John Fildes, MD, FACS, FCCM, FPCS (Hon) is the Professor and Inaugural Chair of the Department of Surgery at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In addition, he was the Interim Associate Dean for External Affairs, serving from September 2019 through April 2020.

Barbara Drew is the dean of the Academy for Ministers, teaches Bible study, and performs other spiritual work at New Jerusalem Worship Center. Drew migrated to Las Vegas from Fortune Fork, Louisiana, just two miles outside the city limits of Tallulah. She traveled by car where passengers slept, ate, and talked about their new lives-to-be. She lived with an aunt on D and Monroe in a shack with a butane stove and no indoor toilet. Her first job was at American Linen.