She broke barriers when she became Nevada's first licensed black female plumber, and now she helps other women overcome stereotypes so they can start careers in high-skilled trades.

Evelyn Pacheco is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪ Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

-Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

An Army veteran, advocate, and grandmother, after making a life changing pivot to plumbing, she wanted to help other women find the same success in high-skilled blue collar careers.

She's especially passionate about educating fellow veterans, women who are disenfranchised, and women who are incarcerated about the job opportunities available to them.

Evelyn Pacheco, Founder of Nevada Women in Trades, welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

(Evelyn Pacheco) Well, thank you.

Thank you.

-You have a tremendous story.

So help me with the timeline, though, where are you originally from?

-Minnesota.

-Minnesota, and is that where you worked as a secretary?

-It's when I got out of the military, and, unfortunately, I was not steered into doing-- What I did in the military was a mechanic.

I was a light-wheel mechanic, 63 Juliet.

I was steered to be a secretary, administration.

And so-- -Who steered you that way?

-Certain men said that when I went and talked to the counselors and that, and they said, Oh, yeah, do administration?

Okay, well, I didn't know, right?

So I did administration, got my AS, my AA, and came out here because I-- -Was that before or after college?

-The...?

-When you were a secretary.

-That's what-- That was why I did the college was to do this secretary.

-To become, okay.

-Right, for administration, yes.

That was the time, yeah.

Because I didn't, I didn't know what I wanted to do.

I didn't.

-Well, and that's why I was confused when you came out here and you worked at a casino in the engineering department.

-Right?

And the thing is, I did temporary service at Cox cable, and so someone had told-- When I got the job is working in the accounting for Cox cable.

And one of the guys said, Yeah, the Fitzgerald, which is now Mr. D's, is hiring.

And I'm like, okay, you know?

Like, what am I-- You know.

So I go there, and Gene Sagan says, Yeah, we're hiring in the engineering department.

You're gonna do plumbing, and you're gonna do painting.

You're gonna do carpentry.

You're gonna do welding.

And I'm sitting there going, no, I'm not.

I'm just looking at him like, no, I'm not.

-Who told you I would do that?

-Exactly.

Who said that part?

And he's like, Yeah, you're gonna do this.

And I'm like, no.

I was like, I don't know how to do-- I said, Oh, wait a minute, I can paint.

Wait a minute.

My step dad, I helped him paint over the summer and all that.

He's like, No, you're gonna do everything.

And I'm like, I don't know how to do this.

And he said, Either you're gonna do this training or I'm not gonna hire you.

And, man, that was like a [swallows], right?

And at the time, I needed to pay bills.

I needed to get more money because the temporary job, that was not going to be something that I, you know, that's not as steady anything.

-Single mom at this time?

-Yes.

-When did it click for you, this plumbing thing, I like it?

-It didn't click then either, though.

[laughter] -Do you even like it now?

-I do.

I love it now, but it-- but at the time, I think when you're, when you're really in a different space, on survival mode, you know, and you know you got to pay that bills.

You know the kids need shoes.

You know your car that's probably almost on three wheels, and you need to get a different one, but you need to pay insurance and all that.

And what had happened was one of the ladies that was in Housekeeping at Fitzgerald husband came and seen me.

And she was like, Yeah, I need to talk to you.

My husband, he's in the Plumbers and Pipefitters union.

And I'm like, okay.

She goes-- She goes, Yeah, he's doing all this.

And I'm still going, no, you know?

Again, and I think it was self-doubt.

I think it wasn't like I didn't want to do it or try.

I think I thought I couldn't do it and I can't do it.

And how could I do something like that?

And I'm like-- And it's outside.

That was the other part, too.

And it's hot here in Vegas, right?

And he was like, No, you go do this and that.

Then he told me, Oh, you make good money.

And I'm like, okay, whatever.

So I go do the math test, and I get the letter that you didn't, you didn't get in and all that.

So I'm like, that's okay.

I'm still, you know, I'm still making all right money and all that.

And then I get a phone call.

That was on a Friday, and it says, You're the luckiest person in Vegas.

And I'm thinking, is this a gambling thing?

I'm like, wait a minute.

I don't gamble.

And he was like, No, you have a chance to get into the Plumbers and Pipefitters union, and you'll start Wednesday.

And I went, Uh-oh, again, because that's not enough time to give Gene Sagan a nice, you know, here's a two-weeker and all that.

And it was really nice of him.

He sat me down and he said, It's okay.

And he said that, You just call me if you're ready to come back here.

You have a place here.

And so, and the Plumbers and Pipefitters union are five years.

And so every year I'd be like, I made it, Gene.

I made it.

And I would do that.

I did that all the way up until I journeyed out.

-Seems like that makes you a little emotional.

-It does.

-Why?

-Because, again, I didn't see that in me.

And I know this is why I'm doing what I'm doing, because I think the women that I'm talking to don't see that in them either.

And sometimes we just need a little, you know, little nudge, especially coming from another woman.

I think that's very important.

-You have said-- You have a podcast, and you have said that there were women who did not support you getting into plumbing.

-Oh, yes.

-Why?

