Jacqueline "Jacque" Dvorak was born in London, England July 26, 1944. Her family immigrated to Canada in 1946. Then, in 1953 they moved to the United States, settling in Long Beach, California where Jacque’s brother was born. In 1957, the Dvorak family relocated to Las Vegas when Jacque’s father, Sam, opened a 24-hour barbeque restaurant in Market Town with his brother Harry.

Hermina Washington was born December 23, 1957 in Henderson, Nevada. To take advantage of emerging opportunities for African Americans, her parents migrated from Arkansas to Las Vegas, Nevada, joining several extended family members already settled in the city. Growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, Washington was surrounded by strong, inspiring role models, including her grandmother and educators.

Robert Gore first came to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1973 as a public affairs officer with the Air Force. He returned to West Virginia to go into the family business in 1976 and four years later was offered a job with Summa Corporation. Back in Las Vegas, he also served as director of the Air Force Association. At a dinner meeting of the Association, Retired General Bill Becker suggested that an engineering school was needed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

Marla Letizia was born January 17, 1953 and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when she was two years old. She grew up in Las Vegas and was a former president of Congregation Ner Tamid, as well as a founding member of the board of trustees of the Meadows School in Las Vegas. Letizia founded Big Traffic Mobile Billboards in 2001 after leaving a successful broadcast journalism career to raise her two children. She met her husband, Tom Letizia, while working at KLAS-TV channel 8 as an assistant production manager.

Mindy Unger-Wadkins was born August 10, 1965 in Los Angeles, California, and her family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada two years later when her father, Joseph Unger, was relocated by his employer. At the age of twelve, after both her parents had passed away, she moved in with her brother Bob Unger and his wife, Aydie. While studying at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Unger-Wadkins took a clerk job based at Yucca Mountain, and was eventually hired as a full-time public relations officer.

Penelope "Pennie" Ruchman is a long-time gaming and casino professional who graduated from in 1977 from Oberlin College's Creative Writing and American Literature honors program. Following graduation, Ruchman moved to New York City, New York to work as a photographer where she apprenticed for Irving Penn and Arnold Newman before embarking on a career of creating her own artwork, holding one-woman exhibitions throughout the country.