A workhorse for Nevada’s youth, Catarata saved the Nevada Commission on Mentoring and created Micro-Grants for Nonprofits and Educators
HENDERSON, NEVADA – Karl Catarata, a Nevada public servant and non-profit professional, will run for the Clark County School District (CCSD) Board of Trustees for District A, which encompasses Boulder City, Clark County, Henderson, Searchlight, and Laughlin.
Catarata currently serves as the Nevada State Director of the Human Rights Campaign and Chairman of the Nevada Commission on Mentoring (NCOM).
Catarata said on Thursday: “I’m excited to announce my candidacy for the CCSD Board of Trustees, driven by a passion to contribute to meaningful solutions. Together, we have the power to shape a brighter future for our students and improve the system to cater to their needs. I’m committed to prioritizing our children and families by instilling accountability as CCSD embarks on a new journey to seek a new superintendent. My focus remains on student achievement, delivering concrete results, optimizing resources, and ensuring readiness for our students to succeed”.
If elected, the CCSD Board of Trustees will gain a stern public servant who will bring accountability and serious experience in board governance and public affairs.
With nearly a decade of public service, Catarata has served in local, state, and federal roles to support Nevadans. As a non-profit professional, Catarata works for children and families for the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. As Chairman of NCOM, Catarata worked tirelessly to realize the vision of his mentor, the late Assemblyman Tyrone Thompson, in creating a functional statewide commission that supports mentoring programs.
Notably, Catarata fought against Nevada Senate Bill 76 (2021), a bill that would remove state advisory commissions and boards, along with administrative functions to NCOM. Catarata believed these statewide volunteer boards serve as a marketplace of ideas to support youth. He worked to terminate the bill with community stakeholders, and then pushed the Nevada Department of Education to fund NCOM with $100K of micro-grant funding for non-profit organizations across the state. Today, non-profit organizations receive micro-grants and youth get the support they need because of Catarata’s persistence.
Catarata believes that quality education should be accessible to every child in Nevada. He also serves as a Board Trustee on the Vegas Vista Academy Charter School, and as a Member of the Advisory Council of the DISCOVERY Children’s Museum in the City of Las Vegas.
Catarata is a proud product of CCSD. He graduated from Valley High School’s International Baccalaureate program in 2016, attended UNLV’s College of Liberal Arts for a Bachelors in Political Science and a Certificate in Leadership & Civic Engagement. Catarata is currently a student at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy for a Certificate in Education Finance, Leadership and Strategy.
Friends and family of the candidate will convene in the business days ahead to share upcoming announcements and more.
Press is advised to contact [email protected] for any media inquiries. n
