A former member of the Nevada Athletic Commission has been appointed to the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Sandra Douglass Morgan

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval speaks during a governors' meeting in February in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A former member of the Nevada Athletic Commission has been appointed to the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Sandra Douglass Morgan accepted a four-year appointment to the post, effective Saturday, from Gov. Brian Sandoval. She replaces former state Sen. Randolph Townsend, who completed two four-year terms.

As director of external affairs for AT&T Nevada for Southern Nevada, Morgan is responsible for managing legislative and community affairs activities and working closely with community leaders, legislators and other policy makers to help connect people with technology. The Las Vegas native and UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law graduate also served as the city attorney for the city of North Las Vegas. She received her undergraduate degree in political science from UNR.

Prior to her work in North Las Vegas, she served as a litigation attorney for MGM Mirage, the predecessor to MGM Resorts International.

Morgan was appointed to the Athletic Commission in August to complete a term that was set to expire in October 2018.

“Sandra has done exemplary work on the Athletic Commission and with her legal experience and expertise, I am confident she will be a strong voice on the Gaming Commission,” Sandoval said in an announcement of the appointment.

Morgan received the Corporate to Community Connector award from the National Urban League Young Professionals in July. She currently serves on the board of directors for Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates and was cited in Nevada Business Magazine’s Legal Elite Top 10 Government Attorneys in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

“I am incredibly honored and grateful to be selected to serve on a commission that has helped shape Nevada’s history,” Morgan said. “I hope to continue the legacy of ensuring that our great state remains the leader in gaming policy.”

Townsend was appointed to the commission in 2010 by Gov. Jim Gibbons and received a four-year reappointment from Sandoval in 2014. He said he would have welcomed reappointment for a third term but is comfortable with Sandoval’s decision to bring in a new commissioner after his eight years of service.

Morgan joins the part-time five-member commission that sets and monitors the state’s gaming policy and is headed by Chairman Tony Alamo. She’ll join one other woman on that board, Reno resident Deborah Fuetsch.

The appointment marked the second straight time that Sandoval has appointed a woman to a state gaming regulatory position. In January, he named Becky Harris, the first woman to chair the three-member state Gaming Control Board, replacing A.G. Burnett, who resigned to enter private practice.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.