Raiders president on raising millions at gala, working with Pete Carroll and more

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

The Raiders made bold promises about their commitment to community service and pledged ample resources to the cause upon officially relocating to Las Vegas in 2020.  

The organization has exceeded all those goals on an annual basis, according to its internal impact report, and is now looking to set new benchmarks.  

“There’s no end date to it,” said Kari Uyehara, executive director of the Raiders Foundation. “The Raiders are five years since their move from Oakland to Las Vegas, and this is just part of our DNA. This is who we are, and this is what we do. It wasn’t that we’re moving to a new place, so we need to put resources in the community. This is just part of our responsibility as part of the community that is home to us.”

One of the ways the franchise has evolved its efforts is through the advent of the Silver and Black Gala. The event debuted successfully a year ago at Wynn Las Vegas but was supersized for the second annual edition Saturday.

The Raiders moved the charity ball to Allegiant Stadium and treated the VIP, invitation-only guest list of around 1,000 people to performances from Stevie Wonder and Oz the Mentalist around silent and live auctions. They ended up raising a total of $3 million for a quartet of local youth mental health organizations — Boys Town Nevada, Community Counseling Center of Southern Nevada, Campus for Hope and Solutions for Change.  

“In Nevada, we're ranked last in the nation when it comes to youth and adolescent mental health resources,” Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan said. “It’s something that is affecting our community. I think 13% of Nevada's youth have had a major depressive episode within the last year, so it's a huge need. It's something that we just want to make sure that people are aware of, and the resources that are needed.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis emphasized the importance of outreach to Douglass Morgan, the Eldorado High and UNLV graduate who chaired the Nevada Gaming Control Board before coming to the Raiders in July 2022, and she’s taken it to heart.

We caught up with Douglass Morgan at the 2025 Silver and Black Gala to discuss the event, the new-look team and more. Here are some highlights of the conversation.

What’s been the biggest challenge in the process of building the Silver and Black Gala into a major annual event?

The timing part is always interesting. Obviously now we have training camp coming up and the season coming up but, during our offseason, we have a lot of concerts and other events here at Allegiant. Finding the right time to do it to make sure our players are engaged, our coaching staff is engaged, has been challenging. But it’s also just meeting high expectations. The Raiders do everything big. We have a commitment to excellence on and off the field, and so making sure that our fans, our partners and our supporters are going to have a great time, such a great time, that they donate to a worthy cause.

You’re a lifer in Las Vegas, but what new have you learned about the city to appreciate in your current role with the Raiders?

I always knew Las Vegas was a small town that has just grown very quickly over the last few decades, but just seeing how all the businesses and corporations have come together, especially for the Super Bowl, was incredible. Here now at the Raiders, I think it’s the passion for sports and acceptance of the Raiders. We just get so many wonderful comments regardless of whatever team member gets out there for whatever they're doing in the community. I think the community has just rallied around sports and the Raiders and football. It’s, ‘What can we do to make sure that people understand that this is the best place to have a sporting event?’

Did you ever imagine growing up here that we’d reach these heights as a sports town?

I attended the 120^th birthday celebration for the city of Las Vegas, and there was an incredible panel with Mayor Shelley Berkley, Clark County Commissioner James Gibson and Circa owner Derek Stevens. Derek made some references to the negative conversations he had with leagues prior to the legalization of sports betting, and this wasn’t that long ago. We’re talking 2018. But I just think Las Vegas was always ready. Like many other circumstances in life, we just had to be given an opportunity.

The team has brought in several new forward-facing leaders this offseason including coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek. What’s it been like working with them?

Pete Carroll's obviously a legend and a winner, and his willingness to even reach out and talk to the business organization side of the building, and talk about his philosophies as a coach and for life, has been great. He's been such an incredible, optimistic and motivating force in the building. And John Spytek has been incredible as well. He's come really engaged and urged people to keep their doors open. It's been truly a collaborative 2025 thus far, and I'm looking forward to a great season ahead.    

Pete made it a point to say in his introductory news conference that he wasn’t just focused on making the football team better but everyone in the building. How important is it to have that camaraderie with everyone pulling in the same direction?

It's incredibly important, especially for the people that I lead, to feel like they're part of the team and have football understand that everything we do, whether it’s ticketing or suite sales or IT, that we're all doing this to make sure we’re doing whatever we can to help these guys win.