President at Florida International University
Mark B. Rosenberg is the fifth president of Florida International University (FIU). A public institution of higher education, FIU is the face of the country’s future in higher education demographics: it is a majority-minority institution that leads the country in the production of minority degrees in the sciences and engineering.
Dr. Rosenberg has served as the fifth president of FIU since August 2009. A political scientist specializing in Latin America, Dr. Rosenberg is the first FIU faculty member to ascend to the university’s presidency.
Under his leadership as president, FIU has increased enrollment to almost 56,000 students, improved graduation rates by nearly 13% and hired over 500 new faculty. As President, Dr. Rosenberg has provided leadership to grow the institution’s budget, improve student retention and graduation rates, expand internships for enrolled students, and coordinate FIU’s emergence as a leading producer of graduates in priority national and state areas focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The university has been named as a Carnegie “Highest Research” as well as an “Engaged” institution, and has developed path-breaking partnerships with the Miami Dade County Public Schools, JP Morgan Chase, Florida Power & Light and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Research expenditures have grown by nearly 30% to nearly $171 million, and over seventy new student advisers and counselors have been hired for a restructured and expanded student graduation initiative.
From 2005 to 2009, Dr. Rosenberg served as the second Chancellor (he was the first that was formally selected by the Board of Governors) for the State University System of Florida, which includes all of Florida’s public universities – over 325,000 students and an all-accounts budget of nearly $9 billion. As chancellor, Dr. Rosenberg led the system’s strategic development and financial planning and policy initiatives, working closely with Governors Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist and the state legislature to secure support for SUS priorities. During this era, major new strides were made in research support for the system, over $1 billion was provided for new facility construction, and a new SUS strategic plan was developed, approved and launched.
Prior to becoming chancellor, Dr. Rosenberg was integrally involved in the expansion and development of FIU into a major public research university. As Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1998 to 2005, Dr. Rosenberg spearheaded the establishment of a law school in 2002 and a medical school in 2006. Under his leadership, FIU increased enrollment, implemented major campus construction projects, and was invited to join the select national honor society Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Rosenberg was also instrumental in moving FIU into the top tier of Carnegie Foundation research universities.
Dr. Rosenberg’s academic career began at FIU in 1976 as an assistant professor of political science. In 1979, he founded the FIU Latin American and Caribbean Center, which today is one of the nation’s premier federally-supported research and teaching centers focusing on the region. Dr. Rosenberg subsequently served as the Founding Dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs and Vice Provost for International Studies. He has also been a Visiting Distinguished Research Professor at The Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and a Visiting Professor at the Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico.
Dr. Rosenberg earned a B.A. in 1971 from Miami University of Ohio and a Ph.D. in Political Science with a graduate certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from the University of Pittsburgh in 1976. He has written or co-edited seven books and numerous scholarly articles in leading journals. His latest book, The United States and Central America: Geopolitical Realities and Regional Fragility (2007), is a Harvard University project co-authored with Luis Guillermo Solis of Costa Rica. Governmental and media organizations have frequently sought Dr. Rosenberg’s expertise on Latin America. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has testified before Congress numerous times, and has served as a consultant to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Firmly committed to service with national and local educational impact, Dr. Rosenberg serves as Chair of the Association of Public Land-Grant University’s (APLU) Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU); Chair of APLU’s Commission on Access, Diversity, and Excellence (CADE); and Co-Chair of the Board on Science Education’s (BOSE) Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education. He also just ended his term as Chair of the National Academies’ Committee on Developing Indicators for Undergraduate STEM Education.
Within Miami-Dade County, Dr. Rosenberg was the 109th Chair of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (GMCC), one of Florida’s leading business associations; and also served a 5-year term as Chair of the Academic Leaders Council (ALC) for the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County’s official economic development organization. He serves on the Board of Directors of City National Bank of Florida, and is active in a variety of other civic organizations, including the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, Florida Council of 100, and the United Way of Miami-Dade County.
