Councilmember Dian VanderWell was appointed to the Sparks City Council as Ward 2 Councilmember on September 14, 2020, when then Ward 2 Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tempore Ed Lawson was sworn in as the City’s 26th Mayor following the death of Mayor Ron Smith. She was elected to the position in November 2022.

Councilmember VanderWell grew up in Sparks, graduated from Reed High School, and attended TMCC and the University of Nevada Reno. She has been a licensed mortgage agent for 33 years and a licensed real estate agent for six years.

She has served on the Sparks Planning Commission, Sparks Charter Committee, Regional Planning Commission, the Technical Review Committee of the Washoe County Home Consortium, and the Sparks Citizens Advisory Committee.

Councilmember VanderWell has been married to her husband Blake for 31 years, and has three children and two grandchildren.