Debra March was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1953. She is one of eight siblings all of whom attended Catholic school as children and eventually went on to professional careers. Debra's father worked for the city of Detroit, then moved to Las Vegas and was hired by the Clark County School District. He ultimately retired from there. Debra came to Las Vegas for the first time in 1973. Though she left for a couple of years, she eventually settled here and attended UNLV, earning an undergraduate degree in anthropology and biology. She then served a little over six years as a park ranger in Red Rock and Lake Tahoe. While at Lake Tahoe, Debra got her real estate license. She followed her husband to Ely, where she became a social worker. She ran the welfare division for rural Nevada in several counties and also kept her real estate license active. In 1989, Debra applied for the position of administrator of the Nevada Real Estate Division in Las Vegas. In her capacity as deputy administrator, Debra oversaw the activities of individuals who sold real estate. She and others in the division also monitored land sales time-shares, campground memberships and appraisers. She served in that position for four and a half years. In 1996, Debra was hired at UNLV. Many of the faculty members in the real estate school today are the ones who were there when she was hired, such as Mike Clauretie, Dick Hoyt, and Bob Aalberts. The Lied Institute, which she directs, supports an academic program in real estate and finance. It also conducts research, addresses community issues such as affordable housing, and offers adult and executive education programs. Debra is very involved in addressing many of the problems of housing and transportation that affect everyone living in the valley. In addition to heading the Lied Institute, she is also a Henderson planning commissioner, serves on the National Board of the American Planning Association, and is vice chairman of the board of the Urban Land Institute. She is proud of having established a real estate mentoring program that matches students with industry professionals, and she works closely with students to help them with their career goals.

Lawrence Seidman grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Culver Military Academy the first three years of high school, but graduated from Bay Village High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, and went on to law school at Case Western Reserve University. Lawrence and his wife moved to Chicago after he finished law school, where he worked in the First National Bank of Chicago doing estate planning and analysis. He wanted to try teaching, so he sent letters to many different schools. Ferris State College in Michigan gave him an interview, and he and his wife moved there for one academic year. The freezing cold winter convinced them that they did not want to stay in the Midwest, so Lawrence began writing letters to schools out west. UNR replied to the letter they received, saying they had no openings, but he might try Nevada Southern University in Las Vegas. The school was in the middle of changing its name to University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Lawrence flew out, interviewed with future colleagues, and accepted the job. He and his wife have lived in Vegas ever since 1969. Lawrence was the first full-time person hired to teach business law. He restructured the way the courses were developed and presented. A discipline officer was needed after the regents passed a new code of conduct and he was asked to take the position, which he did. Because the administrative or discipline officer reports to the president of the university, he got to know several of them rather well. Eventually, Lawrence became assistant general counsel, and also served as deputy attorney general for a while. His wife Janet pursued her degrees at UNLV, taught for about five years, and then worked at Children's Behavioral Services. Today they are both retired, and are enjoying traveling and working on their home. Lawrence occasionally teaches summer sessions at UNLV.