Congresswoman Berkley Biography
A Lifetime of Commitment to Nevada

As dynamic as the community she serves, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley has represented the families of Nevada’s First Congressional District since 1999 and is currently in her seventh term as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

A Las Vegas resident for more than four decades, Shelley has a deep sense of commitment to her community and has never forgotten that when her family headed West in search of a better life, they found it in southern Nevada. After completing junior high and high school in Las Vegas, Shelley became the first member of her family to attend college when she enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas (UNLV). Elected student body president her senior year, Shelley graduated with honors in 1972, earning a B.A. in Political Science. After obtaining her law degree in 1976 from the University of San Diego School of Law, Shelley returned to Las Vegas and began her professional career. Working to meet the needs of the rapidly growing Las Vegas Valley is a key focus of Shelley’s work in Congress. Her priorities include jump-starting the economy; creating jobs; helping families stay in their homes; securing more resources for education and transportation in southern Nevada; increasing access to affordable, high-quality health care for America’s families; developing clean, alternative energy sources; fighting the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump; protecting Social Security; and strengthening American alliances abroad to work toward international stability and peace.

House Committee Assignments for the 111th Congress

• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Social Security
  • Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures

Caucus and Task Force Membership

• Congressional Gaming Caucus (co-chair) Congressional Osteoporosis Caucus (co-chair)Congressional Stop DUI Caucus (co-chair) Congressional Taiwan Caucus (co-chair)Friends of Kazakhstan Caucus (co-chair)
• For a complete list click here

International Organization Membership

• Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue (Past Chair of the U.S. delegation)

Previous Public Offices

Shelley is a former Vice Chair of the Nevada University and Community College System Board of Regents. Appointed in 1990 by the Governor of Nevada, she subsequently served two terms and completed her work on the Board in 1998. Throughout her tenure, Shelley worked to keep higher education in Nevada affordable and accessible to all qualified students.
Serving in the Nevada State Assembly from 1982 through 1984, Shelley championed consumer protection for car buyers and mobile home owners, fought for tougher drunk driving laws, and founded the Senior Law Project.

Accomplishment in Industry

Shelley Berkley has held key positions in the private sector during a career that spans nearly a quarter of a century:Former Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs, Sands Hotel.
Former Chair, Board of the Nevada Hotel and Motel Association.
Past member, Board of Trustees of Sunrise-Columbia Hospital (an unpaid position).
Former In-House counsel for Southwest Gas Corp.
Former Deputy Director, Nevada State Commerce Department.
Member, County, State and National Bar Association.
Former National Director of the American Hotel-Motel Association.
Served as a Delegate to the White House Conference on Tourism.

Personal

Congresswoman Berkley is the proud mother of two sons: Sam, who is studying for an undergraduate degree at UNLV, and Max, who graduated from the UNLV Boyd School of Law in 2009. In March of 1999, Shelley married Dr. Lawrence Lehrner, a practicing Nephrologist in Las Vegas who has two children of his own: David, who is putting his graduate degree from Indiana University to use at Southwest Gas, and Stephanie, a family practice physician.