Meet the Leadership Team
Table of Contents
Shellie Hughes | Executive Director
Shellie Hughes was appointed Executive Director of the Department of Taxation in August 2021. She has more than 15 years of experience in state and local tax law.
Since March 2016, Shellie has served as Chief Deputy Executive Director for the Department of Taxation. In that role, she assisted the Director in the day-to-day operations of the agency. She oversaw the development of technical bulletins, regulations, and legislation; and she consulted with the Attorney General’s office regarding legal matters of the Department.
Her prior roles include Chief Legal Advisor to Chairman Jerome E. Horton of the California State Board of Equalization, Tax Counsel for the Legal Department Appeals Division in the area of business and special taxes, and Graduate Student Assistant for the California Franchise Tax Board.
Shellie graduated from McGeorge School of Law and received her Juris Doctorate degree with a tax concentration. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Yvonne Nevarez-Goodson | Chief Deputy Executive Director
Yvonne Nevarez-Goodson was appointed Chief Deputy Executive Director of the Department of Taxation in July 2022. She has worked for the State of Nevada in various roles since 2001.
Her role as Chief Deputy will include representing the Director in agency operations and strategic planning, development and review of technical bulletins, regulations, and legislation, and consulting on legal matters with the Nevada Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to joining the Department, Yvonne served as the Executive Director/Counsel for the Nevada Commission on Ethics for 12 years. She has also served in various other legal roles for the state, including Deputy General Counsel for the Nevada System of Higher Education and Senior Deputy Legislative Counsel.
Yvonne also spent several years in private practice focusing on civil litigation and government relations. She brings her legal, administrative, budgetary and legislative experience to this new role as Chief Deputy in support of Director Hughes and the mission of the Department.
Yvonne graduated from McGeorge School of Law and is also a Certified Public Manager.
Joe Bernardy | Deputy Executive Director, Information Technology
After honorably serving in the U.S. Navy for 11 years Joe Bernardy started his career with the State of Nevada where he has served for over 20 years.
The vast majority of that time has been spent in the Department of Taxation’s Information Technology Division. In June 2021, he accepted the position of Deputy Executive Director, Information Technology for the Department of Taxation.
Previous roles with the Department include Information Security Officer and Technical Team Lead of the server and network infrastructure team.
Jeff Mitchell | Deputy Executive Director, Excise and Local Government Services
Jeff Mitchell began his current role as Deputy Executive Director of Excise and Local Government Services in 2017. Starting in 2013 he worked in a variety of different roles with the Department of Taxation. Before starting at Taxation, he worked in a local government assessor’s office as an appraiser for ten years.
The Local Government Services Division within the Department of Taxation is a unique collection of professionals that provide valuation services of unitary property, review and provide budgetary guidance to local government entities, and produce studies and reports to help in the assessment process. The Excise Division provides services to a variety of different tax types including but not limited to Cigarette, Liquor, Live Entertainment, and Insurance Premium Tax. Jeff’s professional background is in the appraisal of property and he enjoys the many different tasks and duties that are required in his current role.
Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Southern Utah University and his Master of Administration from Northern Arizona University.
Adriane Roberts-Larson | Deputy Executive Director, Administrative Services
Adriane Roberts-Larson has proudly served the State of Nevada since 1998. She was appointed as Deputy Executive Director of Administrative Services in November 2021.
Adriane began her public service career with the Department of Motor Vehicles and transitioned to the Department of Taxation in 2012. Her experience includes over 20 years in management.
The Administrative Services Division is responsible for providing centralized support for all administrative, financial and fiscal activities of the Department. This includes budget/fiscal, tax distributions and statistics, demography, revenue accounting/processing/cancellations, document management, support services, and mailroom.
Adriane received her Master of Business Administration from Western Governors University in 2022 and is a Certified Public Manager.
