Fallon grad named to state post

Gov. Steve Sisolak has named Stacey Montooth, a Churchill County High School graduate, as the new executive director of the Nevada Indian Commission.

She replaces longtime director Sherry Rupert, who retired earlier this year to become director of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association.

Montooth, a member of the Walker River Paiute Nation, will start Sept. 1.

Sisolak said she has extensive experience in tribal relations in Nevada and a thorough understanding of the issues facing Nevada’s 27 tribes. She also holds several communications certifications, including the Advanced Public Information Office Endorsement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“Stacey … has extensive experience in tribal relations in Nevada and understands first-hand the multitude of issues, including health services and K-12 education, facing the 27 tribes in our state,” Sisolak said in a statement. “I am grateful for her past outstanding work in Nevada and look forward to her continued service to the Native American community.”

“The opportunity to work for all 27 Nevada tribes has always been my dream, yet the change is not easy because there are so many dedicated, good people here,” Montooth wrote in an email this week to the community. “However, I’ll be just 45 minutes down the road, and I am confident our paths will remain connected.”

She has served as public relations officer for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony since August 2013. Previously, from 2009-2013, she served as the Indian Education Liaison for the Churchill County School District.

A graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Montooth has spent two decades working in community relations, primarily in higher education and college athletics.

Montooth, who grew up in Fallon and graduated from Churchill County High in 1984, served as the assistant commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference as well as the Sports Information director at both McKendree and Columbia colleges. At the Olympic Games held in Atlanta in 1996, Montooth was also a summer intern at the Lahontan Valley News. Montooth was the press center manager at the softball venue.

She was also the media coordinator for the 2005 NCAA Men’s Final Four and the assistant media coordinator of the 2001 Women’s Final Four basketball championships