Department of Taxation

Nevada Tax Commission

AGENDA
Details of the next meeting of the Nevada Tax Commission can be located here, along with the most current agenda, if available.
MEMBERS
	Robert R. Barengo Chairman Robert R. Barengo joined the Commission on December 3, 2003.  He represents General Business.  Mr. Barengo attended the following schools, St Thomas Aquinas Grammar School, Reno; Bishop Manogue High School, Reno; University of Santa Clara; J.D. – 1969; and California State University at Hayward; B.S. – 1966 He has held many elected offices and has extensive legislative experience.  1981-1983 Speaker of the Assembly and Chairman of Legislative Commission.  1978-1981 Speaker Pro Tempore.  1973-1979 Chairman Judiciary Committee.  1972-1982 Assemblyman, District 29, five regular sessions and one special session.  Served on various committees including Interim Finance, Ways and Means, Commerce and Judiciary.  In 1972 to present Mr. Barengo has been in private practice of law: general business; municipal finance and bonding and investment banking; government and administration law; Gaming Law.  He was Judge Pro-Tem, Sparks Municipal Court and Reno Municipal Court in 1976-1995.  He was also the Deputy District Attorney for Washoe County, Nevada in 1969-1972. Mr. Barengo founded, and was the President and Director of Western Thrift and Loan, a Nevada Thrift Company.  He was President from April 1998 to August 2000 and Director from 1997 to 2003.   1992 to present he is the Director of Riviera Holdings Corporation, publicly traded Corporation (AMEX) and subsidiaries, Riviera Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada , member, Board of Directors.  1992-2000 he was director of American Wagering, Inc., publicly traded Corporation (NASDAQ) and subsidiaries, Leroy’s Horse and Sports Place and Leroy’s Hotel Corporation, Board of Directors 1996 (board member of private corporation before public offering). He is currently a Commissioner for National Conference of Commission on Uniform State Laws and was elected a life member in 1988.  Listed in the Bond Buyer’s, Directory of Municipal Bond Dealers, Section Municipal Bond Attorneys of the United States and National Association of Bond Lawyers. 1992 to August 2004 State of Nevada Dairy Commission, Governor appointed Chairman in July 1993; State of Nevada Dairy Commission, Governor appointed member for banking and finance in October 1992.  1988-1991 Member City of Reno Financial Advisory Board.  1996-2003 Member of the Nevada Insurance Commission Advisory Committee on Health Care and Insurance. His Community Service includes:  Truckee Meadows Community College Foundation Board of Trustees 1998; Truckee Meadows Community College Advisory Board 1981-Present; Nevada Opera Association Board of Directors 1987-1989; Nevada Chapter National Multiple Sclerosis Society Board of Trustees 1987-1989; member Board of Trustees, Nathan Aldelson Hospice, Las Vegas, Nevada 1993-Present.
	Mr. John E. Marvel has been the mining industry member of the Commission since April of 1990. Mr. Marvel has been practicing law in Elko since 1978, with a significant amount of his practice devoted to mining, ranching, and natural resource issues. Many of his ranch clients also hold mineral interests. Mr. Marvel is a partner/member in the law firm of Marvel & Krump, Ltd. He is a member of the Nevada Mining Association and a former director of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association. Mr. Marvel graduated from Battle Mountain High School in 1969, attended the University of Nevada, Reno, graduating with a B.S. Degree in Business Administration in 1973 and went on to McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, graduating in 1978 with a Juris Doctorate Degree. Mr. Marvel is also a partner in a family ranching business and owns his own cutting horse business.
	Ms. Joan Lambert served in the Nevada State Assembly for seven regular sessions and one special session representing District 29 in Washoe County. Ms. Lambert received a B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Davis. She represents real property and has been a commissioner since October 1999.
	Mr. Craig Witt is a native Nevada farmer born and raised on a Carson Valley dairy farm. He has experienced what farming once was, what it has become, and the direction it needs to go in the future. After graduating in 1978 from the University of Nevada Reno with a Bachelor of Science Degree in General Agriculture, Craig returned home to run his family's third generation dairy farm. While managing the operation, Craig Witt converted the dairy farm into a thriving full-scale composting operation: the first of its kind permitted in the State of Nevada. Mr. Witt started the first composting site offering recycling of organic materials from the Tahoe Basin, Reno, Carson City, the Carson Valley and many nearby communities. Craig Witt is the current owner and President of Full Circle Compost, Inc. with a location in Carson Valley and a composting facility in Carson City, NV. Besides Mr. Witt’s involvement with numerous local community programs, Craig has been certified as a Composting Expert by the State of Nevada Environmental Protection Agency and is listed on the 2006 Lake Tahoe BMP Resource Professionals list. Mr. Witt is a life long Farm Bureau Member and has served in many diverse capacities on agricultural boards and committees. Mr. Witt gained valuable experience in management and decision making while serving on the Associated Nevada Dairyman Board of Directors, Farm Bureau Dairy Advertising Board, Carson Valley Conservation District, and is an active member of Nevada Resource Conservation and Development, National Compost Council and California Society of Ecological Restoration. Mr. Witt has developed a broad understanding of the agricultural businesses in his capacity as a National and International “Composting and Soil Fertility” consultant. Mr. Witt is passionate about the environment, renewable farming practices, and ecologically correct waste management practices, and speaks regularly sharing his knowledge in the community, nationally and internationally.
