Melody Hope Stein was born March 26, 1948 in Oceanside, Long Island, New York. She got her education from SUNY Binghamton, Harpur College, and Hofstra University. She taught art education for 46 years, in New York before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1996. She served for fourteen years as the arts director and art teacher at the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Educational Campus (formerly Milton I Schwartz Hebrew Academy) in Summerlin, Nevada.

Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival was founded around 2001 by Joshua Abbey. It shows international films, including dramas, comedies, documentaries, and experimental films. The 14th LVJFF was held January 10 to 25, 2015 and was produced by Desert Space Foundation and the Adelson Educational Campus. Major support was provided by the Adelson Family Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, and the Israeli American Council.