Michelee "Shelly" Cruz-Crawford is a Nevada State Senator representing District 1, a first-generation college graduate who is 100 percent Mexican. She grew up in the Las Vegas casinos where her mother was a wigs and costume designer and her stepfather was a sound engineer at the Riviera Hotel. A school principal by profession, she serves in the Air Force National Guard as an Equal Opportunity Officer and previously served as Nevada's first Latino regent on the Board of Regents.
SC
Serving
Shelly Cruz-Crawford
State SenateDemocrat
NV-NV SD-1 State Senate
About
Family & Heritage
100 percent Mexican heritage. Born in Tucson, Arizona. Moved to Las Vegas at age 6. Grew up at the Riviera Hotel casino where her mother worked as a wigs and costume designer and her stepfather was a sound engineer. First-generation high school and college graduate.
Political Career
Before Politics
Elementary school principal at C.C. Ronnow Elementary in Las Vegas; 20+ years in education from kindergarten through college; Equal Opportunity Officer in the Air Force National Guard
Education
A.S. in Psychology, College of Southern Nevada, 2000; B.A. in Psychology, UNLV, 2004; M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, UNLV, 2010; B.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language, Sierra Nevada College
Key Issues & Priorities
Education and class size reduction
affordable housing and rent stabilization
addressing food deserts
energy policy
opposing Opportunity Scholarships that redirect public school funds