Nevada Boys' State Staff

Nevada's Premier Civic Leadership Staff

The American Legion Nevada Boys' State staff is a volunteer team with combined experience totaling more then 200 years. We would like to extend a special thanks to the staff that works to make American Legion Nevada Boys' State one of the best summertime experiences in the nation. The staff also include a number of legionnaires that attend the program and and represent the foundational support provided by the American Legion.

Craig Huntington Executive Director Craig.Huntington@NevadaBoysState.org Craig became Executive Director in late 2007. He attended American Legion Boys' State and American Legion Boys' Nation and has served as a Director at American Legion Nevada Boys' State Program for over four years. He graduated from Georgetown University, and then worked on the campus for a year in the Office of Residence Life. He currently lives in Las Vegas and works as a Vice-President for Alliance Association Financial Services. Website: Craig Huntington

Jay Hansen Endowment Director Jay is a long serving Boys State staffer. As the Endowment Fund Director he raises money from corporations and individuals to build a permanent endowment to fund the program in perpetuity. Jay is the Legislative Director for the CA Building Trades Council, AFL-CIO representing their 350,000 members before the California State Legislature.

Ryan Hamilton Program Director Ryan.Hamilton@NevadaBoysState.org Ryan Hamilton is a senior at the Catholic University of America, where he majors in Politics. He attended Nevada Boys' State in 2003, as a delegate from Chaparral High School in Southern Nevada. He has spent the past four months working as a Parliamentary Assistant to Mark Prisk, MP, at the House of Commons in London. Ryan is currently in the third round of the highly competitive Foreign Service Officers' Test. As Programming Director, he is chiefly in charge of coordinating and assembly the program's components into an educational, fun, leadership experience for delegates.

Julian Phillips Administrative and Finance Director Julian.Phillips@NevadaBoysState.org Julian has been with NBS for nearly a decade. He is currently working to increase the funds available to sponsors delegates at NBS. He graduated from Arizona State University in 2005 with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He currently works as an industrial engineer at American Express.

Tait Ecklund Recruitment/Admissions Director Tait.Ecklund@NevadaBoysState.org Tait has been with American Legion Nevada Boys' State for almost ten years. He recently received his Masters in Public Administration from University of Kansas and is working in the City Managers Office in Reno, Nevada. Tait is bringing a fresh look to the NBS Admissions Process and is working to increase the number of delegates that attend Nevada Boys' State

Craig Adams Senior Advisor Craig.Adams@NevadaBoysState.org Craig Adams was the Executive Director of Nevada Boys' State from 2002 to 2007. Craig has been with the NBS program for over a decade and has served as staffer at the American Legion Boys' Nation program in Washington D.C. He is the Director of Account Management for North American at Akamai Technologies. Craig currently lives in Boston and enjoys spending time with his wife Sarah and two children.

Chris Walker Senior Advisor Chris attended Nevada Boys' State and Boys' Nation in 1996 and has served as a Director at the American Legion Nevada Boys' State since 2003. In 2006, he graduated from Stanford Law School and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and then clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. After working as a trial attorney on the Civil Appellate Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice for a year, Chris is now clerking for Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Among his roles at Boys' State, he coordinates the judicial programming, including the NBS Moot Court.

Noah Wheatley Legion Liaison Director Noah has been with NBS for nearly ten years. He is a Fire Fighter with the Clark County Fire Department and acts as the Emergency contact at NBS. Noah was the Senior Counselor for the 2006 Honor City.

Jeff Walker Secretary Jeff has been with American Legion Nevada Boys' State since 2005. He is currently pursuing a JD at Stanford Law School. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 2007 with a BA in International Relations. Jeff currently serves as the Secretary for NBS and works on the Programming team in overseeing the legislative process.

Andrew Moschetti Director of Nevada Boys' State Alumni Association Andrew currently serves as the Director of the NBS Alumni Association. He attended Nevada Boys' State in 2000 from Elko High School. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with degrees in Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Japanese Language and Literature, and Architecture. He is the Operations Division Chief at Boulder Emergency Squad / Boulder County Fire-Rescue, a fire/rescue department in Boulder, Colorado, and also works as the Director for JointFire, a fire and EMS training program serving over 20 local agencies.

Zach Zaragoza Senior Counselor Zach has been with the American Legion Nevada Boys' State since 2001. After graduating from Green Valley High School he attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he earned a degree in Political Science and a minor in Communications. While attending UNLV he was the President of the College Democrats and wrote for the student newspaper. He currently serves as a Regional Representative for U.S. Senator Harry Reid working on Education, Transportation, and Youth issues in the Senator's Las Vegas office.

David Omara Counselor David has recently returned to NBS after moving back to the Reno area in 2006. David is currently a partner in The O'Mara Law Firm, P.C., were he practices in the areas of juvenile defense, litigation and government affairs. David graduated from the University of Nevada, located in Reno in 1999, and received his law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 2003.

David Rapaport Counselor David is returning for his second year on staff here at NBS. He is currently working on his bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is working with the endowment fund to secure more funds to bring more delegates to the program.

Myers Paulsen Counselor Myers attends the University of Nevada, where he studies political science, although he is exploring other areas of study. Myers has been on staff for what will be his third year this 2009 program. While not at school or with friends, Myers enjoys his job with Apple. He has been with the company for about a year. Myers looks forward to meeting everyone in Reno.