Boys Town Nevada proudly announces long-time Nevadan, Debra March, has joined its Board of Directors.
Debra is passionate about the community and has a heart for public service. Her commitment to the great state of Nevada is unparalleled, and her service career began directly after graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“We are thrilled to welcome Debra to Boys Town Nevada,” says John Etzell, Executive Director of Boys Town Nevada. “She brings a wealth of expertise and has a proven track record of innovation and progress.”
She has served as the Deputy Administrator of the Nevada Real Estate Division, where she created and implemented policies for responsible home ownership. From 1996 to 2009, she served as the Director of UNLV’s Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies (LIRES) and led efforts to develop livable communities.
Debra is a person who is committed to continuous community service. In 2003, she was part of the founding board of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Leadership Henderson Program. She was then appointed to the City of Henderson Planning Commission and represented Henderson’s Ward II residents as a City Councilwoman in the same year. Debra was elected to two terms as City Councilwoman in 2011 and 2015. In 2017, she was elected Mayor of the City of Henderson.
Debra has held various board positions, including the American Planning Association national board, the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute Board of Directors, Nevada’s HAND, and the Impact Nevada Advisory Board. In 2018, she was the chairwoman of the Regional Flood Control District. She also served as the chairwoman of the Regional Transportation Commission and Southern Nevada Strong. She was a founding member of the Urban Land Institute Nevada District Council and a member of NAIOP Southern Nevada. She also created the Women’s Community Leadership Network (WCLN) to foster dialogue and build capacity for the advancement of women and girls in the community.
In 2013, she was named Nevada Public Official of the Year by the National League of Cities and Municipalities and Citizen of the Year by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. She received the Associate Member of the Year award from the National Association Industrial Office Properties of Southern Nevada Chapter. In 2015, she received a lifetime achievement award from the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies and an Award of Honor from the Nevada American Society of Landscape Architects in 2017. In 2018, she received the Chairman’s Award from the Urban Chamber of Commerce and the Glass Ceiling Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) of Southern Nevada, which recognizes extraordinary women who are committed and demonstrate acts of breaking down barriers and securing opportunities for women to advance in their designated field. That same year, she was named among only 25 participants in the 2018 Women in Government Leadership Program Class.
In 2020, Debra was recognized by Vegas Inc.’s Women Inspiring Nevada, and in December 2021, she was awarded the Michael O’Callaghan Public Sector Award for her outstanding contributions to the community.