Roberta Sabbath was born on December 23, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia. She received her bachelor's degree in French Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1965 and married Dennis Sabbath in 1967. The couple spent two years in Chicago, Illinois before moving to Kodiak, Alaska in 1969 where she started an adult basic education program and a youth program. After about two years in Alaska, Sabbath and her husband moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Susan Rhodes was a member of Temple Beth Am in 2006-2007 when the congregation merged with Adat Ariel to form Temple Sinai. During 2006 Rhodes served as Sergeant-at-arms during Temple Beth AM at meetings that were held to discuss the financial issues faced by Temple Beth Am and as secretary during the 2007 merger.