Michael Loewy was the founder of Desert Mountain States Lesbian and Gay Conference and the Lesbian and Gay Academic Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Loewy moved to California in 1987, but remained involved with the gay community in Las Vegas. In 2002 he graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2003 he won a Foundation Award, "Honoring the Pioneers of Gay Las Vegas."