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—Leaders from the public and private sector commit to local economic development efforts—
MIAMI, FL – December 1, 2020 – The Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the County’s official public-private economic development partnership, is pleased to announce the 2020-2021 Board of Directors and slate of new officers and committee leadership. The Board of Directors consists of volunteer leaders from the community’s leading businesses, community organizations, educational institutions, nonprofits, and local governance, and provides leadership and governance for the 501 (c)6.
Led by Chair Gary M. Goldfarb, Chief Strategy Officer, Interport Group of Companies, the 2020-2021 Officers include Chair-Elect, George Bermudez, Senior Vice President, Bank of America; Treasurer Olga Ramudo, President and CEO, Express Travel; Secretary Yolanda Cash Jackson, Shareholder, Becker; and Michael A. Finney, President and Chief Executive Officer, Miami-Dade Beacon Council.
“The Beacon Council is the steward for the county-wide economic development plan, One Community One Goal, which strengthens and diversifies the economy by bringing companies providing high paying jobs to our community. We count on partners from both the private and public sector to support these objectives, enabling us to deliver on our mission to market, grow and shape Miami-Dade’s economy,” said Michael A. Finney, President and CEO, Miami-Dade Beacon Council. “We thank all of our volunteers for their time, collaboration and guidance… their leadership and investment allow us, as an organization, to help drive long-term positive change for our community.”
As Chief Strategy Officer of the Interport Group of Companies, a leading supply chain management company, incoming Chair Gary M. Goldfarb has long been active with The Beacon Council, especially its Trade and Logistics Committee. Gary leads a team that provides Foreign Trade Zones and customs- bonded warehousing, inventory control, transportation, distribution services and fulfillment and duty drawback expertise. With Interport, Gary has developed several key business units including “Compra Fora” Brasil Customs Clearance Center in Miami, GPS Tracking and Location Technology, Foreign Trade Zone and Trade Facilitation Consulting (over 100 FTZ activations in the past 6 years), and Supply Chain Engineering.
“Having served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of The Beacon Council for more than 15 years, I have seen firsthand the impact that this organization has had on our community and the growth of its economy,” said Gary Goldfarb, 2020-2021 Chair. “This year’s challenges make economic development efforts even more important, and I am committed to working with the Council, our incredible Board of Directors, and our local leaders to ensure we are doing everything we can to support Miami-Dade’s recovery and continued success.”
In addition to new Board members, the Miami-Dade Beacon Council announces the new Chairs and Chairs-Elect for the ten committees created to better engage Beacon Council investors and thought leaders with the One Community One Goal strategy to foster economic prosperity throughout Miami-Dade. The Target Industry and Program Committees include Aviation; Banking & Finance; Creative Industries; International; Life Sciences & Healthcare, New Leaders Taskforce; Small Business; Technology; Trade & Logistics; and the Urban Initiatives Taskforce. Each committee’s goal is to help build greater capacity within target industries and key markets to support growth and innovation, while providing opportunities for professional engagement. The full list of Committee Chairs and Chairs-Elect is included below.
The Beacon Council’s 2020-2021 Board of Directors is outlined below. List of Board Members with links to bios and headshots can be found here.
✦2020-2021 Officers Cabinet
- Donna Abood** | Avison Young
- Alexander Adams | Northern Trust
- Mike Allen, Ph.D. | Barry University
- Maria Alonso | United Way of Miami Dade
- Sheldon Anderson** | Financial Services Consultant
- David Appel** | Cherry Bekaert
- David A. Armstrong | St. Thomas University
- Christine Barney | rbb Communications
- Brittnie Bassant | Chamber South
- Rick Beasley | CareerSource South Florida
- George Bermudez**✦ | Bank of America
- The Honorable JC Bermudez | Mayor, City of Doral
- The Honorable Philippe Bien-Aime | Mayor, City of North Miami
- Superintendent Alberto Carvalho | Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- Michael Carricarte Sr | Amedex Assurance Company
- Yolanda Cash Jackson**✦ | Becker & Poliakoff
- Hugo Castro **✦ | Executive Vice President, AXA Advisors
- Jose “JOE” Chi | CAMACOL
- Brian Clay | BankUnited
- Tony Coley | BB&T
- Jaret Davis** | Greenberg Traurig
- Vivian de las Cuevas-Diaz | Holland & Knight
- Ernie Diaz | TD Bank
- Melanie Dickinson |South Florida Business Journal
- Albert Dotson Jr. | Bilzin Sumberg
- Jeffrey D. Feldman** | Trailblazer
- Michael Finney✦ | Miami-Dade Beacon Council
- Rebecca Fishman Lipsey | The Miami Foundation
- Dr. Julio Frenk | University of Miami
- The Honorable Dan Gelber, Mayor | City of Miami Beach
- The Honorable Rodney Harris | Mayor, City of Miami Gardens
- The Honorable Carlos Gimenez | Mayor, Miami-Dade County
- Gary Goldfarb**✦ | Interport Group of Companies
- Xavier Gonzalez✦ | Cyxtera
- Diego Gordillo | JP Morgan Chase & Co.
