• Ranson W. Webster, Chairman
• Fred D. Gibson, Jr., Vice Chairman
• George Balaban, Secretary/Treasurer
• Jim Bahan
• Rick Crawford
• Norman Dianda
• Marel Giolito
• Monte Miller
• Byron Mills
• Tom Powell 
• William P. Weidner
  
  
• Judy Cresanta, NPRI Founder

Ranson W. Webster, Chairman

Ranson W. Webster is the founder and a managing member of Evergreen Capital LLC, an early stage investment company that focuses on and invests in start-up Internet, service-oriented and biotech companies.  

A successful and innovative businessman, Mr. Webster founded Computing Resources, Inc. (CRI) in 1978 as a general purpose service bureau specializing in automating accounting functions.  Over the years, Mr. Webster's vision allowed CRI to gain national recognition as the nation's fourth-largest quality payroll services provider, servicing over 32,000 businesses nationwide.  In March of 1999, CRI announced it had agreed to a merger with Intuit, and Mr. Webster served as Chairman and CEO of Intuit's payroll division (CRI) until March 2000.

Mr. Webster currently serves on the boards of Heetronix, Inzap Inc, Athena On-line, and hCell Technology Inc.  Other investments include Salu.net, Sand Hill Capital II, Customer Link, Turbo Coverage, Sierra Sciences, Bridge Bank of Silicon Valley and Heritage Bank of Commerce.  A resident of Reno since 1972, Mr. Webster is currently Chairman of the Board for the National Automobile Museum - The Harrah Collection; a past Chairman of the Financial Advisory Board for the city of Reno; an Artown board member; and the Governor's appointee for The Commission On Education Technology.

Fred D. Gibson, Jr., Vice Chairman

Fred D. Gibson, Jr., a resident of Nevada since 1929 and of Las Vegas since 1936, is a former chairman, president and chief executive officer and a current director of American Pacific Corporation.  A native of Colorado, Mr. Gibson graduated from the Mackay School of Mines at the University of Nevada, Reno.  He was employed by the Pacific Engineering and Production Co. of Nevada and American Pacific Corporation for more than 41 years.

Mr. Gibson currently serves as chairman of the Nevada Taxpayers Association and of the State Commission on Mineral Resources, and is a member of the executive committee and a past chairman of the Nevada Development Authority.  He is a trustee of the University of Nevada Las Vegas Foundation, a member of the board of fellows of Southern Utah University, and a director of the NTS Development Corporation.

Mr. Gibson was named a Distinguished Nevadan by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1985, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Nevada, Reno in 1999, a Distinguished Public Service Medal by the National Aeronautics Space Administration in 2002, and the Desert Research Institute President's Medal in 2004.  Mr. Gibson is also a director of Cashman Equipment Company.

George Balaban, Secretary/Treasurer

George Balaban is the president of Desert Cab Inc., a company originally acquired by his father in 1964 with only one taxi.  The company had grown to nine taxis when Mr. Balaban took over in 1979, and now has 150 taxis.  The business is owned equally by Mr. Balaban, his brother and his sister.

Mr. Balaban was born in San Diego, Calif., in 1958.  He moved to Las Vegas shortly after that, but moved back to San Diego, where he lived from the ages of seven to 13.  After spending his high school years in Wisconsin, and then heading back to San Diego for college, he moved back to Las Vegas in 1979 and has lived there ever since.  He attended both San Diego State University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Mr. Balaban is a member of the Keystone Corporation, the Las Vegas Country Club, the UNLV Golf Foundation, the UNLV Football Foundation and the UNLV Educational Foundation   He and his brother also started On Demand Sedan and Limousine Company 10 years ago, and the business has grown to approximately 100 vehicles.

Jim Bahan

Jim Bahan was born in Hollywood, Calif., and grew up in Southern California working in the family-owned dairy business.  After he graduated from St. Mary's College with a degree in business, Mr. Bahan and his wife, Mary Ellen, moved to Reno in 1973.

That same year, Mr. Bahan and his brother, Tom, purchased Anderson Dairy, and in 1977 they purchased Model Dairy and merged the two companies.  In December 1996, they sold Model Dairy to Dean Foods.  Mr. Bahan served as president of the company until his retirement in 2000.

Mr. Bahan has been active in many charities over the years and currently serves on the board of directors for Heetronix and the board of regents of St. Mary's College.  He previously served on the boards of directors for St. Mary's Hospital, Pioneer Bank and the Foundation of Bishop Manogue High School.

Rick Crawford

Rick Crawford is the president and founder of Midjit Market, Inc. (DBA Green Valley Grocery), a chain of convenience stores located throughout Clark and Nye counties in Nevada.  The first Green Valley Grocery opened on September 1, 1978, in Henderson, and today there are more than 30 stores in operation.  Mr. Crawford is also the president and founder of Crawford Oil, Inc., and Crawford Coin, Inc.

Mr. Crawford is active with numerous civic and charitable organizations.  He is the immediate past chairman of the Southern Nevada YMCA of Las Vegas, chairman of the Nevada Retail Network Self Funded Group, and a member of the board of directors of the Shell Oil National Wholesalers Council.  He formerly served on the board of directors of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), is a former board member of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America and of the National Advisory Group, and is a former chairman and board member of Secret Witness.  He is a also a former chairman of the Retail Association of Nevada.

Mr. Crawford has lived in Las Vegas since 1971.  Born in Winnipeg, Canada, and raised in San Diego, Calif., he became an American Citizen in January 1971. Mr. Crawford is married to Jeri Scudder Crawford and has four children and five grandchildren.