	Mr. George Kelesis is a native of Las Vegas, appointed to the Commission by Governor Guinn on July 1, 2000. In July, 2004, Mr. Kelesis formed the law firm of BAILUS KELESIS with his long-time friend and business associate, Mark B. Bailus. Although the firm maintains a general law practice, its shareholders practice primarily in the areas of civil and criminal litigation and appeals, with an emphasis on taxation and commercial litigation, business, corporate and tax law. The firm also has broad experience in commercial transactions, business and estate planning, probate, gaming and employment law. From January, 1997 to May, 2004, Mr. Kelesis was General Counsel for Pat Clark and the Clark family as well as their business entities, Nevada Beverage Co., an exclusive wholesale distributor of Anheuser-Busch products, Alternative Beverage Distributors, a wholesaler of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and Pat Clark Pontiac, an automobile dealership. Mr. Kelesis was an associate for the law firm of Manos & Cherry (1982 to 1986) and then sole practitioner (1986 to 1989). In addition, Mr. Kelesis is an adjunct professor at the University Nevada Las Vegas, teaching Legal Environment, Business Law I and Business Law II. Further, Mr. Kelesis has conducted classes for Nevada Certified Public Accountants in criminal tax law and estate and gift tax (1986 and 1989). From 1989 through Mr. Kelesis was a partner in the law firm of Gentile, Porter & Kelesis; and from 1993 through 1996, Mr. Kelesis was a partner in the law firm of Cherry, Bailus & Kelesis. Mr. Kelesis’ practice primarily involved Business and Estate Tax Planning, Civil and Criminal Tax Litigation, Corporations, Partnerships, Gaming and Securities Law, and Personal Injury. Mr. Kelesis’ professional affiliations include: White Collar Committee of American Bar Association; Member of Tax, Corporate, Real Property Law, Criminal Justice Section; State Bar of Nevada; Clark County Bar Association; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (White Collar Crime Committee, 1986-); National Institute of Trial Attorneys; Nevada Trial Lawyers Association.
	Mr. James C. DeVolld, Jim has more than 35 years of banking and finance experience. He joined First Independent Bank in 1999 just after formation. Jim is now semi-retired after serving as the President / Chief Executive Officer of the bank and a member of the bank’s Board of Directors. Previously, he spent 23 years with Pioneer Citizens Bank of Nevada leading their Private Banking and Business Development Groups statewide. Jim is a graduate of the National School of Real Estate Finance and the Pacific Coast Banking School. He currently serves on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows and on the Renown Health Systems Board of Directors. As a strong Wolf Pack booster, he has served in the past on the Board of the Athletic Association of the University of Nevada and recently completed a 4-year term on the board of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.
	Dr. Ann Bersi ., Dr. Ann Bersi was appointed to the Tax Commission in December 2005. Prior to serving on the Commission, for 10 years Dr. Bersi was bankruptcy counsel to Clark County, Nevada, and related entities. As such her practice focused on contract, statutory lien, and ad valorem tax issues in cases ranging from the individual taxpayer to complex cases involving hotels and casinos. In addition, she served as legal counsel to the Clark County School Board and the Clark County Board of Equalization, and represented the County before the Public Service Commission. From 1991-1995 she represented private corporate/commercial and individual clients with the law firms of Lionel, Sawyer & Collins and Morris, Brignone & Pickering. Bersi graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature, from the University of Connecticut with a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, and from California Western School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in the states of Nevada and California, and before the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and the city, state, and federal courts in California and Nevada. She was president of the State Bar of Nevada in 1999/2000, and currently serves as a trustee for the Foundation of California State University San Marcos.
	Mr. Robert M. Johnson was appointed to the Tax Commission in 2009.  Mr. Johnson has been involved in the utility industry for his entire legal career and is the utility member of the Commission.  He represented the Federal Power Commission, the predecessor to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Oregon Public Utility Commission.  He represented Northwest Natural Gas Company, a public utility in Oregon and Washington, for ten years and has been with Southwest Gas Corporation for the last twenty years. Mr. Johnson graduated from Oregon State University with a B.S. in Political Science and received his law decree from the University of Denver. He is licensed to practice law in Nevada, Arizona and Oregon.

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