Jennifer Roebuck | Deputy Executive Director, Compliance
Jennifer Roebuck was appointed Deputy Executive Director of Compliance in January 2022. She began her State of Nevada career at the Gaming Control Board in 1998, transferring to Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) in 2002 and then to Department of Taxation in 2005.
Jennifer has held a variety of positions throughout her state career in administrative functions, public service, revenue and audit, and management. Her oversight to the Compliance Division includes the revenue and audit Department functions. She incorporates her experience and education into the Deputy role and is honored to serve the State of Nevada with the Department’s Compliance staff.
Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting at Western Governors University in 2017 and is a Certified Public Manager.
Bonnie Long | Chief Financial Officer,
Administrative Services Officer IV
Bonnie Long has worked for the State of Nevada in various roles since 2004. She was appointed as the Administrative Services Officer (“ASO”) IV for the Department of Taxation in May 2024.
Prior to joining the Department, Bonnie served in several management positions within the State, including her most recent position as Deputy Director of Administrative Services at the Nevada Department of Wildlife. She has also served in various ASO roles within the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Nevada Commission on Tourism overseeing agency budget development, fiscal tracking and reporting, contracts, purchasing, facilities, human resources and grants management. She served on the State’s Employee/Management Committee and on the Interagency Council on Veteran’s Affairs.
Bonnie is a graduate of the State of Nevada’s Certified Public Manager Leadership Program and honorably served our country in the United States Marine Corps for 6 years.
Office of Organizational Change
This office plays a crucial role in ensuring organizational projects and initiatives meet objectives on time and on budget by focusing on employee adoption and usage.
The Department’s Office of Organizational Change collaborates with Nevada constituents, Department employees, and various stakeholders to better serve the Department in making ongoing internal and external change successful and well received.
Change management focuses on the people side of change by preparing, supporting, and equipping people and organizations in adopting and implementing changes in business processes, job-roles, organizational structures, technology, and more.
James Underwood | Information Security Officer, Master IT Professional II
James Underwood was appointed Information Security Officer with the Department of Taxation in 2021 and provides guidance to help improve the security posture of both the Department and the State.
James Underwood graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information and Computer Science from University of California, Irvine in 1996 and has since worked in various technical and technology leadership roles in the private and public sectors, including Chief Information Officer for a local government.
His experience includes over 20 years in information security, and he became a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) in 2017. He also completed the Carson City Chamber of Commerce Leadership program in 2019.
He has been responsible for the completion of a wide variety of major private and public sector technology projects and most recently has focused on specializing in information security, which has long been a passion.
Patric Starr | Enterprise Project Manager
Patric Starr joined the Department of Taxation in March 2022 as the Enterprise Project Manager in charge of Project MYNT (Modernizing Your Nevada Tax).
Patric Starr is a dedicated Enterprise Project Manager and software designer with 24 years of experience modernizing systems for companies like Boeing Aerospace, AT&T, Microsoft, Nevada State Elections, and most recently the Department of Taxation. As Program Manager of the North American Enterprise Licensing Group, he helped modernize the business flow creating efficiencies on the processing floor that resulted in an increase in output by the processing team.
Leading the way in modernizing the Department’s tax systems, Patric will support employees and taxpayers through education and training
Patricia Olmstead | Public Information Officer
Patricia Olmstead joined the Department of Taxation in 2023 after spending 16 years promoting local television stations. Her extensive experience in media and promotions makes her the ideal Public Information Officer to navigate the diverse interests of the Department and the public by ensuring transparency, communication and education.
Patricia also has strong background in community outreach, education and advertising in various roles in media and government affairs.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UCLA.
Tina Padovano | Executive Assistant
Tina Padovano began her career for the State of Nevada in 2012 and started serving as the Executive Assistant for the Department of Taxation in 2014.
Prior to her service for the State of Nevada, she worked as a legal secretary for various law firms in both Nevada and California.
Tina earned an Associate of Science degree from Western Nevada College in 2010 and holds certificates in paralegal and legal assistant studies.