Dzidra Junior

| Charmer |
Dzidra Junior
Director of Sales, The Mirage Hotel and Casino

Las Vegas, Nevada
Age: 38

“When I was a child, I never thought I was a child,” says Dzidra Junior, CMP, who admits she spent more time with her mom than her friends, foregoing the playground for creating dishes in her Easy Bake oven. Small wonder, then, that Junior spent her first seven hospitality industry years in food and beverage. From there, she moved successfully into convention services, but the time demands of being a single mom with a young son led her to sales. Her charm and determination caught the eye of MGM Resorts International officials, who first hired her in 2006 to develop the diversity market and recently promoted Junior to oversee all sales at the Mirage. “Dzidra not only is an advocate for the planner, but for the entire city of Las Vegas,” says Ana Aponte-Curtis, one of Junior’s clients and the vice president of events planning at the NAACP. “I would not be surprised to one day see her running either the bureau or one of the major hotels in Vegas.” —M. Boisclair

What was the best advice you got when you started in the industry?
“When a person shows you who they are, believe them.”