Biography

Chris Giunchigliani, an active, dedicated life...

Chris’s Giunchigliani’s life is a story of active community service, a commitment to education and children, and proven leadership. It is also a story of independence, determination and a way of life which prompted Las Vegas Life magazine to name Chris as "Best Role Model" in 2002.

Even her birth was a bit different than most. After her parents' marriage, the newly wed couple left for Italy for an extended visit to the senior Giunchigliani who was unable to return to America for the wedding. That’s how Chris Giunchigliani was born on November 27, 1954 to American parents in Lucca, Italy.

The oldest of six children—three girls, three boys—Chris grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and attended St. John Bosco Elementary School.

Chris's mother worked as a waitress while her father worked days as a draftsman and attended college at night to earn a degree in architecture. Chris still remembers attending her father's college graduation ceremony with her two younger brothers.

The family moved to Barrington, Illinois when Chris was a teenager. She graduated from Barrington High School in 1972. She then attended Avila College in Kansas City, Missouri. Chris worked in retail, bartended and waitressed to pay her way through college, graduating in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in special education.

After teaching special education in Shawnee Mission, Kansas for two years, Chris moved to Las Vegas, and again worked her way through college, this time at UNLV, earning a master’s degree in education with special emphasis on the emotionally disturbed. Since then Chris has compiled more than 50 additional credit hours in post-graduate work.

Chris joined the Clark County School District in 1979 as a special education teacher at Bridger Junior High School (now Bridger Middle School). In addition to her teaching, Chris was active in her professional associations.

She served as president of the Clark County Education Association from 1983 through 1987 and as president of the Nevada State Education Association from 1987 through 1991.

First elected to the Nevada State Assembly in 1990, Chris served in eight regular and five special sessions. During the times the legislature was not in session, Chris continued as a special education teacher in the school district's middle schools until Spring of 2003.

In 2003, Chris applied for the open position of School District and Community Relations at the Community College of Southern Nevada. She was interviewed by an independent faculty board and offered the position, which she held until July 2, 2004, when she resigned citing a lack of work for her position.

Chris returned to the Clark County School District as a special education facilitator in a local middle school where she serves as a mentor to new teachers.

Additionally, Chris has volunteered in a wide variety of community activities and has garnered a large number of awards for her service in the legislature and the community.

Chris married Gary Gray in 1987, and the couple continues to live in the same home since they were married. They have English bulldogs, enjoy reading, gardening, skiing and traveling. Chris and Gary have traveled to all seven continents.

Chris Giunchigliani: Professional and Community Involvement...

Chris Giunchigliani has worked as a car hop, cashier, cook, waitress, maid, hostess, bartender, teacher and public servant. She is deeply involved in community and professional activities, and has held elected office since her first election in 1990.

Work in education...

• Teacher, Shawnee Mission School District Kansas 1976-78 Indian Creek Junior High 7th through 9th grade
• Teacher, Clark County School District, Special Education Teacher, 1979-1983 6th through 8th grade
• President, Clark County Education Association, 1983-1987
• Held numerous positions within the CCEA for over a decade including:
  • Chair, Instructional and Professional Development Committee
  • Created the CCEA student scholarship program
  • Founded NSEA Good Idea Grants program
  • Guest lecturer at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of Nevada Reno, and Community College of Southern Nevada
• President, Nevada State Education Association, 1987-1991
  • Traveled to all school districts in Nevada, meeting with teachers, administrators and parents
• Special EducationTeacher, Clark County School District, 1991-2002, 2005 to present
  • 6th through 8th grade special education teacher
  • Special education facilitator

Community Service and Membership...

• Member, Board of Directors of Clark Towers, a privately owned, nonprofit, low-income senior housing project, starting in 2003
• Member, Advisory Board for Maternal and Child Health, starting in 2003
• Member, Department of Corrections Re-entry Steering Committee, starting in 2004
• Circle Park Steering Committee, 2003-2004
• Appointed to serve on the University Council on Teacher Education
• Mount Charleston Volunteer Association, Inc.
• Former Board of Directors member of the National Youth Sports Program
• Former member of the United Way Review and Allocations Committee
• Former member of the Clark County Community Block Grant Committee
• Selected as a Young Political Leader to tour India and Pakistan and share ideas about American democracy
• Elected as Nevada Delegate to the National Democratic Convention (1984)
• Former Clark County deputy voter registrar
• Bell Ringer, Salvation Army Christmas Campaign
• State PTA Board of Managers, Consulting Member
• Member, Latin Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Hispanics in Politics
• Member, NAACP
• Member, Vegas Valley Business and Professional Women
• Member, American Association of University Women
• Member, AFAN
• Member, People for the American Way
• Member, Seniors United
• Member, ACLU
• Life Member, Sierra Club
• Member, National Women's Political Caucus
• Member, National Education Association
• Member, Nevada State Education Association
• Member, Clark County Education Association
• Nevada Empowered Women's Project
• Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
• Democratic Central Committee
• National Organization for Women

Elected and Appointed Public Office...

