START AGRITECH

Heather Brown is a Las Vegas native who graduated from Western High School and UNLV and has dedicated her life to public service. Heather is President and Co-Founder of StartUp Vegas, a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to boost the startup culture and create an environment of entrepreneurship in Southern Nevada.

After graduating from UNLV, Heather found her voice in Washington, D.C., as the National Chief of Staff for the Young Democrats of America and then working for Democratic GAIN, a U.S.-based non-profit that focuses on building long-term sustainable infrastructure for progressives, as their Programs Director before starting her own firm. She focused on political and professional consulting for political parties, candidates, labor unions, allied organizations, and youth activist groups in Europe, South America, and the Middle East, most notably spending two years living in Brussels working for a European Political Party, running their training and grassroots outreach efforts.

Using her experience working across business sectors, programming, and membership-based outreach, Heather co-founded StartUp Vegas with the intention of helping diversify the Southern Nevada community. StartUp Vegas is focused on a bottom-up approach that will connect, educate, and promote a robust startup ecosystem by supporting founders/entrepreneurs, creating meaningful programming, and providing opportunities to access capital. Her public service continues today as an elected member of the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education for a six-year term representing District 6, which covers the southern portion of Clark County.