- George Hanbury, II | Nova Southeastern University
- Jaffus Hardrick | Florida Memorial University / FMU
- Felecia Hatcher-Pearson | Code Fever Miami/Black Tech Week
- The Honorable Carlos Hernandez | Mayor, City of Hialeah
- Austin Hollo | Florida East Coast Realty Inc.
- Norma Kenyon | University of Miami
- Basil Khalil | FedEx Express Latin America
- Grant Killingsworth | CBRE
- Alan Kleber | Jones Lang LaSalle
- Eric Knowles | Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce
- Richard Kuper | Miami Dade League of Cities
- Juan Kuryla | Port of Miami-Dade
- Burton Landy | Harper Meyer Perez Hagen O’Connor Albert & Dribin LLP
- Nelson Lazo** | Baptist Health South Florida
- The Honorable Daniella Levine-Cava | Miami-Dade County
- Juan Carlos Liscano | American Airlines
- Liliam Lopez | South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Mayor Steven Losner | City of Homestead
- Matthew Love | Nicklaus Children’s Health System
- Robert Lozano | Wells Fargo
- Daniel Mackler** | Gunster
- Andrew Markus | Carlton Fields
- Carlos Migoya | Jackson Health System
- Raul Moas | Knight Foundation
- Ben Mollere** | Baptist Health South Florida
- Rolando Montoya | Miami Dade College
- Roberto Munoz** | The Global Financial
- Yolanda Nader** | Dosal Tobacco Corporation
- Joe Pallot** | HEICO Corporation
- Pablo Pino | TD Bank
- Olga Ramudo | Express Travel**
- Walter Robinson** | Robinson Commercial Real Estate
- Joseph Roisman** | Perry Ellis International
- Mark Rosenberg | Florida International University
- Alfred Sanchez | Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (GMCC)
- Penny Shaffer** | Florida Blue
- Ron Shuffield** | EWM Realty International
- Lester Sola | Miami-Dade County Airport
- Ken Stiles | Stiles Reality Co.
- The Honorable Francis Suarez | Mayor, City of Miami
- William Talbert, III | Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Emmanuel Tormes, The Boeing Company
- Mark Trowbridge | Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce
- Aviv Tzur** | Avbiz Aerospace Ventures
- The Honorable Raul Valdes-Fauli | (Designee: Michael Mena), City of Coral Gables
- Antonio Villamil | The Washington Economics Group, Inc.
- Alexandra Villoch** | Baptist Health Foundation
- Irene White** | FPL
- Keriann Worley | Entercom Communications
- Rogelio Villarreal, Ocean Bank
- Nancy A. Meyer, Miami Herald
Full list of 2020-2021 Target Industry and Program Committee Chairs and Chairs-Elect:
- Aviation Committee
- Klemen Ferjan, Amerijet
- Santiago Saltos, Airbus
- Banking & Finance Committee
- Bernard J. Adrover, City National Bank
- Gonzalo Acevedo, BAC Florida Bank
- International Committee
- Andrew J. Markus, Carlton Fields
- Gina Polo, Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney
- Life Sciences & Healthcare Committee
- Richard J. Bookman, University of Miami
- Ardith Bronson, DLA Piper
- New Leaders Taskforce
- Kevin Gonzalez, CBRE
- Ana Rodriguez, Florida Blue
- Small Business Committee
- Carole Ann Taylor, Miami To Go, Inc.
- John Anthony Hall, Brickell Ventures
- Technology Committe
- Ken Finnerran, Kaseya
- Juha Mikkola, Wyncode Academy
- Trade & Logistics Committee
- Lewis Greenberg, Marcum, LLP
- Basil Khalil, FedEx Express
- Creative Industries Committee
- Lorraine Medici, Perry Ellis
- Urban Initiative Taskforce
- Yolanda Cash Jackson, Becker
- Felecia Hatcher, Code Fever Miami
For more information, please visit www.beaconcouncil.com,
or click here for more information and list of Board Members.
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About the Miami‐Dade Beacon Council
The Miami‐Dade Beacon Council is the official economic development organization for Miami‐Dade County. Its mission is to increase jobs and investment through marketing Miami as a world-class business destination, helping grow local companies, and shaping Miami-Dade’s economic future. Since 1985, the organization has assisted more than 1,200 businesses to expand in or relocate to Miami-Dade, creating more than 104,000 direct and indirect jobs combined, and driving more than $6.7 billion in new capital investments. A professional staff and volunteer community leaders work together to promote Miami-Dade as a world‐class business community at the forefront of a changing global economy, driving long-term growth and prosperity for the region. For more information, visit: www.beaconcouncil.com.
