Staff

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EXECUTIVE STAFF

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Alyson McCarthy

Chief Executive Officer
Alyson McCarthy spent 20 years as a television news anchor and consumer investigative reporter for News 13 Inside Las Vegas and 8 News Now before she was bitten by the “non-profit bug” and resigned from the news business permanently in 2010. She became the Marketing Director for Nevada Donor Network, whose mission involves educating the community about the importance of organ and tissue donation to save lives. One year later, an executive search committee for Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Las Vegas approached Alyson about becoming the Executive Director for the organization. “It was an opportunity of a lifetime,” Alyson said. “I have enjoyed the challenges and rewards that come with leading a wonderful organization and staff, whose mission is to help families in crisis.” Four years later, Alyson has led the charge to remodel the existing Ronald McDonald House®, expand the organization’s hospital lunch program, and implement the first hospital-based Ronald McDonald Family Room® in Las Vegas, which celebrated its grand opening in March of 2016 at Sunrise Children’s Hospital – keeping local families closer than ever to their hospitalized children. As with the Ronald McDonald House® mission, family comes first for Alyson. She has been married to Las Vegas CPA Bill McCarthy for 27 years. She is also the proud mom to 22-year old Nicholaus and 20-year old Matthew, both of whom are currently attending college in Reno, Nevada, and 15-year old Andrew, who currently attends Bishop Gorman High School.
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Shannon Sacks

Director of Operations
Shannon joined Ronald McDonald house in 2017 as our Director of Operations. Her desire to help children stems back to elementary school in Southern California where she became involved in assisting children with special education needs. She moved to Henderson, Nevada in 1989 and studied Business Management at University of Phoenix. She comes to the House with more than 15 years of management and telecommunications experience. She believes in working hard with a smile and being part of an environment that can provide a compassionate hand in helping children and their families in their time of need. Shannon is a wife and mother of two and loves to spend time with family and friends. She is an artist in all forms of media and shares this passion with her daughter.
Jacqueline Cruz

Jacqueline Cruz

Director of Development
Jacqueline joined the House as the Special Events Coordinator in 2016 and started serving as the Director of Development in 2019. Prior to RMHC, Jacqueline served in the public sector managing community events and programs for elected officials as well as political fundraising and campaign events. Prior to relocating to Las Vegas in 2015, her community engagement efforts focused on connecting valuable educational and health resources to families in need, and she is grateful to continue supporting this work in a non-profit setting. Jacqueline holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley and is dedicated to always learning and building her craft. She enjoys the Vegas trails and eateries and traveling with her husband of five years, toddler son, and baby girl. They have only deepened her love of RMHC's mission to keep families together.
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Tim Gaubatz

Director of Finance
Tim joined RMHC in 2021 as the Director of Finance. He has an MBA from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and an undergraduate economics degree from the University of Wisconsin. Tim brings more than twenty years of experience in Finance to RMHC. He is excited about the opportunity to be a part of an organization that goes above and beyond to help families in their time of need. Tim has been involved in multiple projects that have expanded or renovated organizations that he has worked for in the past. Tim is a lifelong Green Bay Packer Fan and Los Angeles Dodger Fan. When not watching those teams play you can find him enjoying the outdoors with his family and friends. Tim has three children.

HOUSE STAFF

Julie Beard

Julie Beard

Executive Administrative Assistant & Database Coordinator
Since 2008, Julie has served as the Family Services Coordinator, Volunteer Manager, and is now currently the Executive Assistant & Database Coordinator. Prior to coming to the House, she spent four years at the American Heart & Stroke Association, where she truly found her passion for the non-profit world. As a Bay Area California native, Julie has resided in Las Vegas for 16 years with her husband and daughter. In her spare time, she enjoys getting lost in a good book, traveling and spending time with family & friends.
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Marifer Sandoval

Special Events Coordinator
Marifer was born and raised in Mexico City, and moved to Las Vegas in 2016. She has her Bachelor of Science in Marketing, and comes to RMHC with a wealth of experience with 12 years of experience in marketing, and over 7 years of experience as the Director of Sponsorships and Corporate Events at Aeromexico. When Marifer worked with Aeromexico she had the opportunity to support non-profit organizations through auctions and fundraisers at events. She has always been passionate about helping others and even volunteered as a coordinator for the emergency response and natural disaster relief programs at Aeromexico. She is fluent in Spanish, and in her spare time enjoys spending time with her husband, attending concerts, shows, and the outdoors that surrounds the Las Vegas valley.
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Julia Copie

Marketing Coordinator
As a Las Vegas native, Julia has always had a growing passion for the non-profit world. Ever since middle school, Julia has dedicated much of her time and heart to community service for various non-profit organizations in Las Vegas through Student Council and personal endeavors. In December of 2019, Julia raised over $500 through her candle business to gift a single mom and her young son a Christmas they’ll remember forever through the Adopt-A-Family organization. There, she truly discovered her burning desire to continue to serve the community. In her spare time, she enjoys raising her puppy, singing, and modeling professionally.
Christine Fernandez

