Nevada’s Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs finally has what it’s lacked for more than two years𑁋an official director.
Governor Steve Sisolak went in-house to name Deputy Director Brenda Scolari to the post, which has gone vacant since Claudine Vecchio moved to California in October 2017 to become CEO of Sonoma County Tourism. Since then, a number of department staffers have filled in on an acting basis. Scolari, who joined the department in 2014, has served in the role since December 2018.
The cabinet-level department, headquartered in Carson City, oversees the Commission on Tourism, the Division of Museums and History, the Nevada Arts Council and the Nevada Indian Commission as part of its responsibilities for marketing Nevada as a destination. It works primarily to promote rural tourism, frequently partnering in those efforts with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, whose top executives sit on its board of directors.
As deputy director, Scolari led the department’s marketing, public relations and sales teams, earning high marks from Sisolak for her “intimate understanding of what makes Nevada’s culture and Native American communities special, as well as what drives consumer behavior and travel interest”.
“Brenda has repeatedly shown that she has the creativity, managerial skills, and sophistication necessary to excel as the department’s permanent director,” he said.
Scolari previously served four years as art director and chief marketing officer for the department’s Travel Nevada division, where she won praise for the division’s “award-winning, cutting-edge creative and media strategy”.
A native Nevadan, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno.
