Heidi Gansert ’85 has joined the University of Nevada, Reno as special assistant to the president for external affairs. Said university president Marc Johnson, “Heidi will serve as a catalyst for opportunities and partnerships that will result in productive outcomes for Nevada. She will help connect the expertise of our faculty and resources of the University to result in solutions. The University’s connection to economic development will be a priority, and Heidi has worked closely with economic development agencies throughout the state.”
Gansert most recently was chief of staff to Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval from January 2011 to September 2012. She served as an assemblywoman representing District 25 in the Nevada State Legislature from 2004 to 2010. Her time in the executive and legislative branches of state government included important roles related to education, economic development, workforce training, energy and business.
Gansert is the governor’s appointee to the Legislative Committee to Evaluate Funding for Higher Education in 2012 and was a member of Nevada’s Team to the National Governor’s Association Policy Academy to Improve Performance Measures for Higher Education. As a legislator, Gansert served on the Committee to Study Capital Funding for Washoe County School District and the P-16 Committee to Study Education in Nevada. In 2005, she was named Freshman Legislator of the Year by the Las Vegas Review Journal and the Police Officers’ Research Association. She received the Nicholas J. Horn Award from the Nevada State Medical Association and a Special Recognition Award from the Washoe County Medical Society in 2007.
Prior to these roles, Gansert was an independent management consultant for medical practices and a resource planning engineer for Sierra Pacific Power Company in Reno and Louisville Gas and Electric in Louisville, Ky.