Opportunity Village Announces Senior Team Expansion
Expanded Team Well Poised to Implement Major Growth Initiatives
Opportunity Village, Las Vegas’ Favorite Charity, proudly announces the recent additions to an already strong senior management team. The team, led by Ed Guthrie, the organization’s Executive Director for the past 20 years, has developed a number of leading edge programs for individuals with disabilities and under Ed’s stewardship, Opportunity Village has grown to become one of the most recognized and respected organizations of its type in the world.
“Opportunity Village has very aggressive plans for the next five years. We intend to double the number of individuals with disabilities we serve. Bolstering our senior team was a vital step toward accomplishing all of our goals,” says Guthrie.
Six months ago, Mauro Lara joined Opportunity Village, bringing a wealth of experience from his 12 years with Pride Industries, one of the nation’s largest employers of people with intellectual disabilities. As Associate Executive Director and COO, Lara’s major emphasis will be to increase the number of individuals served, increase the number of people working in community-based competitive employment and also increase the amount of money these workers earn to contribute towards their living expenses and improve their lives and that of their families.
Another recent addition to the Opportunity Village senior team is CFO Lisa Manning, who came to Opportunity Village after six years with the Cleveland Clinic/Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Manning was the COO/CFO, managing fundraising and donor development and other projects including the $100 million campus construction project that included the Keep Memory Alive Event Center. Manning will be responsible for overseeing the organization’s financial decisions and budgets.
And today, Bob Brown, the former publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal joins the Opportunity Village team. Bob will be the President of the Opportunity Village Foundation, working on special projects and major fundraising initiatives for the organization.
These new additions complement Opportunity Village’s already highly qualified and seasoned executive team, including Linda Smith, Associate Executive Director and Chief Development
Officer of the Opportunity Village Foundation who has been with Opportunity Village for more than 30 years. During Smith’s tenure she created the organization’s largest fundraiser, the Magical Forest, as well as the “grandest gala of them all”, the annual Camelot black tie event. In total, Smith has been responsible for raising more than $100 million to fund Opportunity Village’s myriad programs and services.
All four senior team members will report directly to Guthrie. “We, as a community, are in a demographic bubble with regard to the thousands of people with disabilities that need or will need services. Housing, a fourth campus and expansions and improvements of current facilities are desperately needed,” said Guthrie. “We now have a team in place with a wealth of knowledge and experience that is perfectly poised to successfully implement the multitude of initiatives we have on the horizon.”
About Opportunity Village
Mission: Opportunity Village is a not-for-profit organization that serves people within our community with significant intellectual disabilities, to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
Opportunity Village was founded in 1954 by seven families who were determined to give their disabled children the best lives possible. Now, 60 years later, Opportunity Village is one of the most recognized and respected Community Rehabilitation Programs in the United States.
Nevada’s largest employer of people with disabilities, Opportunity Village serves nearly 3,000 individuals annually, providing vocational training, employment, habilitation and social recreation programs and services that make their lives more productive and interesting.
Opportunity Village OVIPs – individuals who were previously considered unemployable – work in jobs throughout the community and at Opportunity Village’s Employment Resource Centers, collectively earning wages amounting to more than $7.6 million in 2012. They are hard-working and diligent, proudly paying taxes and happily leading more engaged, fulfilling lives.
Primarily a self-funded organization, Opportunity Village generates the majority of its operational funding through its employment contracts and fundraising efforts such as the Magical Forest and Great Santa Run, saving Nevada taxpayers $33.7 million annually.