Strong leadership for a healthy democracy

cisco aguilar

strong leadership for a healthy democracy

Francisco “Cisco” Aguilar was born in Tucson, Arizona to a working class family making the most of the American Dream. His father was an IBEW electrician, often working long nights in dangerous conditions to keep food on the table, and his mother stayed at home to take care of their three children. They worked hard to give Cisco the opportunities he had growing up, and he has done his best to make them proud. The first in his family to graduate from college, Cisco has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and accounting, MBA and J.D. all from the University of Arizona. 

 

Cisco moved to Nevada more than 20 years ago, and in his time in the Silver State he has built strong relationships with community leaders and organizations across partisan and ideological boundaries. He’s spent those years helping improve our state, as and Special Counsel to Jim Rogers, Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education. He also formerly served as General Counsel for Agassi Graf, the management company for tennis legends Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf, and the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education.

In 2017, Cisco was selected as a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow. This transatlantic program saw Cisco spend a year working at Adidas Global Headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, as a member of the Brand Sustainability team. This experience gave Cisco a new perspective on international business and cultures, and showed him how important sustainable corporate initiatives are for our planet’s future.

 

One of the roles Cisco is proudest of was becoming the founding Chairman of Cristo Rey St. Viator Board of Trustees. Cristo Rey is a school aimed at getting opportunities for students that grew up like him: they just needed a chance. The school serves students in one of Las Vegas’ most vulnerable neighborhoods,  and provides a work-study program designed to prepare them for future careers.

Cisco’s expertise in the intersection of athletics and law led to an appointment to the Nevada Athletic Commission, which regulates boxing and mixed martial arts. He was appointed by governors Jim Gibbons and Brian Sandoval, and served on the Commission for eight years. For two of those years, Cisco was  Chairman and made it his mission to make boxing and mixed martial arts fights safer and more accountable. His commitment to doing the right thing, despite the heat he took from prominent fighters and their teams, brought some of the largest sporting events in the world to Las Vegas.

Cisco is a member of the Nevada, California, and Arizona Bars. He also participates broadly in the community, serving as a member of the Board of Directors for Sletten Construction Company, the Las Vegas Bowl, the Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas, Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, the University of Arizona James E. Rogers Law College Board of Visitors, the University of Arizona Foundation Board of Trustees and a founding board member of the Innocence Center of Nevada.

 

In his free time, Cisco loves to be outdoors on my bike or hiking. He’s previously completed a full Ironman and has hiked some of the world’s most incredible mountains, including Mt Charleston Peak, Everest Base Camp, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, Patagonia, and Machu Picchu.