Joy Montaño moved to Las Vegas from Hawaii to attend UNLV in 1998; while at UNLV, she worked part-time as a bartender for the Performing Arts Center. Montaño received her bachelor of science in business administration in 2002; she specialized in accounting. After graduation, she worked for a property management company and a casino while also working for the Performing Arts Center—ultimately becoming bar manager.

Montaño joined the Performing Arts Center full-time in 2008 as the guest relations manager and is responsible for operating the box office and lobby bar. Among her many responsibilities are auditing and reconciling the ticket agents' and bartenders' end of day activities, preparing end of day receivable documents, depositing funds, setting up events, and reconciling merchandise sales for clients.

Born in Hawaii, Montaño expresses her aloha spirit through her customer service and her management style. She is married with one school-age daughter, Ilyana.