Shekinah Hoffman proudly serves as the Director of Programs and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) at MACGH. She leverages her diverse background in industry, nonprofit, and academia to support the Council’s research needs, advance their DEIB initiatives, and serves as an academic liaison.
Shekinah is also a Doctoral Candidate in Sociology at Washington State University, expecting to graduate with her Ph.D. in Spring 2025. Her research focuses on gender, work, workplace discrimination and harassment, and women’s employment in the gaming industry. She has published extensively in sociology, hospitality, and tourism journals on topics such as the impact of sexual harassment on women’s health and well-being in the gaming sector and the gender leadership gap in commercial and Tribal gaming. Currently, she is working on her qualitative dissertation book project which explores the workplace harassment of women in the gaming industry, examining how they navigate these challenges and the implications of harassment on their careers, health, and well-being.
Beyond her research, Shekinah founded and oversaw two hospitality leadership programs for low-income youth at the UNLV International Gaming Institute and has taught and mentored hundreds of students from middle school to undergraduate levels. Prior to her time in Las Vegas, she was the Director of Global Gaming Women, a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women in gaming, at the American Gaming Association in Washington, D.C. Shekinah holds a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a B.A. in Communications from Colorado State University.
Her favorite part of working at MACGH:
I am honored to be part of an women-owned nonprofit that is deeply committed to DEIB and recognizes its critical importance within the gaming industry.
Ask her about:
The chaos of living with two dogs and two cats, the magic of plants, the number of records and houseplants in her collection, & feminism!