-There's still organizations that are not doing that.

-What is the reason?

-I'm pinning it on jealousy, maybe?

Thinking that I was going to do this, and they already had everything lined out, right?

Like, oh, she's not going to do it.

We don't have to worry about her.

Or she's not going to stay at it, you know?

And-- -Proving them wrong?

-Exactly, exactly.

And it's, it is what it is, right?

-What are the barriers that women face getting into-- -There's a lot.

- --these highly skilled trades?

-There's a lot, though, because, again, you might need daycare.

Oh, and what if you don't have a Nevada state driver's license?

What if you do have a family member you're taking care of, and you can't just stop that to go into the program, the pipeline program that I'm doing?

What if you don't have your high school diploma and your high school equivalency?

There's-- And you know, when I first thought about this right here, and I didn't think about that.

I just thought, I'm gonna get these women jobs.

Everything's gonna be Kumbaya.

We're all gonna sing and-- No.

That's not what happened.

-So you learned from other women about other different barriers that you had not yet faced or not faced yourself prior.

-Yes.

-And I think one of them that you mentioned was math.

-Yes.

Because again, look where I was sent to, administration.

Nobody didn't say, Hey, Ev, go do engineering because you're in the military.

They said, Go sit in the office and be a secretary, and there you go.

-Yeah.

-And we shouldn't do that.

And math I feel is hard, because if you don't do it all the time, you don't keep it, you know?

And again, women are not put in that direction of engineering and nontraditional careers, I should say, right?

And so I'm saying, no, we need to do this.

-When we talked about your passion for educating women who are disenfranchised, tell me their situations that make them disenfranchised.

-Oh, man.

I do once a month, and it's very humbling, I do once a month North Las Vegas women that are in jail.

And I get on there, and I don't care what they did.

That's, that's really not my business what they did, right?

I want to know what your training background is and how can I help you and what's your name.

That's it.

And it's kind of interesting, right, because they come in, you know, they all come in and they sit and they're thinking, Uh-oh, you know?

And I'm like, no.

I don't-- And I tell them that, Do not let your past dictate your future.

I say that a lot to them because seems like we all caught up in that.

And I still, when I even do resource fairs, I get the-- They come up to me, and it's like a secret, and they whisper, I have a background.

And I'm like-- And then me, because I'm kind of vocal, I'm like, What?

What?

What are you whispering for?

And it's okay.

And they turn around because they don't want everybody around to hear, and I'm just like, that's sad to me.

Or they don't know what "trades" is.

That's even worse to still be in 2025 and we have women that are asking me what trades are.

-How do you pitch it to women?

-I say there's benefits, it's good money.

And I tell them my story, how it helped me get a divorce.

Not that I'm against that or anything, but it helped me get my independence and me to stand on my throne that I'm on.

And so it's a helpful thing.

And benefits.

And it can help support your family.

-It's good money.

-And you're part of society now.

You're paying taxes.

And then I also tell the Assembly and Senators, they're contributing to the Nevada state economy.

-Very much so.

Yeah, okay.

Your grandchildren are tattooed on your heart?

-Yes, they are tatted on me.

-Why?

-Yes, because that's where I want them at, and-- -And you and Grandpa are raising them?

-Yes, yes.

And, yes.

It's been-- I think it's helped me.

And people will say to me, Oh, they're so, they're so, oh, my gosh, that you did this for them.

And I'm like, no, it's the other way around.

They saved me.

-You are retired.

You told me off camera, because of your work in plumbing, you were able to retire at 60.

That's incredible.

-I retired in 2017.

-Wow.

-And it's because I'm raising the grandbabies, and I made that choice.

And at the time, I went to the unions, and I said I had an idea about having women in trades.

I didn't know what I was gonna call it at the time.

And I had found other women in trades in different states and all of that.

I got this idea, and we need to help women.

And just, you know, I was all excited about it.

And they're like, you're not gonna be able to do that.

You can't do that.

We already did that.

It's not gonna work.

And I was like, okay.

And they closed the door in my face.

And I went, oh, okay.

Well, now I'm finna to really do this now.

And it had me really think about I'm raising two young ladies who are going to be black women.

And I wonder how powerful they are?

-When do you think you realized, I have power?

-You know, I'm still, there's still some times, you know?

There's still certain times, too, you know, where I'm like, really, I just did that?

I just did that?

I think one of my moments is when I submitted AB 305, the bill that I wanted a mandate for women to be able to get into trades by 2026.

I felt that we should have a mandate.

I felt that we should be at the table.

And that was very empowering for me, to have a mandate in this town.

We've been-- And actually, it would have helped with what's getting ready to happen with all the jobs that are coming open and all the buildings are being built right now, right?

I mean, 2026, that would have just hit right on time, because it's being said, oh, we don't have the workforce or we don't have this, we don't have that.

And then I come back with, if you would have passed my bill... -And you're probably going to reintroduce that bill?

-Of course.

-Evelyn Pacheco, we have run out of time.

But thank you so much for joining Nevada Week In Person.

-I appreciate you.

And if you want to get hold of me, I have a website, too, www.nevadawit.org.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

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