Cheryl Cooley & Neyda Becker
Cheryl Cooley serves as the Executive Director for the Southern Nevada Children’s Advocacy Center. Cheryl has worked in the child welfare arena for the past 16 years. From childhood, Cheryl’s desire has been to work in the helping profession. She earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Arizona State University and from there went on to work with a variety of populations in need of assistance. While child welfare has been her most current experience, she has had the opportunity to work in the full-time ministry with her husband, she worked with people with mental health challenges, the homeless, and welfare recipients in need of employment. While employed with the Department of Family Services, she attended UNLV and graduated with her master’s degree in public administration. Cheryl was promoted to the Executive Director position 2 ½ years ago and has worked in partnership with the CACF to make a difference in the lives of children and their families in Clark County. Cheryl is married and has two amazing daughters. In her spare time, she has several interests. She likes Zumba, tennis and is learning to play pickleball. Music speaks to her soul and there’s nothing like the magic that a performance on the stage brings.
Neyda Becker, MPA is a long-time resident of Las Vegas. Born in Cuba her family moved to the U.S. when she was an infant and they made Las Vegas their home. For as long as she can remember, Neyda has been passionate about helping others and serving the needs of underserved populations residing in her community, particularly women, children, and persons with disabilities. Having attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Neyda received a B.A. in Sociology and later returned to school to obtain her master’s degree in public administration in 2018. She has worked within the nonprofit sector in a number of different roles for over 15 years. Neyda is currently the executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center Foundation (CACF). Through their unique public/private partnership with Clark County and the Southern Nevada Children’s Advocacy Center (SNCAC), the CACF is committed to helping and healing victims of child abuse and neglect. In addition to her work at the CACF, she is also a part time instructor at UNLV’s School of Public Policy and Leadership. When not supporting the needs of the SNCAC or teaching at UNLV, Neyda loves to spend time with her family and friends, playing tennis, hiking, traveling and enjoying all that the local Southern Nevada community has to offer.