The Education Renaissance
Of Nevada Initiative

GUARANTEEING THE FUTURE OF NORTHERN NEVADA ONE KID
AT A TIME

GUARANTEEING THE FUTURE OF NORTHERN NEVADA ONE KID AT A TIME

GUARANTEEING THE FUTURE OF NORTHERN NEVADA ONE KID AT A TIME

Be Part of the Solution

Be Part of the Solution

Nevada’s kids are struggling to read—but you can change that. Choose how many children you’d like to support:

 Support One Child
Support Two Children
Support Five Children
Support Ten Children
Support Fifty Children

erNI's PARTNERS

Proud partners supporting education and literacy in Nevada.

Our MISSION

ERNI is committed to creating events that capture the imagination of schoolchildren in northern Nevada and ignite their curiosity, things involving the arts and sciences, things that will get our kids fired up about learning (and off their phones.) And presenting these events for FREE.

Our challenge

Nevada consistently ranks among the worst in the nation for proficiency levels in English and math. An astonishing 65-85 percent of our state’s 500,000 students cannot read at their grade-level. Only 87% of high school students graduate, one of the lowest rates in the entire country.

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And COVID didn't help. The pandemic isolated kids from their friends and educators making it even more difficult to learn. Karin Hilgersom, president of Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC), says: “A whole generation of children have been raised with cell phones and social media – we’ve lost some of the human elements people need for mental health. This issue has been in the making for 20 years, but COVID made it worse.”

Our solution

 It's time to rethink the public perception of education and the arts in northern Nevada, and show that they are not a luxury, they are not an extravagance, they are absolutely essential to the development of healthy, happy, well-rounded, productive members of our community .

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Our flagship event, SPELLBINDERS, a free event at public libraries across northern Nevada and at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts has met with unprecedented enthusiasm from the tiniest tots to grandparents in the community. Read more about it in our PROJECTS below.

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ABOUT  ERNI

Too many children in Northern Nevada struggle with reading

Literacy is the foundation for every kind of learning, yet thousands of kids fall behind before they ever get a fair chance. Without strong reading skills, students face greater challenges in school, fewer opportunities in life, and a higher risk of being left behind.

At ERNI, we believe literacy is the key to unlocking every child’s potential. When kids learn to read with confidence, they gain the ability to explore new worlds, develop critical thinking, and build the skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.

We are committed to creating programs, classes, and community events that support reading and literacy development for children across Northern Nevada. By raising awareness and providing resources, we give every child the chance to thrive.

Together, we can close the literacy gap. With your support, we can help kids overcome these challenges and build a brighter future.

Every child deserves the gift of literacy

 HELP US HELP NEVADA KIDS

our project

Inspiring Young Minds Through Libraries and the Arts

The World's Largest Free International Festival of Magic

When we launched SPELLBINDERS in 2014 we had two simple objectives:

1. Get kids into public libraries to discover the magic of literacy;
2. Introduce kids to the magic of live theater in our own performing arts center.

We succeeded on both accounts far beyond our wildest expectations. Spellbinders brings gold medal winning champions of magic from all over the world, the best of the very best, to perform in libraries across northern Nevada and in the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts for free. We want kids to learn that their public libraries are an immense resource of learning, and that they are staffed with experts who were eager to assist inquisitive minds in their search for knowledge. And we want those kids and their families to be able to attend our own Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts and feel the electric thrill that surrounds live theater, and, perhaps, some of those children might be inspired by the experience.

Spellbinders returns to Reno, Nevada, November 14th- 16th, 2025 with unbelievable, mind-boggling feats of magic taking place all over northern Nevada, in libraries and onstage at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, from the very biggest stage illusions to intimate close-up miracles, and everything in between. And it’s all FREE!

Spellbinders returns to Reno, Nevada, November 14th- 16th, 2025 with unbelievable, mind-boggling feats of magic taking place all over northern Nevada, in libraries and onstage at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, from the very biggest stage illusions to intimate close-up miracles, and everything in between. And it’s all FREE!

Learn more here--

 spellbindersfestival.com

Learn more here--

 spellbindersfestival.com

Spellbinders has grown into one of Nevada’s most celebrated community events, free to the public and supported by local partners. Each year it brings world-class performers, bigger venues, and unforgettable experiences—help us keep inspiring families and children across Nevada.

