Irene Porter

Southern Nevada Home Builders Association

For nearly 30 years, Irene E. Porter has served as the executive director of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association. With some 700 members, SNHBA is the largest trade association representing the residential construction industry in Nevada. Porter also serves as the executive director of the Nevada State Home Builders Association and is recognized for significant leadership in the local building industry and the community.

Porter’s responsibilities include: chief executive officer and manager of the above- mentioned organizations and their special programs, such as the Web site, www.snhba.com; the Political Action Committee, and the Sales and Marketing Committee; the innovative Quality Assurance and Green Building programs; lobbying on behalf of the association and the home building industry at the Nevada Legislature; and dealing with local, state and federal governmental entities and agencies on all issues affecting the industry.

Prior to joining SNHBA in December 1977 as executive director, Porter was project manager for American Nevada Corp.’s Green Valley master-planned community in Henderson, Nev., (1976-77), and director of planning for the City of North Las Vegas (1967-76.)

Porter served as a member of legislative interim studies on water (1989-90), infrastructure financing (1987-88 and 1993-94), and subdivision laws (1975-77 and 1991-93.) She was chairperson of the State Land Use Planning Advisory Council (1971-74); chairperson of the Clark County Regional Planning Council Technical Committee (1971-76); a member of the Clark County Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, Clark County Master Transportation Study Advisory Committee (1990), Clark County Committee to reduce housing costs (1983-85), the Las Vegas Valley Water District/Henderson Water Advisory Committee, and Clark County Affordable Housing Committee. She was a member of the State Public Works Board for eight years. As the list reveals, when there's work to be done in the community, Porter is often called upon to serve because of her recognized expertise and common-sense approaches.

Porter’s current memberships include: the American Public Works Association since 1969, the American Society of Association Executives since 1979, the National Association of Home Builders Executive Officers Council, the American Planning Association and the Nature Conservancy. She is listed in “Who’s Who in Association Management” and received the “Lobbyist of the Year” award during the 1991 Nevada legislative session from her fellow lobbyists. In 1994, she was presented with four National Association Excellence awards by the National Association of Home Builders. In 1998, she received the Clark County School District Civic Hero Award in recognition of her efforts on behalf of the local school system.

Porter was the first woman in Nevada to be a registered Planner-In-Charge, a director of planning, a full-time lobbyist at the Nevada Legislature, and chief executive officer of a construction trade association. She is a past member of We Can, an organization working against child abuse and neglect. She has participated in fund raising for TADC, the Girl Scouts, the North Las Vegas Women’s Club, the National Respiratory Center, the American Cancer Society and the American Red Cross. She received an award from the American Cancer Society in 1990.

Porter was born in Fargo, N.D. She married Richard Porter on Oct. 14, 1961, and they have an adult daughter. Porter has lived in Southern Nevada since 1954.