Saving the Millennium Scholarship—Nevada’s College Promise

As published in the Las Vegas Sun in March 2026

I know from experience that an affordable college education can change lives. In 2008, I entered my senior year at Coronado High School, determined to be the first member of my family to earn a college degree. I came from a working-class, union family that struggled to make ends meet. I often didn’t know where my next meal was coming from, let alone if I’d have enough money for college.

Nevada gave me a lifeline: I was eligible for the Millennium Scholarship.

In 1999, the Legislature and Gov. Kenny Guinn created the scholarship as one of Nevada’s greatest promises to our kids — a merit scholarship designed to help high-achieving Nevada students afford college and give them a pathway to generational opportunity.

For a kid in my position, knowing my dreams were in reach and that my state cared enough to invest in someone like me meant everything. It gave me peace I rarely knew growing up, and though I didn’t ultimately accept the scholarship, I never forgot what it did for me. In the decades since, it opened doors for thousands of kids like me all across Nevada.

But today, its future is in jeopardy. The scholarship, overseen by the College Savings Division of the Treasurer’s office, has been left for years without a long-term funding solution, leaving the scholarship fundamentally broken and insolvent. By 2027, unless we act, it will not have the funds to cover all eligible students.

Our next treasurer must save it. I’m running to do just that.

As a member of the state Assembly, I understood the need for bold, long-term revenue solutions. I championed two bills aimed at generating revenue by making Nevada the best place in the country for business incorporation. I recognized from my experience as a CFO and business attorney that it was a multibillion-dollar market. The results were immediate: The nation’s largest startup investor moved to Nevada, and we saw record-breaking incorporation revenue.

That’s the creativity we need in our next treasurer. We need one who will work on real, long-term revenue solutions, not someone who will preserve the status quo. I’ve proven that I have the ability to do that.

One of our most promising solutions lies in an asset already within our Treasurer’s office: unclaimed property. Nevada holds roughly $1.1 billion in unclaimed property. By modernizing our laws and creating a reasonable claims period like Ohio and Indiana, Nevada could responsibly redirect a portion of these funds toward our Millennium Scholarship without raising taxes or fees on working families, turning dormant capital into real opportunities for students. That’s the kind of future-forward thinking we need.

And more than that, Nevada needs a fighter. Nevada needs someone who understands what families are going through. I understand all too well, and I’m committed to doing something about it. My childhood taught me resilience. My career armed me with ability and experience. And now as a father to three young girls, I want to fight for Nevadans and build progress, not manage decline.

It’s about making sure hardworking students from Reno to Elko to Henderson can afford their education. It’s about saving a promise and giving Nevada families real economic breathing room. As treasurer, I will fight to save that promise and secure it for generations to come.

I’m running to be Nevada’s next treasurer so we can make life easier, better and more affordable for all who call this great state home. Let’s keep Nevada’s promise.