This program is more than performances—it’s a movement to spark literacy and opportunity for Nevada’s kids. With generous partners, families enjoy world-class shows for free while children gain skills that open doors to brighter futures. Join us in shaping lives and building stronger communities.

Do you love SPELLBINDERS and want to keep it FREE for the community? So do we. Even the price of a cup of coffee can help us continue bringing this project to life. Support ERNI today and make a difference for Nevada’s kids.

Our Impact

Customers served!

12

Years of experience

That's the number of libraries spellbinders will appear in this year at zero cost to the libraries.

Customers served!

12

Years of experience

that's the number of people in northern nevada who will see at least one free performance.

Customers served!

12

Years of experience

that's the number of counties we will serve in northern nevada this year. But, we can do so much more!

the board

Larry Pic
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LARRY WILSON
SECRETARY

NICOLE RENFREW
Mark Pic
TREASURER

MARK CAREY
Joan Pic
Artist

JOAN ARRIZABALAGA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LARRY WILSON

Larry is the “new” Nevadan, having only arrived 29 years ago when he was hired to appear in Frederic Apcar’s revue, “Breakin’ Loose,” at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

As a refugee from Los Angeles, his artistic sensibility is heavily influenced by the world of film, a world he studied in depth at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He combined the disciplines of film and live theater in his original work as a comedy-magician, and as a result, he has enjoyed a storied career as a producer, director, writer and performer. He is also the founder of Wilson Method communications training.

The Education Renaissance of Nevada Initiative is the latest creative accomplishment in Larry’s life which include being nominated for an Emmy Award, lecturing at M.I.T., and creating curriculum for schoolchildren in Nevada. Fortunately, he has sworn to use his powers only for good, and not for evil.

Email:larry@nevadashines.org

SECRETARY

NICOLE RENFREW

Nicole is also a recent refugee to Nevada from the great state of California. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she majored in Art History (and tinkered in fine art photography.) She has worked as Voice Over talent for films and television, and as a Line Producer for live theater.

Nicole has extensive experience in fiber arts, having launched the first online yarn emporium for knitters in 1999, and subsequently founded Little City Quilts where she created one of a kind art quilts and taught quilting techniques on the Innova long arm machine.

When asked why she is so fiercely committed to strengthening Reno’s emerging identity as an arts and cultural destination, Nicole’s answer is simple and direct. “I am inspired by artists of any kind: their vision, their dedication, and their bravery.” (You can thank her when you see her.)

Email:nicole@nevadashines.org

TREASURER

MARK CAREY

Mark is a native born Nevadan whose earliest artistic leanings centered around photography, music and food (making it, not eating it.) Food won out and after high school he was accepted into the Seattle Culinary Arts and Design School. But, he never made it to Seattle. Instead, he found himself interning at local radio station KRZQ just as the world of analog gave way to digital. In no time he was producing all of the station’s promotional material, and eventually became the Imaging Director.

In 2004, feeling the need to do more things he had never done before, he created his own production house, Orangetree Productions, and began creating award-winning television and radio advertising for Northern Nevada.

In recent years, Mark found a new creative outlet for his talents writing and directing short films. In 2012 he wrote and directed a feature-length film, “The Ashes of Brush Flats,” which he hopes to debut in Reno later this year.

Email:mark@nevadashines.org

Artist

JOAN ARRIZABALAGA

Joan is that rarest of creatures in the art world—a working artist who has supported herself as an artist her entire life. She’s a second-generation Nevadan, born at home in Ely to avoid an outbreak of indeterminate origin. Her family moved to Fallon and she was schooled at the Oats Park School in the days before it was reinvented as an art museum.

Joan’s plan to study art was interrupted by a brief detour to Business College (at the insistence of her mother). But, after graduating she immediately enrolled at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she immersed herself in sculpture and ceramics. Her professors also insisted that she become proficient in welding, stone cutting, wood carving and other techniques “so that we would have the vocabulary, in case we ever had something to say.”

She works in a variety of mediums—paint, sculpture, mosaic and textiles—and her work has been exhibited in shows in Reno, San Francisco, New York and at the Los Angeles Museum of Art. Most recently she curated the exhibition, “The Art of Gaming +,” at the invitation of the University of Nevada, Reno.

Email:joan@nevadashines.org

contact us

contact us

316 California Ave., #871 Reno, NV 89509

(775) 842-7255

info@nevadashines.org

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