Lenna Hovanessian is a proven community leader, activist, attorney, and proud Nevadan.
As a young child, Lenna arrived in this country after her family fled war – seeking safety, freedom, and the opportunity to rebuild both their lives and their livelihood. Growing up, she worked hard at school, and also worked full-time summer jobs. She was determined to honor the sacrifices her parents made and to seize every possibility this country offered.
Lenna earned her undergraduate degree from UCLA and entered Southwestern Law School with a clear purpose: to fight injustice, corruption, and inequality. She distinguished herself early and received national awards for her well-reasoned, articulate and passionate advocacy. For Lenna, education and hard work were the keys that opened her doors to opportunity- and she became committed to fight so that others would have the same opportunities as her.
For more than twenty years, Lenna has called Las Vegas home, raising her children here alongside her husband, Dr. Armen Hovanessian. Over the past decade, she has led state-wide efforts to improve the public school curriculum and co-drafted Nevada’s Holocaust and Armenian Genocide Education Bill, which became law in 2021. She has also worked at the federal level with Congressional leaders- including Representative Dina Titus—on drafting federal sanctions legislation addressing war crimes and political hostages.
As a mother, Lenna has advocated for more resources for students and teachers, and the need to hold Clark County School District accountable for the educational commitments they have made to families across Southern Nevada. Lenna is running for Clark County Commission because she has seen how much Southern Nevada families are struggling with affordability and housing expenses. She knows how high the grocery bills have risen, how hard it is to find a home you can afford to rent or buy, how tough it has become to find a job, and how much basic necessities like healthcare and car insurance costs. As a County Commissioner, she believes we need to fight for our community and deliver lower costs and more opportunities for families so that every Nevadan can have a better quality of life and a shot at the American Dream.