Francis Allen-Palenske (born 1976/1977) is an American elected official in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Early life and education

Allen-Palenske was born in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

. Her parents operated various franchise food establishments. She graduated from Galena High School in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

and then earned a B.A. in Political Science and Business from the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

. She is of Korean descent.

Career

After school, she worked as a congressional staffer. She was elected as a member of the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year ...

from 2004 to 2008, the first Asian-American woman elected to the Assembly. After her tenure, she owned and operated a Capriotti's sandwich franchise. She returned to public service after winning election to the

Las Vegas City Council Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

; she was sworn in on December 7, 2022 representing Ward 4.

Personal life

She is married to Steve Palenske, Fire Captain and 23-year veteran of the City of Las Vegas Fire Department. They have three children and reside in Northwest Las Vegas. She is bilingual, speaking both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

Community involvement and achievements

*Speedway Children's Charity, Board Member *University of Nevada, Reno Alumni Association *Korean-American Women's Association of Las Vegas, member *National PTA *Nevada Republican Network Board Member *Clark County Republican Party Central Committee *

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

, member *Nevada Senior Coalition

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen-Palenske, Francis Women state legislators in Nevada University of Nevada, Reno alumni Republican Party members of the Nevada Assembly 1970s births Living people American women of Korean descent in politics Asian conservatism in the United States Politicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana People from Reno, Nevada 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians