Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO! – When You Dare to Say Yes (Off-site, KOP)
April 9 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO!
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
5:00 – 5:30 pm – Building open
5:30 – 6:30 pm – Lecture
Speaker: Jill Derby, Ph. D., AGB Senior Fellow
Title of Talk: When You Dare to Say Yes
Summary of Talk: Derby‘s talk will include an insider’s account of five decades of Nevada political history that led to the 2018 historic milestone of Nevada being the first state in the US to achieve a woman majority legislature. In the 1970s there were only three or four women elected to serve in Carson City. She describes many of other advances in the State that have leveled the playing field for Nevada’s women and opened doors of opportunity. As a cultural anthropologist, Derby also reflects on the cultural dynamics that prevailed in the decades concerned, and recounts aspects of her experience working and living abroad that influenced the path she pursued upon her return to Nevada.
Dr. Jill Derby
Speaker Bio: Author and activist Jill Derby has spent the last 50 years working to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in institutional and public life in Nevada. Derby was elected to three terms on the Nevada Board of Regents and served three terms as board chair. During that time she led an initiative to bring greater gender equity to NSHE, greater support and recognition for Nevada’s community colleges, and chaired the regent’s search committee that brought the first woman university president, Dr. Carol Harter, to Nevada.
The University of Nevada Press published her account of advocacy and activism in Nevada, When You Dare to Say YES, in 2024. Derby received the Trailblazer award from Emerge Nevada for her pioneering work in advancing opportunities for women in the State. She is the immediate past chair of the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani, Kurdistan, (AUIS), and is a Senior Fellow and Senior Consultant with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, (AGB), in Washington, D.C. Derby received my B.S. from UCSF, my B.A. from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and my M.A. and Ph. D. in cultural anthropology from the University of California, Davis.
The Writers’ Wednesday Lecture Series, held the second Wednesday of each month, features a different author who takes part in a book signing, a presentation and question-and-answer session with the audience.
The intent of the program is to highlight writers who specifically focus on Nevada, the Great Basin, or the West in general. The authors talk about the content of their books but also share details about the creative process.
We would like to thank our partner, the Knights of Pythias for hosting our off-site lectures.
The Knights of Pythias fraternal organization promotes friendship among men and for the general welfare of its membership. They strive to make the world a better place by practicing the principles of friendship, charity, and benevolence through community service. The Knights of Pythias has been serving Nevada communities across since the 1870s. There are only three active lodges left in the State of Nevada. The address is 980 Nevada Street, Reno, NV 89503.