Norman Dianda

Norman Dianda is the president of Q&D Construction, Inc., which he founded in 1964, and which through the years has built a wide variety of facilities, including hospitals, hotel-casinos, retail centers, manufacturing facilities, office buildings, highways, bridges, and infrastructure for planned communities and subdivisions.  Mr. Dianda also founded Artéfice by Dianda, a cabinet and millwork facility, in 1979, and All-Lite Aggregate, a rock, sand and asphalt supplier, in 1987.

Regular recipients of contributions from Mr. Dianda include the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the March of Dimes, the American Cancer Society, the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Saint Mary's Hospital, Western Industrial Nevada, Junior Achievement and the Nevada Discovery Museum.  He is also a generous supporter of local education. He supports Bishop Manogue High School, where he has done numerous capital improvements for the school at little or no cost over the years, and where he led the construction of a new school delivered in 2004.

Mr. Dianda is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the President's Medal from Joe Crowley, president of the University of Nevada, Reno (1992); the S.I.R. Award from the Association of General Contractors (1993); the American Lung Association's Honor Award (1997); and the Distinguished Service Award from the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadow (2005).  In 1999, the University of Nevada Regents named him a Distinguished Nevadan.

Marel Giolito

Marel Giolito is the president and chief executive officer of Credit Bureau Central, Inc., which she joined in 1979 and which provides credit reporting and accounts receivables services.

Ms. Giolito is also serving a third term as President of the Nevada Collector's Association and is a national director for the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. She is a board member and officer for Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Southern Nevada.

She serves as an officer of the Nevada Society of Professional Investigators, and is also a licensed private investigator with the state of Nevada.  She holds collection agency manager's licenses in six states.  She is the immediate past chair of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada, and a member of the board of the Las Vegas Executives Association, as well as numerous other industry-related associations.

Monte Miller

Monte Miller, chief executive officer of KeyState Corporate Management, has over 40 years of investment management and trust banking experience.

Prior to founding KeyState, a Nevada holding services company, in January 1991, he served as SVP and trust division manager for Valley Bank of Nevada (currently Bank of America Nevada) and serviced over $4 billion in assets.

Mr. Miller holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno and received his M.A. in Economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  He serves on the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and as a commissioner for the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.

He also serves on the executive committee of the board of trustees of the Nevada Development Authority, and on the board of directors of the Community College of Southern Nevada Foundation.

Byron Mills

Byron Mills is a partner and managing member of Mills & Mills, one of the most well respected family law firms in Nevada, and has become well known in Clark County as a top litigator in the local courts. A fifth generation native of Nevada, Mr. Mills started working at his father's law firm in 1987 as a runner, and upon graduating law school in 1998, joined the firm, then known as Lamond R. Mills & Associates, L.L.C., as an associate.

While 95 percent of his practice is focused on family law matters, Mr. Mills also assists in the firm's civil cases, including personal injury, corporate and public utility issues. He has taken numerous cases to trial in both the Civil and Family Divisions of the Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court and has briefed and argued before the U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.  

Setting Mr. Mills apart from other attorneys is his degree in Business Management and Finance. This experience has helped him in representing clients that own businesses and have numerous assets, whether in divorces or other family matters.

Mr. Mills received his B.S. in Business Management and Finance from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Neb.  Mr. Mills is active in his community, as he is helping his hometown of Moapa Valley with several education initiatives, as well as possible incorporation.

Thomas J. Powell

Thomas J. Powell has been Chief Executive Officer of ELP Capital since the company was founded in 1999. As chief strategist, Mr. Powell has combined his education and experience in commercial and retail banking, mortgage banking, real estate development, and corporate finance and governance to successfully lead the company through several market growths and contractions. Mr. Powell also serves as the company's Chief Investment Officer, helping to identify and structure investment vehicles creating solid investment options for ELP Capital Advisors' family of Funds, institutional investors, and individual project investors.

Mr. Powell is the author of Standing In The Rain, a guide book to understanding, surviving and thriving in the worst financial storm since the Great Depression; Comparing Real Estate Investments, Using Excel in conjunction with the HBS case study — Angus Cartwright III©; and has co-authored the book series Real Life Habits for Success.

In addition, he publishes a weekly economic newsletter and podcast, The Powell Perspective, is a widely sought after speaker and international guest lecturer, and is an Instructor in the Office of Executive Education at Harvard University. He is involved in numerous community and industry groups, including serving as a National Trustee for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

William P. Weidner

William P. Weidner is the former president and chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Previously, he has served as assistant professor of Business Administration and Hotel Management at Paul Smith's College; vice president of hotel operations and marketing at Caesars in Atlantic City; executive vice president of the Greate Bay Casino Corporation; and president of the Pratt Hotel Corporation.

A native of Northville, Mich., Mr. Weidner earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Hotel Administration and an M.B.A. from Michigan State University.

Judy Cresanta founded the Nevada Policy Research Institute in the early 1990s following a life-changing trip to the former Soviet Union to educate pro-democracy leaders about free markets and free elections. Her inspirations included Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation; Jeff Coors of Coors Brewing and the Castle Rock Foundation; Bill Bennett, former secretary of education under President Reagan; and Morton Blackwell of the Council for National Policy. Ms. Cresanta served as the Institute's president until 2001.

NPRI was established as Nevada's first free-market think tank, with the goal of confronting the state's many eroding institutions, including government, the education establishment, the media and academia, with straight-forward, well researched information that would keep the public armed with the truth. The absense of truth, Ms. Cresanta learned while in the former Soviet Union, allows the state to enslave its citizens. Under Ms. Cresanta's leadership, NPRI worked with some of the top individuals and organizations from around Nevada and the nation to perform compelling research and provide it to the Silver State's citizens and policymakers.

Ms. Cresanta has an undergraduate degree from St. Louis University and Masters Degrees in Public Policy and Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno.