you're really most interested in?
Speaker 1 (04:51)
Well, you know that we're not going to have this conversation without me mentioning the social determinants of health. That is something I'm very passionate about. And economic stability and mobility are one of those social determinants of health on their own. They're their own category. But housing, health care, transportation, general access to goods and services are all part of the things that build healthy and happy communities. And we're a part of that here.
My role is to ensure that all of you are supported in your roles because you're doing that important work, whether it is attracting businesses that pay a livable wage. That's certainly one way that we contribute. Advancing workforce training to upskill individuals into those jobs, that's another. The work that we do here is truly making Nevada an even better place to live. Good economic development has three parts.
Business, workforce, and community development. So again, I go back to the main part of my role is to ensure that all of you can move forward in your incredible work and whether that is helping to remove barriers, but definitely not adding new ones or adding delays in the work that you're trying to get done.
Speaker 3 (06:05)
We appreciate that. So one of the things you're working on, on top of everything else, is creating an update to our five-year state plan that came out in 2022. Can you explain what the five-year plan is to our listeners and why it's important for our agency?
Speaker 1 (06:21)
Sure. Our state plan, like any strategic plan, is a guide that provides actionable steps to move each strategy forward. One of the key elements to developing such a plan is conducting a thorough SWOT analysis of the entire state. So determining our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. And throughout that analysis, we were able to draw out key industry sectors that Nevada has unique assets that will help not only industry, to be successful, but also help to diversify our economy.
Those sectors are information technology, transportation and logistics, natural resources and natural resource technologies, hospitality, tourism, sports and creative industry, as one, we could have probably called that entertainment, and advanced manufacturing. And as you can imagine, there are a lot of industries that fall under these categories. As such, our current plan calls on us to realize Nevada's electric, innovative and connected future. Electric, meaning capitalizing on our rich mineral assets, such as hosting the largest lithium deposit in North America, as well as being a leader in solar and geothermal generation and storage. Innovative, collaborating with our research institutions to develop and commercialize world-changing new ideas and increasing capital access for startups.
And Connect in Nevada, which includes identifying investment opportunities for freight rail, the development of inland ports, which I think we're going to talk about a little bit later, and supporting industrial parks. So we're more than halfway through our current state plan, and we've made great strides around several of the current action items, which you hear as you interview each department, I'm sure, from our representatives or their leadership. But highlighting all of this great work, we want to share those updates and use that as a launch point for the next plan. Our strengths and opportunities are not anticipated to change, nor are our weaknesses and threats, but how we approach them might, based on what we've learned or what we've been able to accomplish so far.
Speaker 2 (08:31)
What are some of the pillars of that state plan? What underscores how you're going about this whole process? It sounds like it's a huge thing. How do you even start something like that?
Speaker 1 (08:43)
Well, we do use outside help, which is an important factor because it also is an unbiased view at where our true strengths and weaknesses are, as I mentioned. So we will be working with another firm. Again, I don't anticipate that our target industries will change, but we can highlight certain aspects of those that we've known to be advancing, such as advanced manufacturing faster than some of the other industries and or look at how we target those other industries that maybe we haven't seen as much movement in in a different way.
Speaker 2 (09:18)
So I know like one of the things you were talking about, we were talking offline and you mentioned how we're trying to align our target industries more with the target sectors over at Department of Defense. That's kind of a strategy you've been thinking about. Can you walk us through what that's about and why we're doing it?
Speaker 1 (09:34)
Sure. So the Department of Defense has identified 21 target areas and 14 critical technology areas. And our target industries cover 19 of those 21. So there's already alignment. We're not looking to align ourselves. We're already aligned. And we can certainly pose that as and present our goals and their alignment alone, but we're taking it a step further.
And are drilling it down to the areas that we have particular advantages, such as energy generation and storage, advanced manufacturing, biotechnologies, autonomous systems. These are all things that Nevada has an advantage in. And so we are working on putting together a list of those assets, which Carli has been helping with as well. This includes land, but not just the availability of it, but that it's already been identified for that use.
Programs and partners that have training in that particular area for our workforce, innovation labs at our universities that are working to advance those sectors, and of course the businesses operating in that space to support the supply chain. So again, there's already alignment. It's how we present that. And through this process, we've identified and will continue to seek the businesses that are ready to act when the requests for proposals are released from both the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy because critical minerals, although not listed as one of their target areas is sort of the umbrella over all of this. And we have a particular advantage in that space, but we are doing whatever we can to support those efforts, which includes sharing that landscape.
Speaker 3 (11:17)
So interesting, there's so much going on and it's good to see that we're kind of taking it with stride and we're being forward thinking about it too. So appreciate what you're doing over there.
Speaker 1 (11:26)
Well, thank you. I appreciate what you're doing. And I love that this sort of approach also includes so many of our departments. Of course, we have our Apex Accelerator that has that direct connection in increasing our defense industrial base. But this also includes our health care specialists. This includes our innovation-based economic development and business development teams. So it's truly a joint effort.
Speaker 3 (11:51)
So on top of updating our state plan, you've been involved somewhat with the Campus for Hope project happening down in Las Vegas. Campus for Hope, for those of you don't know, is such a meaningful initiative for Nevada and a great example of community and state priorities coming together. Dorian, can you share a bit about what it is, why it matters, and what role, if any, GOED has played with supporting its goals?
Speaker 1 (12:16)
I can. in. In the 2023 legislative session, AB 528, led by Speaker Yeager, passed, which provided up to $100 million match in state funds to to private funds for a nonprofit that would apply and commit to building a facility or facilities serving individuals and families that are or at risk of becoming homeless.
There was a list of services that could potentially be provided at the facility, but there also needed to be workforce component. And the intent was that individuals receiving care from such a facility were on track to become gainfully employed and to reenter society. GOED is in charge of the matching funds of that project, as well as the preparation and approval of the application, which was posted at the end of last year was responded to by a sole applicant who met all of the requirements. And the Campus for Hope Foundation was approved at the beginning of this year and received a certificate of eligibility for those funds. That is only one part of the process that that team has gone through. And I don't wanna speak for other state departments that have also been involved in this process, but the foundation has gone through several steps to get to the point of anticipated groundbreaking this fall.
And the campus is still in the design phase itself, but it is also being designed by resort architects. So I think we should all be excited of what that proposal will truly look like in the end. As you guys mentioned, this is such a meaningful partnership. This is such an important step in the continuum of care that we have down here in Southern Nevada. And I know that you have a strong continuum of care up there in Northern Nevada.
But it was revealed in the last point in time count that here in Southern Nevada, we have nearly 8,000 individuals that are experiencing homelessness. So this is a welcome addition to the valley.
Speaker 3 (14:26)
Yeah, and I think that's important to know is we're so involved in so many different things because economic development is community development. is workforce development. It is business development. It's all these things and GOED really does a good job of trying to partner and make sure that we're involved in conversations to make sure we're growing a better Nevada for the future.
Speaker 2 (14:48)
100 %. Going back in time a little bit to the end of the 2025 legislative session, which ended a few months ago. So what is something about GOED's work that you think more Nevadans and legislators should be aware of right? The session is a few months long. It kind of goes on and on. What are some things you wish people would know about what we do and why we do it exactly?
Speaker 1 (15:10)
That's a really good question. If I were to pick the one thing that I want everyone to think of when they think of economic development is jobs. Jobs for Nevadans and not just any jobs, but high quality jobs. And I know that that quality piece can be subject to different interpretations. So if we just focus on the most important and fundamental aspect of a high quality job is a livable wage.
A livable wage for Nevadans means that we can start to take steps towards mitigating some of our most intractable issues. We're getting closer to individuals being able to afford a home. Child care becomes more affordable. We have more discretionary funds to spend and generate local economies, which then translates into infrastructure, road improvements, parks.
The things that add to the quality of life for our communities. And those jobs come from businesses. So the more barriers, the more requirements that we put on businesses, the more at risk we become of becoming unattractive or unattainable for a business to enter into Nevada.
So again, I want you to think of jobs and then that understanding that jobs come from businesses. it's not an investment necessarily in the business when we are providing things such as tax abatements, it's an investment in Nevadans.
Speaker 3 (16:57)
Great answer. To kind of go with the legislative session, the Inland Port Authority Act was a win for GOED during the legislative session. For those who don't know, Nevada had an inland port. Explain what that is and why this was an important piece of legislation for the state.
Speaker 1 (17:12)
Sure, I don't want to take this away from our Director of Strategy and Public Policy, who I know you guys will have on in different segments, and he can provide a lot of insights onto the actual legislative piece of this, but I will talk to why it's important and why it was important to go ahead. So, inland ports have been identified as a significant economic opportunity for Nevada and every state plan of our office since inception.
And that is due to our proximity to both California ports, Long Beach and Oakland. And they are within the federal daily driving limits for delivery and return. In fact, the very first state plan from GOED identified 11,000 jobs that were possible across the state from these logistics clusters. And that would be in just a five-year period. So we had an existing law around inland ports. It was NRS 277B, which was passed in 2011 and it showed significant foresight from Marilyn Kirkpatrick into the potential benefits of inland port in our state. What AB 462 did was add an element to help fund the infrastructure necessary to establish an inland port. So it allows local jurisdictions to utilize tax increment financing to help fund the roads, the power, the water.
Because inland ports are going to be in typically more remote areas. They are in industrial use and so they tend to be further and further out away from homes and existing infrastructure. That is what was so important about that.
Speaker 3 (18:53)
So interesting, because when you really do think about Nevada, we are able to get from north to south in a day's drive, even less than that. California, you can reach all these different markets. So I actually really find that piece of legislation interesting.
Speaker 2 (19:09)
Awesome. Last question to wrap things up here. Why do you care about economic development? I mean, it's something you've touched on across all your answers, but I mean, what is really the underlying message you want to get out to people about why this is such an important thing in your life?
Yeah, and why you show up every day. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:26)
I will return to it's a social determinant of health. I love the work that we do around business, workforce, and community development. And again, it's about living wages for Nevadans and that will help to address some of our most intractable issues.
Speaker 2 (19:44)
Perfectly succinct and wonderful. Awesome. Well, Dorian, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (19:51.51)
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (19:53)
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (19:57)
That's all for this episode of Diversify Nevada. This podcast was created by the Governor's Office of Economic Development with the help of our sound editor, Michelle Rebaleati. If you'd to learn more about our agency, can visit our website at goed.nv.gov. And if you'd like to share feedback about the show or suggest a topic you'd us to cover, send us an email to goed@goed.nv.gov. Thanks for joining us and we'll be back soon.