Speakers

Emily Jaenson grew up in northern Illinois and attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign graduating from the College of Media with a degree in Advertising.  Jaenson cut her teeth in sports as an intern in the Chicago Bulls ticket department where she sold season and group tickets during the 2005-2006 season. Eighty calls a day, hitting the phones, to fill the United Center on game day truly taught her that the fans are the life blood of any sports organization.

Leaving the Bulls, Jaenson took the non-profit route, planning galas, selling sponsorships, and launching fundraising programs for Muscular Dystrophy Association Chicago and then Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada. In 2013 the Reno Aces came calling where Jaenson grew from sponsorship account executive to Vice President in two years.

In 2016 Jaenson left Reno with her family for Houston where she had a chance to volunteer for Super Bowl 51, work as Sales Director on the World Corporate Games Houston and the inaugural Houston Sports Awards Show (Houston’s “ESPYS”), and work for Houston Methodist, the number one hospital in Texas, to manage business development through their sports partnerships. 

Jaenson returned to Reno on May 1, 2018 to accept the position as General Manager of the Reno Aces.  Jaenson is currently the only female GM in Triple-A baseball and the first in almost two decades.  Jaenson’s role as GM is to lead day to day business operations for baseball, oversee the baseball event experience, lead baseball operations with MiLB, PCL, and liaise with the Clubhouse, and ensure year round brand relevance of the Aces brand in Northern Nevada.

Jaenson is married to Shawn Jaenson, a Navy veteran, and has two young sons, Magnus and Anders.

HEIDI HOWE:  In 1988 Heidi began her law enforcement career as an officer with the Reno Police Department, as both a volunteer reserve and career officer. In 1991, she set out on a decorated and devoted career with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, rising in the ranks of the department from deputy, to sergeant, to lieutenant, to captain.

Heidi served 20 of her 26 years with the WCSO in supervisory positions, overseeing a vast range of responsibilities including, but not limited to: hostage negotiation, district courts, officer recruitment, regional police academy commander, crime scene operations, and training.

Heidi managed a team of 350 law enforcement deputies and civilians, oversaw a $56 million budget, supervised custody of more than 1,300 adult detainees, and lead the $20 million jail expansion from breaking ground to ribbon cutting. She also is the most innovative, collaborative, and understanding of our needs for the future, including her unique initiatives to treat substance use disorders in the jail, adjusting to the growth of our city, keeping our spending local, and regional special victims units and programs for seniors, veterans and victims of sex trafficking.

Nevada-rooted, Heidi graduated from Hug High School, where she met her husband. She earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University, and continued her professional development attending the Senior Management Institute for Police training at Boston University, and the Southern Police Institute’s Administrative Officer’s Course at the University of Louisville, Kentucky.
 

DARIN BALAAM:  For 21 years Darin Balaam served in the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office in several leadership positions, including Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Assistant Sheriff.

As Assistant Sheriff, the third highest position in the Sheriff’s Office, Darin managed a $98 million budget and was responsible for 754 employees and over 500 volunteers. He has worked in all three bureaus of the Sheriff’s Office: Operations, Detention, and Administration. He also commanded the tactical units for the SWAT, Hostage, and Detention Response teams.

As Sheriff, Darin’s four priorities will be 1) keeping up with the growth in our community by adding ten new deputies on the line each year over four years, 2) combatting sex trafficking in our community and assisting victims, 3) attacking the opioid crisis, and 4) enhancing mental health services for inmates in the detention center.

Darin is a graduate of the University of Nevada with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, and he earned a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Louisville. He is a proud father of four and lives with his family in Sparks.