Berkley, Shelley, 1951-

Rochelle "Shelley" Berkley (born January 20, 1951) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Pasrty, she served as U.S. Representative for Nevada's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2013. In 2012, she was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate.

Born Rochelle Levine in New York City, moved with her family to Nevada when she was a junior high school student, attending Fremont Junior High. After completing high school, she became the first member of her family to attend college when she enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Elected student body president of the Consolidated Students of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas her senior year, Shelley graduated with honors in 1972, earning a B.A. in Political Science. After obtaining her J.D. degree in 1976 from the University of San Diego School of Law, Shelley returned to Las Vegas and began her professional career. Berkley practiced law for several years, mainly as a member of the legal counsel for several Las Vegas casinos. She also served as the national director for the American Hotel-Motel Association. Berkley served in the Nevada state assembly from 1982 to 1985. Five years later, she was appointed to the board of regents of the university and community college system of Nevada. She twice won re-election to the board and served until 1998.

When Nevada Representative John Ensign of Las Vegas decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 1998, Berkley entered the race to fill the seat, easily winning the Democratic primary and narrowly winning the general election. In her first two re-election bids, Berkeley similarly won by narrow margins but after Nevada picked up a seat in the U.S. House in 2012 and Berkley's district was made friendlier to Democrasts, she defeated her GOP challengers by 30 to 40 points from 2002 to 2012. In the 106th Congress (1999–2001), Berkley was elected vice president of the freshman class of Democrats, and she joined the New Democrat Coalition. When Democrats took control of the House in the 110th Congress (2007–2009), Berkley gained a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Throughout her years in the House, Berkley focused on the needs of Las Vegas’s diverse workforce and its gaming industry.

In 2012, Berkeley was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate from Nevada, losing narrowly to Republican Dean Heller. Since 2014, she has been the chief executive officer and senior provost at Touro University’s Western Division, a nonprofit medical school in Nevada and California.