Martha Drohobyczar was born on November 21, 1951 and grew up in Illinois, three generations removed from slavery. Even though her first college degree was in government and national relations, Drohobyczar found an accelerated nursing program at St. Louis University in 1975 and graduated a year later with a bachelor’s in nursing.
The mission of the Israeli American Council (IAC) of Las Vegas is to support the local Israeli-American community and "to strengthen the Jewish and Israeli identity of the next generation, engage in outreach to the Jewish-American community at large, and reinforce support for Israel." IAC has programs to teach children, college students, and adults about Israeli language and culture. IAC also provides volunteer opportunities and holds a festival and other events centered on Israeli culture and Jewish holidays.