LAS VEGAS—A new, statewide coalition devoted to open government and transparency is launching during Sunshine Week 2020.
The Nevada Open Government Coalition, an affiliate of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. NOGC will advocate, educate and empower on issues related to public records policies, open meeting laws, and more.
NOGC’s board of directors is made up of transparency advocates from across the state and political spectrum. The nonprofit is currently working on public education and advocacy initiatives. The group chose Sunshine Week, which runs March 15 – 21 2020, to announce its creation because Sunshine Week is an annual nationwide celebration of access to public information led by the News Leaders Association and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
NOGC President Patrick File, Assistant Professor of Media Law at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno said:
“There’s been great momentum building toward improvements in open government in Nevada in recent years, so now is the perfect time to bring together all sorts of statewide stakeholders to show how open government is good government, and why Nevada can be a leader in transparency.”
NOGC Vice President Maggie McLetchie said:
“Nevada made some positive steps during the last session of the Nevada Legislature, but there is far more to do to change the culture of hostility to access to records we see in many government agencies. Transparency is central to our democracy, and every Nevadan should have easy access to information about how our government operates at all levels.”
Other board members include:
- Robin Reedy, Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness and NOGC Treasurer.
- Wesley Juhl, President, Society of Professional Journalists Las Vegas and NOGC Secretary.
- Stephen Bates, Assoc. Professor, Journalism and Media Studies, UNLV.
- Lou Bubala, Kaempfer Crowell Law and outside counsel, Reno Gazette Journal.
- Glenn Cook, Executive Editor, Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- Sondra Cosgrove, President, League of Women Voters of Nevada.
- Brian Duggan, Executive Editor, Reno Gazette-Journal.
- Robert Fellner, Director of Policy, Nevada Policy Research Institute.
- Richard Karpel, Executive Director, Nevada Press Association.
- Roxanne McCoy, Las Vegas NAACP.
- Michelle Rindells, Reporter, Nevada Independent.
- Kenny Retzl, Guinn Center for Policy Priorities.
- Tod Story, Executive Director, ACLU of Nevada.
- Vanessa Vancour, Director of Community Relations, Community Health Alliance.
- Marla McDade Williams, Senior Director, Strategies 360.
For more information on the Nevada Open Government Coalition, visit www.nevadaopengov.org, and find NOGC on Facebook and Twitter @nevadaopengov.
