Team

Bart Patterson and Justin Cohen formed Summit Consulting Group with the sole purpose of helping social impact organizations attain their fullest potential through effective strategic planning, efficient and effective allocation of resources, improved organizational culture and heightened community awareness. Today, that’s institutionalized as our mission.

Bruce Spotleson joined Summit as a partner in February 2026.

In addition to its core team, Summit operates with a network of partners with a wide range of skills. In areas such as grant management, analytics, ROI measurements, project planning and complex human resources topics, we can draw upon a pool of recognized experts and proven professionals.

As each of our engagements is unique, we assemble and assign the best team for each project.

Bart Patterson

Principal & Co-Founder

Bart Patterson has successful senior executive experience in a diverse number of disciplines and settings, including higher education, nonprofit management, workforce and economic development, and community and government engagement.

Bart held equity and management positions in private law firms during a 15-year legal career in Arizona, Idaho and Nevada. He served as General Counsel and Vice Chancellor of Administrative and Legal Affairs during his time with the higher education system of Nevada.

In 2011, he was appointed interim president of Nevada State College, and in 2012 was selected as its permanent president. During his tenure, Bart guided NSC into becoming one of the fastest-growing and most diverse colleges in the country, with unprecedented growth in enrollments, academic programs, and physical facilities. He departed to pursue new challenges in 2020.

Bart has served in numerous leadership and board roles in an array of business and nonprofit organizations, including the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance; Henderson Chamber of Commerce; Workforce Connections; Jobs for America’s Graduates; Dress for Success Southern Nevada; the Andson Foundation; the Global Charity Foundation; Friends of Nevada Wilderness; Nevada Conservation League; Be A Shero Foundation; New Skills for Youth Program; Got Core Values; Genius Camps USA; and Pax Academia. He is the founder of a new philanthropic grant program, Boost Nevada, to assist small nonprofits with funding.

He most recently has served as interim chief executive officer of Get Outdoors Nevada during its search for a permanent CEO, an assignment that ended in April 2026.

Justin Cohen

Principal & Co-Founder

A Principal at Summit, Justin Cohen (He/Him/His) is also the Founder of BTV Marketing Group, a Las Vegas-based Marketing & Advertising Agency. With over 20 years spent growing organizations, Justin possesses a unique collection of marketing, strategy and leadership skills. In partnership with his long-time friend and mentor Bart Patterson, Justin launched Summit in the Spring of 2023.

Justin is a 20+ year Wish Granter for Make a Wish of Southern Nevada and a 2015 Graduate of Leadership Las Vegas. Additionally, Justin serves as Treasurer of the Board for Get Outdoors Nevada and through his work as a marketer, board member and advisor, Justin has helped non-profit organizations throughout Southern Nevada grow and thrive.

Justin hails from Boston and attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. When he’s not focusing his energies on his twin children Parker and Reed, he can be found trail running and hiking around Southern Nevada with his rescue pup Hazel.

Bruce Spotleson

Partner

A longtime senior executive with successful operational experience in start-ups, acquisitions and challenges associated with at-risk organizations, Bruce has previously served on the boards of an array of non-profit organizations in several regions of the U.S.

During an extensive media career, he held senior management positions at companies in northern and southern Nevada, as well as in five other states. The experience introduced him to an array of industries, nonprofit causes and board leadership positions.

Bruce joined Vegas PBS as development director in 2013, where he guided the funding process for a wide range of television and educational outreach programming. He joined The Neon Museum in 2019 as Vice President and was later selected by its board to serve as Interim Executive Director through the post-COVID challenges of 2021 and the recruitment process for a permanent CEO.

Prior to that, he held senior executive positions at Greenspun Media Group in Henderson, where he was instrumental in launching and managing numerous print, broadcast, and digital media.

The 2014 Chairman of the Board for the Vegas Chamber, he was founding chairman of Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center, a co-founder of Nevada Gives, and has served on numerous United Way boards and committees. A previous Private Sector Person of the Year in Henderson, he has hosted two issues-oriented weekly cable television programs and, over the years, earned a number of writing awards from state press associations. He is an avid fly fisherman who enjoys the outdoors.