• Appointed by Governor Richard Bryan to Committee to Study the Fiscal Affairs of State and Local Government
• Appointed by Governor Richard Bryan to the Council on Narcotics Control and Drug Abuse
• Appointed by Governor Richard Bryan to serve on Trust Fund for the Education of Pupils
• Appointed by Governor Bob Miller to the Governor's Commission on Excellence in Education
• Appointed by District Attorney Stewart Bell to Task Force on Student Truancy
• Elected to serve in the Nevada State Assembly in 1990 and continues to serve in that capacity (term ends in November 2006).

As an Assemblywoman...

• Assemblywoman representing District 9 for eight legislative terms
• Speaker Pro Tempore of the Nevada State Assembly
• Vice-Chair of Ways and Means Committee
• Vice-Chair of Growth and Infrastructure Committee
• Member of Interim Finance Committee
• Member of Committee on Commerce and Labor
• Chair of Elections, Procedures and Ethics
• Chair of Labor and Management Committee for three terms
• Member of Taxation Committee
• Member of Ways and Means Committee since 1991
• Member of Legislative Commission

Awards and recognition...

• 2004 Friend of Education Award, Nevada State Education Association
• 2003 Citizen of the Month, City of Las Vegas
• 2003 Freedom Fighter Award, Martin Luther King Committee
• 2003 100% Voting Record Award, Nevada Conservation League
• 2002 Profiles in Courage Award, Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice
• 2002 Best Role Model by Las Vegas Life magazine
• 2001 Legislator of the Year, Nevada Association of Social Workers
• 2001 Legislator of the Year, Nevada Council of Police and Sheriffs
• 2001 Legislator of the Year, Nevada Highway Patrol Association
• 2001 Profile in Courage Award, Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice
• 2001 Legislator of the Year for Commitment to Social Justice, Nevada Association of Social Workers
• 2000 Citizen of the Month, City of Las Vegas
• 2000 Community Access to Child Health Award, American Academy of Pediatrics
• 2000 Exemplary Civic Leadership Award, Clark County School District
• 2000 Leadership Award, Oral Health Consortium of Southern Nevada
• 1999 Outstanding Legislator Award, NOW
• 1997 Distinguished Alumnus Award, UNLV Alumni Association
• 1995 Award for "Efforts on Behalf of Women,” Nevada NOW
• 1994 "Good Gal" Award, Southern Nevada Women's Political Caucus
• 1993 Legislator of the Year Award, Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs
• 1993 Award for :Outstanding Legislative Accomplishment on Behalf of Working Men and Women," Ironworkers Council
• "A Fighter and Advocate for the Little Guy" Proclamation by Governor Bob Miller declaring September 11, 1992 as Chris Giunchigliani Day
• Outstanding Service Award, Special Education Parent Advisory Committee
• UNLV Women's Center recognition
• Mike O'Callaghan Teamwork Award
• Certificate of Appreciation, Culinary Training Academy
• NSEA Member Rights Award
• Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada, Appreciation Award for "Support of Working Men and Women in Nevada"
• Legislator of the Year Award from the Nevada State AFL-CIO
• Legislator of the Year Award from the Chiropractors Association
• Women's Democratic Club Spotlight Award

Hobbies and activities...

In the spare time she has, Chris enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, hiking and skiing. Chris and her husband have traveled to all 7 continents. She redesigned the landscape of her home, making it all water-saving and drought tolerant. Neighbors are no longer surprised to receive a box of books Chris has read and thought they might enjoy. She hikes regularly in the Mount Charleston area, enjoys outings to Red Rock, Valley of Fire and Zion Park. And, she’s skied much of the American west, taken on challenging routes in Canada, skied in Austria and has skied from Italy into Switzerland at the Matterhorn and from Italy into France at Mont Blanc.