Elaine Wynn

Elaine Farrell Wynn ( Pascal; April 28, 1942 – April 14, 2025) was an American billionaire businesswoman, art collector, philanthropist and education reformer. She co-founded Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts with her former husband, Steve Wynn.

Wynn was on the Nevada State Board of Education from 2012 until 2020 and was the board's president in 2015 and 2017. She was on the national board of Communities in Schools from 1999 until her death in 2025.

Early life and education

Wynn was born to a middle-class Jewish family on April 28, 1942, in New York City.[1] Her father was a salesman for resort hotel packages and her mother was a homemaker. She spent part of her early life in Miami Beach, Florida.[2]

She attended George Washington University and majored in political science.

Community involvement

Education

She was on the board of trustees of the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation, which focuses on education and community development initiatives. From 1983 to 2008, she was involved with the UNLV Foundation, and its chair from 1985 to 1991, which conducts fundraising for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She also was on the executive board of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education.[3]

Wynn co-founded the Nevada affiliate of Communities In Schools (CIS) in 1993 to provide integrated student support services to at-risk youth. She joined the national board in 1999 and was chair from 2007 to 2024.[3]

In 2011, she co-chaired the state government initiative, the Nevada Blue Ribbon Education Reform Task Force, which produced a report titled Nevada’s Promise. The report recommended various improvements to the state's public education system, among them:[9]

Wynn was appointed to the Nevada State Board of Education by Governor Brian Sandoval. During her tenure on the board, she was elected as its president and oversaw and helped approve the hiring of three Nevada Superintendents of Public Instruction.[2][10]

Establish a "Teachers and Leaders Council" to develop a fair and transparent evaluation system based on student growth and professional practice.
Utilize real-time data to inform instruction and policy decisions to tailor instruction to meet students’ needs.
Integrate support services within schools to address issues such as health, nutrition, and family support, enabling educators to focus on teaching.
Create an accountability system that measures student progress and school performance. It stressed the need for transparent reporting.
Revise the funding formula to more equitably distribute funds across schools and districts.

The arts

Wynn was appointed to the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by President Barack Obama in 2011.[3][11]

She was the co-chair of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.[12] In 2016, she provided a $50 million donation for the museum's $650 million expansion. She also helped fund the installation of Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass on the museum's campus.

In 2024, Wynn and the mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman, announced plans for the Las Vegas Museum of Art, which has a projected opening date of 2028. The planned museum will operate as a partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which will allow it to share its collections and programming; the partnership was to be co-chaired by Wynn.[12][13]

birth name	Elaine Farrell Pascal
birth date	April 28, 1942
birth place	New York City, U.S.
death date	April 14, 2025
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
education	George Washington University (BA)
occupation	Businesswoman
boards	Communities in Schools (national and local chapter), UNLV Foundation, Consortium for Policy Research in Education, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2015)
spouse	Steve Wynn (m. 1963-1986) (m. 1991-2010)
children	2
relatives	Andrew Pascal (nephew)

Early life and education

Business career

Community involvement

Education

The arts

Personal life and death

External links

References