Mr. Selby and his family moved to Las Vegas in 1963. He graduated from Clark High School and later UNLV with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Biology. As a biologist he worked for federal, state and private entities conducting research and conservation efforts in Nevada, California, Utah and Arizona. His commitment to responsible environmental management continued as he pursued his doctorate in Environmental Engineering at Utah State University. He is a speaker, author of technical publications and technical reviewer on a variety of water and wastewater topics.

Appointed by the Las Vegas City Council, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city under the policy and legislative direction of the council. Key efforts under his direction include improving citizen awareness of how tax dollars are spent to benefit residents, promoting a diversity initiative to better serve and engage the city’s increasingly diverse population, initiating a system for tying city performance to citizen expectations and supporting a sustainable growth agenda. He also serves as the executive director of the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency, charged with the economic revitalization of downtown Las Vegas.

Mr. Selby is a 2005 graduate of the Kennedy School of Government Executive Program at Harvard University, a 2004 alumnus of the Civilian Leader Tour with Nellis Air Force Base and was selected by the Secretary of Defense to be a participant in the 2005 Department of Defense Joint Civilian Orientation Conference to Eastern Europe.

He is a member of various engineering and planning organizations such as the Urban Land Institute, the American Society of Civil Engineering, the National Society of Professional Engineers and various Chambers of Commerce. He holds a license to practice civil engineering in Nevada and is a Credentialed City Manager by the International City Management Association.

Deputy City Manager Steven Houchens

Steven Houchens is a deputy city manager for the city of Las Vegas. As deputy, Steven has executive oversight responsibilities for development functions as administered by the departments of Planning and Development, Building and Safety, Public Works, Field Operations and Business Development. His oversight responsibility extends to and includes the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency.

Mr. Houchens has more than 25 years of experience in the public sector. A large part of his background involves public finance. He was hired by the city of Las Vegas in 1993 as Director of Finance. Subsequently, in 1996, he was promoted to his current deputy position. Over the ensuing 10 years, he has had responsibility for almost all city departments with the exception of Fire and Rescue and Detention and Enforcement.

Prior to joining the city team, Mr. Houchens served for ten years as the finance director of Clark County, Washington; and for the University of Utah (his alma mater) prior to that. He started his career with the certified public accounting firm of John F. Forbes and Company in San Francisco, where he received his Certificate of Public Accounting (CPA).

Mr. Houchens received a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Utah. He has obtained professional training in various programs. He was a member of the first Advanced Government Finance Institute conducted by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) at Georgetown University. He completed the Cascade Public Executive Program sponsored by the Cascade Center for Public Service at the University of Washington.

Mr. Houchens is currently a member of the International City Managers Association (ICMA), the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and the Urban Land Institute. He served as president of the Washington Finance Officers Association (WFOA) and was one of the pioneer members of the GFOA's Special Review Committee. He has most recently served on the ICMA Benchmarking Consortium.

Deputy City Manager Elizabeth Fretwell

Elizabeth “Betsy” Fretwell has been involved in local government administration for nearly 16 years. In her current position as deputy city manager for the city of Las Vegas, Ms. Fretwell is responsible for leading community services, public safety and special projects within the organization. She is directly responsible for the Administrative Services, Detention & Enforcement, Fire & Rescue, Government & Community Affairs and Municipal Court. Ms. Fretwell works on various special projects such as the 2005 Centennial Celebration activities, the Union Park redevelopment civic projects, master plan development agreements, adaptive reuse of the historic Post Office and Courthouse; legislative initiatives, corporate strategic planning and leadership development. In 2006, Ms. Fretwell was appointed by Governor Kenny Guinn to the Medical Education, Research and Training Commission.

Prior to joining the city of Las Vegas, Ms. Fretwell held the position of intergovernmental relations director for the city of Henderson, Nevada, where she headed public policy and program research and development for the city manager, mayor and city council, and served as the city’s chief lobbyist at the Nevada State Legislature. Ms. Fretwell also has a history of coordinating regional planning activities. As acting project coordinator of the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority (SNSPA), she organized the initial and ongoing activities of the SNSPA, including the management of all organizational activities.

Before joining the city of Henderson, Ms. Fretwell worked for Clark County, where she was involved in extensive public policy and organizational analysis. She coordinated countywide strategic planning activities, including commission planning sessions, performance measurement, leadership development and business planning. She also served as a lobbyist at the Nevada State Legislature for two sessions, including acting as chief lobbyist in 1997.

Ms. Fretwell is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration. She is also a member of several professional and community organizations including the Nevada Public Radio Board of Directors, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, the International City/County Managers Association, the Local Government Managers Association of Nevada, the American Society for Public Administration, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Public Administration Advisor, and Pi Alpha Alpha, a public administration honor society.

Deputy City Manager Orlando Sanchez

Orlando Sanchez was named to fill a newly-created third deputy city manager position within the City Manager’s Office in May 2006. He oversees the departments of the City Clerk, Human Resources, Leisure Services, Neighborhood Services, Information Technologies and Finance and Business Services.

Prior to being named deputy city manager, Orlando served as the Neighborhood Services Department director, where he spearheaded many key, innovative plans and programs such as the 10-year Plan to end Homelessness; the Homeownership For Educators Program to assist teachers with housing costs; the Abandoned and Vacant Buildings Program to eliminate visible blight in neighborhoods; the EVOLVE Program to reintegrate ex-felons into productive lives; and a pilot program to help chronic inebriates.

Orlando has significant knowledge and experience with the city dating back to 1988, when he served as a management analyst with the then Department of Economic and Urban Development. As a Development Officer in Economic and Urban Development, he worked to promote and develop the Las Vegas Technology Center, the Spectrum of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Enterprise Park that brought jobs to where people lived, to reinvigorate economically lagging areas and cut commute times.  Since then, he has demonstrated his versatility and progressive leadership style with several departments in the city. As a facilities manager, he saved the city substantial money by standardizing and streamlining operations. His experience also includes work on the city’s long-term, comprehensive facility master plan.

Prior to joining the city of Las Vegas, Orlando served in the private sector as a branch manager for a financial institution. A native of Belen, New Mexico, Mr. Sanchez graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor’s degree in economics. In 2005, he was recognized as the “Emerging Public Administrator of the Year” by the American Society for Public Administration.