Events

Valieria Koss is a nonprofit leader and advocate dedicated to advancing equity, opportunity, and systems change for young people with lived experience in foster care. She brings extensive experience in public policy, program development, and cross-sector collaboration to her work at the RennerVation Foundation, where she focuses on building innovative pathways that support youth and young adults in achieving stability and independence.

Valieria holds a Bachelor’s degree from UCSD and a Master of Public Policy from Pepperdine University, grounding her work in data-informed decision-making and community-centered policy solutions. Her academic background informs her commitment to creating trauma-informed, youth-centered programs that address gaps in access, education, and economic mobility.

She is actively involved in the Junior League of Reno and is a proud member of Delta Gamma, where she continues to support leadership development, service, and philanthropy within the community.

Kurt Mische, President and CEO of PBS Reno, and Nancy Maldonado, Vice President of Education at PBS Reno, will give us a presentation about the 2026 PBS Reno Writers Contest.

The annual PBS Reno Writers Contest, part of PBS Reno Curiosity Classroom, invites local students in kindergarten through third grade to submit their own illustrated stories. 

The PBS Reno Writers Contest is a local contest designed to promote the advancement of children’s literacy skills through hands-on, active learning. The Writers Contest encourages children in grades K-3 to celebrate the power of creating stories and illustrations by submitting their own original pieces. Each year, thousands of northern Nevada children participate in the PBS Reno Writers Contest, building their creative voices, and developing critical reading and writing skills.

Dr. Ron Aryel is a pediatrician and disaster medicine  who, along with his wife Stacey Knobler, ran a joint practice in Reno that saw difficult, complex cases. His practice won awards from Senator Dean Heller, the City of Reno, the City of Kansas City, MO, Drexel University College of Medicine, Immunize Nevada, the CDC and the American Cancer Society for outstanding medical care and outstanding community service; he was cited twice by Disaster Medical Assistance Teams for outstanding care and leadership and collaborated on biosurveillance/WMD projects with the US Marine Corp. CBIRF team and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Police Department.

Dr. Aryel co-led the development of the COVID Risk Meter and Predictive Tool used by Northern Nevada Public Health.

Dr. Aryel was a key contributor to RODS, the United States’ first automated bioterror warning system (used in Washoe County) and co-conceived of the National Retail Data Monitor. President George W. Bush personally visited the RODS laboratory. Dr. Aryel cowrote and coedited the first textbook used by Ph.D. graduate programs in biosurveillance. 

Dr. Aryel has an M.D. from Drexel University, an M.B.A. from University of South Florida and is a life member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Every Mind Matters is a 501-c-3 non-profit that serves Northern Nevada. It offers Fellowships to students of high potential who suffer from poverty, often chaotic social backgrounds not conducive to learning or sometimes even economic survival.  Through our program, thus far 100% of Fellows graduate from the University of Nevada and either begin a professional career or win admission to graduate school.