Yorko Kagafas was born in Columbus, Ohio, got his degree at Ohio State University, served in the United States Navy, and earned a master’s degree in Environmental Planning from Arizona State University.

Kagafas came to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999. His background complemented his new job which was to implement the Neighborhood Planning Process, a proactive system for Las Vegas communities to express their neighborhood desires prior to a developer coming in with their own agenda.