Born and raised in the Philippines, Maila Aganon emigrated with her parents in 1992, after she completed her first semester of college. She describes as "typical" her youth as the youngest child (with brothers 5 and 7 years older) of a teacher who worked in another village and a father who worked out of the country. Although independent, she was part of a tightly knit village. The household spoke three languages: her mother's dialect, her father's dialect, and Tagalog.

Sierra Construction Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based construction company established in 1953 by Bill Koerwitz, president and field supervisor, and Gus Rapone, executive vice president and job procurer and estimator. Kitty Rodman joined the company shortly after its establishment as director, secretary-treasurer, and office manager. Additional long-time employees of the company include Patricia Badame, executive assistant to Kitty Rodman, and Jerry Koerwitz, executive assistant to Gus Rapone.