Veteran gaming and hospitality executive brings decades of strategic and analytics leadership to the state’s leading dropout prevention organization
This year, our Communities In Schools of Nevada network is walking alongside nearly 100,000 students across 112 schools, making sure that obstacles don’t lead to missed futures. Our mission just gained a powerful new advocate with David Willis, Chief Strategy Officer of Fontainebleau Las Vegas, appointed to the board of directors.
David has spent his career at the intersection of strategy, data, and people, the same combination that makes CIS of Nevada’s evidence-based model work. As Chief Strategy Officer at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, he oversees a broad portfolio spanning IT operations, digital technology, revenue management, table games and sportsbook operations, slot marketing, and corporate strategy, as well as CRM, database marketing, consumer analytics, applied AI, and growth initiatives. In an industry built on people and anticipating needs, David has earned a reputation for turning insight into action and action into loyalty. That same instinct is exactly what drew him to CIS of Nevada.
Whether the goal is resort profitability or student graduation rates, David has built his career on the belief that the right data, paired with the right relationships, changes outcomes.
Why It Matters for Nevada Students
CIS of Nevada’s model works because it treats each student as a whole child, connecting them and their families to the resources, mentorship, and stability that let them focus on school. The results speak for themselves: for two consecutive years, including the most recent school year, CIS of Nevada has achieved a 97 percent graduation rate among the seniors it serves, in a state where chronic absenteeism and dropout risk remain a persistent challenge.
Sustaining that success across 112 schools takes more than good intentions. It takes board members who understand how to scale a mission responsibly, measure what matters, integrate systems, and build the kind of community partnerships that keep resources flowing to the students and families who need them. David, a Florida State University graduate with a track record of doing exactly that in the private sector, brings that same leadership to the board in support of student success.
