Women’s History Month: Sands and Dress for Success Highlight Company Vice President Jessica Helderman

During Women’s History Month, Sands is spotlighting female leaders who have contributed to the company’s success and has joined forces with its Sands Cares partner, Dress for Success Southern Nevada, to feature Jessica Helderman, vice president of U.S. tax and global tax reporting at Sands.

As part of the global Dress for Success nonprofit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence, Dress for Success Southern Nevada showcased Helderman on its social channels for its Your Hour, Her Power campaign during the month. The Women’s History Month campaign features female leaders who are playing pivotal roles in driving corporate and economic advancement as well as social and cultural change.

Helderman has been with Sands since 2004 and oversees accounting for income tax, tax audits, and tax research and compliance. While she was originally interested in pursuing medicine in college, Helderman decided to study business after determining she enjoyed economics along with working in teams to accomplish specific goals. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Before joining Sands, Helderman worked in public accounting in both Atlanta and Las Vegas, securing valuable skill sets and knowledge that helped her advance in her career. Since coming to the company, she has held a number of roles in the tax department in her nearly 20-year tenure. During her time with Sands, she has been part of the company’s evolution to a global hospitality developer and operator, which has enabled both career growth and unique perspective.

As part of the Dress for Success spotlight, she offered advice on how women can move ahead professionally: “I have seen women advance in their careers and become invaluable to their organizations simply by taking the time to figure out ‘why.’ Try to understand why a task is being performed – what happens before you are involved and what is the end goal. It is easy to keep doing things the same way, but if you are joining an organization, one of the most valuable things you can offer is a fresh perspective.”

According to Dress for Success Southern Nevada executive director Norma Intriago, insights and support from accomplished leaders can be powerful. “Research shows how critical mentorship and networking are for building and advancing careers, particularly for women,” Intriago said. “Part of why we created Your Hour, Her Power was to build an avenue to share these valuable insights and learnings from successful women across a myriad of industries and roles.”

Studies have shown the difference that mentorship can make. A study by research firm Gartner found that 25% of employees in a group who took part in the company’s mentoring program had a salary grade change during the course of the study, compared with 5% of employees in a group who did not participate in the program.

The need for both mentorship and the services and support Dress for Success provides in Southern Nevada have only been heightened since the pandemic began. According to the nonprofit, women in the region have been significantly impacted, as they tend to overrepresent the service industry. A Guinn Center Study found that women in Nevada occupied nearly 60% of frontline jobs during the pandemic. Intriago says the economic fallout from COVID-19 has been disastrous for women and their families in Southern Nevada.

Sands began supporting Dress for Success Southern Nevada in 2022 with Sands Cares funding for its mentoring programs, which go hand in hand with the organization’s mission to provide a network of support, professional attire and development tools to help women thrive in work and life. In addition, Sands encourages participation in the Your Hour, Her Power campaign, which includes the Power Shift four-part video series exploring women’s roles in the global workplace. Held in conjunction with Oprah Daily, the series can be viewed by visiting https://yourhourherpower.org/.

The Women’s History Month campaign also is raising funds for Dress for Success programs by inviting supporters to donate an hour’s salary during March to enable an unemployed woman to access Dress for Success programs, services and tools. The campaign is inspired by the belief that when women have access to opportunities that can change their lives, they become powerful beyond measure.

To learn more about Dress for Success or donate to the Your Hour, Her Power campaign, visit https://southernnevada.dressforsuccess.org/.