Voting for officers on the Nevada Faculty Alliance's State Board begins on April 18, 2025. All NFA members in good standing will receive a ballot via email from ElectionBuddy.com. Voting will remain open until May 2nd. The newly-elected officers will take office on June 1st and serve two-year terms.

Candidate statements are provided below.

Office: President
Candidate: Staci Walters, College of Southern Nevada

To all of my NSHE colleagues, I am honored to run for President of our Nevada Faculty Alliance. For nearly eight years, I’ve had the privilege of serving on the NFA State Board in several roles—Secretary, CSN-NFA Chapter President proxy, and State Collective Bargaining Chair—working in partnership with faculty statewide to strengthen our voice, defend our rights, and build a more empowered higher education community in Nevada.

At the College of Southern Nevada, I’ve served as CSN-NFA Vice President, Membership Chair, and Collective Bargaining Chair, and I’m currently Lead Negotiator on our third collective bargaining agreement. Through strong teamwork and member engagement, we’ve secured tangible wins—raising faculty salaries, protecting due process rights, and achieving significant salary increases for new hires. Over the past eight years, we’ve also grown our chapter’s membership by nearly 30%, showing the power we have when we organize together.

I’m running for NFA President because I believe the challenges we face—both here in Nevada and across the country—demand coordinated, statewide leadership rooted in collaboration and shared purpose. Academic and administrative faculty alike are experiencing growing pressure from shifting federal policies, including the proposed elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, sweeping changes to Title IX, and deep cuts to research funding. These attacks are part of a broader movement to undermine public higher education, weaken faculty voice, and destabilize our institutions.

We must be proactive and united in our response.

As NFA President, my goals include:

• Growing statewide membership, with an emphasis on advocacy chapters at UNLV, UNR, GBC, and DRI, to build power and move more campuses toward collective bargaining rights.
• Supporting local chapters through membership drives, organizing efforts, and training from our national affiliates, tailored to each chapter’s unique needs.
• Expanding collective bargaining to more faculty across the state—because when we bargain together, we win together.
• Advocating for academic freedom, fair compensation, and job security—especially as national forces threaten these core values.
• Embedding transparency and accountability both within NSHE and within our own organization, so we can better serve all faculty.
• Elevating the voices of both academic and administrative faculty, recognizing that all of us play a critical role in shaping the future of Nevada’s higher education system.

Now more than ever, we need to stand together—to defend what we’ve built, to fight for what we deserve, and to ensure that Nevada remains a place where faculty are respected, supported, and empowered.

I ask for your vote, and more importantly, for your partnership as we continue this vital work together.

Office: Vice President
Candidate: Andrew Lavengood, Nevada State University

I am currently finishing my term as Vice President of Membership & Organizing for NFA-NSU. During my past 2 years in this role, I successfully organized and led a collective bargaining drive, resulting in the formation of a collective bargaining unit here at Nevada State University on April 2nd, 2025. We won in a landslide, with 95% of voting faculty (which translates to 85% of all faculty) casting a "yes" vote. My goal is to bring this expertise and experience to the Vice President position on state board. I would like to refocus the state board's energy on organizing and membership, so that we can build our power from our members. It is important to do this in a grassroots manner, as I did at NSU. For this reason, I intend to meet with each of the chapters to hear your issues, understand your faculty, and help develop strategies for engaging with, organizing, and building your membership. I hope you will provide me with the opportunity to serve our faculty in this vital capacity.

Office: Secretary
Candidate: Joey Ray, University of Nevada, Reno

Hello, my name is Joey Ray, and I am a candidate for the secretary position for the NFA. I have been a member of the NFA for over eight years and am the current state NFA secretary. I also served as a member of the NFA board for the University of Nevada, Reno chapter, and am currently on the executive board as a representative from the College of Business. I also led the NFA website redesign a few years back and helped organize the database.

I have been at the University of Nevada, Reno as a lecturer since Fall 2016. I was an LOA for one semester, and have been a lecturer since Spring 2017. I currently teach human resource management and strategic human resource management. I have also taught organizational behavior, business communication, compensation, salary & benefits, business law, personal branding, and project management.

I have also worked in the private sector for over 20 years. I have worked for companies such as the Walt Disney World Company, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Premier Parks, Austin Wranglers, SFE International, Gallagher, and API, among others. I have worked in operations management, supply chain management, marketing, and mainly, human resources. I have also held a secretary position in many volunteer organizations and committees in the past as well.

At the university level, I am currently in the following committees: Athletics Committee, Department Curriculum, and Department Outreach. In addition, I am the club advisor for the Management and Human Resource Association (MHRA) student club on campus. My vision for the NFA going forward is an organization that continues to expand its reach among the different campuses to represent all the different types of employees. I would like to continue to see the NFA be strongly involved in the legislative process and continue to work to make sure that our voices are heard so the Nevada System of Higher Education is more faculty and staff friendly and focused. As the secretary, it will be my job to communicate all the legislative updates, get information to the members, take good meeting minutes, and all other duties as assigned. I will make sure to be an effective, timely, and accurate secretary.

At the direction of the board, I plan to communicate in a clear and concise manner the items that matter to our members. I also want to help continue to keep the NFA organized and orderly, and work towards broadening our influence in the great state of Nevada.

Thank you for your consideration.

Office: Treasurer
Candidate: Greta de Jong, University of Nevada, Reno

I am a professor and chair of the history department at UNR. I have been an NFA member since I was first hired as an assistant professor in 2002 and joined the Executive Board of the UNR chapter in 2019. For the past year I have served as Vice President of our chapter. With my fellow board members, I have worked to recruit new members, build support for collective bargaining, organize social and educational events, and develop a guide for faculty facing disciplinary proceedings. I believe higher education is a public good and an essential element in a healthy democracy. I am committed to NFA's mission and look forward to serving as state treasurer if elected.