Christine Fernandez

Volunteer Manager
Christine has worked at the Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Greater Las Vegas since 2013. Christine hails from Great Britain and attended Coventry University. She was an Administrative Officer with the British Civil Service for over 15 years and has extensive experience in contract administration, customer service, and accounts payable. After relocating to the United States with her family, she felt it was vitally important to put her career on hold to raise her family. While doing that she was an active volunteer at different organizations including Nellis AFB and the Ronald McDonald House® and enjoyed working with diverse people at each organization. As Volunteer Manager, Christine enjoys working with the committed people who make up our volunteer workforce, giving their valuable time helping the families and children we serve. Without their support and dedication our mission would not be possible.

Robert Fernandez

House Manager
Robert was born in Oxford, England and has lived in Las Vegas for the past 19 years. Robert recieved his bachelors of science in Astronomy and bachelors of science in Physics from Northern Arizona Univeristy. He volunteered with RMHC Las Vegas for 7 years before being hired as a House Manager in 2019. In his free time, he enjoys stargazing and playing computer games.
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Magda Gonzalez

Family Services Coordinator
Magda Gonzalez was born in Mexico and has called Las Vegas her home for the past 30 years. Magda was excited when she heard about a position opening up at the House because of everything that RMHC does for families. She really wanted to be a part of an organization that allowed her to make a difference. Magda is grateful to call RMHC her work home! Her favorite part of her role as a Family Services Coordinator is getting to know the families and being someone for them to talk to. Magda enjoys DIY projects and spending time with her husband and their two kids. They like to go to antique stores to find new items to add to their collections.
Whitney Herron

Whitney Herron

Front Office Administrator
Whitney Herron was born in Modesto, CA but moved with her family to the East Bay Area soon after. She attended San Diego State University where she majored in Political Science and minored in Naval Science. She and her daughter Sydney and have lived throughout the United States. Her favorite pastime is travel and hopes to do much more of it in the future.
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Marvella Baca

House Manager
Marvella is our Weekend House Manager, and how she came to be with RMHC® is a story with a happy ending for both Marvella and the House! Thirteen years ago her 16 year old son was involved in a terrible accident. Marvella stayed here at the House for nearly 5 months while her son underwent numerous surgeries and a difficult recovery. She fell in love with RMHC® and our mission. She sees working here as giving back to an organization which helped her in a time of need, and she can truly empathize with what our families are experiencing. Marvella has been with us for 12 years, and is happy to report her son is very well.
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Jennifer Jeske

Program Services Coordinator
Jennifer earned her Public Relations degree in 2014 from Glendale Community College in Arizona, working as an intern for the City of Glendale’s Public Relations Department. Jennifer has been doing volunteer work for more than 20 years, starting when she was just 19 and did the Three Day Walk, raising more than $11,000 with a group of five girlfriends. Jennifer says that experience is what led her to a career in the non-profit world, with a passion to enrich her local community. Jennifer most recently worked as an event coordinator for The Embracing Project in Las Vegas, which helps abused youth throughout Las Vegas. Jennifer is mom to a beautiful daughter, and enjoys plants, the outdoors, and running. Her goal is to run a half-marathon in all 50 states.
Sean Nichols

Sean Nichols

Hospitality Specialist
Sean moved to Las Vegas to assist his sister after an accident. RMHC Las Vegas was there to assist his family during his sister's recovery, and Sean says he's grateful to now be able to do the same for others in need.
Rose Noriega

Rose Noriega

Programs Coordinator
Rose was born in Guam and raised in Las Vegas. She has a Master’s degree in Education, and she has been volunteering for the past 7 years, with the last 3 years with Ronald McDonald House Charites of Greater Las Vegas. She has a passion to support her community and help families. She is so very honored to be a part of Ronald McDonald House Charities family.
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Zach Triplett

Facilities Manager
Zach joined RMHC in 2013 as an Evening House Manager. In 2018 he was promoted to Facilities Manager. In his role as Facilities Manager, he manages repairs and maintenance of the House and manages the night staff. Zach is also the Houses “Mr. Fix-it”, and the guy who can lift the heavy stuff! Zach was born in Augsburg, Germany and has lived in Las Vegas since 2012. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, spelunking, and playing pranks on his fellow staff members.
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Tiana Vernooy

Family Services Coordinator
Tiana grew up in California, and moved to Las Vegas in 2011 to attend the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, graduating in 2015. Upon graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Tiana began to work for other non-profits in the Vegas area until coming to the Ronald McDonald House in 2018. Tiana has an extensive background and has worked with: individuals with cognitive impairments, youth who have found themselves in legal trouble, psychiatric patients, women and their children affected by homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, survivors of human trafficking, and youth in Clark County’s Foster System. In her spare time, you can find Tiana spending time with her animals, as she currently has four cats and two dogs.

Call Us

(702) 252-4663

Email Us

info@rmhlv.org

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