Hard to Be What You Can’t See: Jan Jones Blackhurst on Leadership, Government, and the Nevada Way

LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE TODAY

In this episode of Home Means Podcast, host Heather Brown sits down with Jan Jones Blackhurst, former Mayor of Las Vegas and Executive Director of the UNLV Black Fire Leadership Initiative, for a candid conversation about leadership, long-term thinking, and community responsibility.

Blackhurst reflects on what it took to guide Las Vegas through a period of unprecedented growth, from infrastructure and master-planned neighborhoods to education, healthcare, and workforce readiness. She shares why leadership requires taking risks before outcomes are guaranteed, why representation changes what future leaders believe is possible, and why strong communities are built when people engage, ask hard questions, and stay invested.

This episode explores how cities grow well, how leaders earn trust, and why building places people want to stay in requires more than short-term thinking.

🎧 Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.