Dr. Rosenberg is a first-generation college graduate whose two children, Ben and Ginelle, are both graduates of FIU. He and his wife of over 40 years, Rosalie, are members of Temple Menorah in Miami Beach.
President at Florida International University
Executive Vice President at Perry Ellis International
Joseph Roisman is the Executive Vice President for Perry Ellis International. Originally known as Supreme International, Joe has held various positions at the company in his 48 years of service and played an integral role in its growth and expansion, including the acquisition of the Perry Ellis name in 1999.
Since that time, Perry Ellis has grown to be one of the leading designers, distributors and licensors of apparel and accessories in the world with well over $1 billion in retail sales. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, owns or licenses a portfolio of brands including 29 of the leading names in fashion such as Savane, Original Penguin, Callaway, Nike, Swim, Cubavera. As Executive Vice President, Roisman has overseen numerous aspects of the company, including sales, sourcing and operations.
Joe has been an active member of the Beacon Council since 1998. He serves on the executive board of directors. He also is past board chair of the Cancer Support Community of Miami. He is on the board of directors at Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables, The Education Fund and Friendship Circle of Miami. He served on the executive board of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, The Dave and Mary Alper Jewish Community Center, South Dade Executive Council of AIPAC, United Way cabinet and is a past president of Temple Samu-El Or Olom.
He was honored by the Cancer Support Community of Miami and the Doral Business Council,
Born in Havana, Joe came to the United States from Cuba via Israel and his story is a true inspiration. He served in the Israeli Defense Forces and is a veteran of the Six Day War in 1967. Married to Wife Aida for 49 years, Joe has 4 sons, 3 daughters in law and 3 grandchildren.
Executive Vice President at Perry Ellis International
South Florida Market President, TD Bank, N.A.
Pablo J. Pino is the South Florida Market President at TD Bank. In this role, he is responsible for the Community Lending of all of South Florida. Pino, who joined TD Bank in 2008, he has over 30 years of experience in commercial and retail banking. Prior to joining TD Bank, Pino spent 15 years with Manufacturers Hanover, which was acquired by JP Morgan Chase, and held positions with increasing seniority at other financial institutions. He was been instrumental in building TD Bank’s strong commercial portfolio, as well as securing top talent to continually strengthen the commercial banking team in South Florida. Pino serves on the boards of The Education Fund, United Home Care, the Center for Financial Training, the Urban League of South Florida, and the Beacon Council.
South Florida Market President, TD Bank, N.A.
President at Miami Dade College
An American by choice, Eduardo Padrón arrived in the United States as a teenage refugee in 1961. Since 1995, he has served as President of Miami Dade College (MDC), the largest institution of higher education in America with more than 165,000 students. He is credited with elevating MDC into a position of national prominence among the best and most recognized U.S. colleges and universities. An economist by training, Dr. Padrón earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., for being a prominent national voice for access and inclusion in higher education. In 2009, TIME magazine included him on the list of “The 10 Best College Presidents.”
In 2010, Florida Trend magazine placed him on the cover of its inaugural “Floridian of the Year” issue. In 2011, The Washington Post named him one of the eight most influential college presidents in the U.S. Also in 2011, he was awarded the prestigious 2011 Carnegie Corporation Centennial Academic Leadership Award. In 2012, he received the Citizen Service Award from Voices for National Service, the coveted TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, and the Aspen Institute Ascend Fellowship. In 2015, he was inducted into the U.S. News & World Report STEM Hall of Fame. Dr. Padrón’s energetic leadership extends to many of the nation’s leading organizations. He is the past chair of the board of directors of the American Council on Education (ACE) and is a past chair of the board of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and former chair of the Business Higher Education Forum (BHEF). During his career, he has been selected to serve on posts of national prominence by five American presidents.
Internationally, President Padrón’s accomplishments have been recognized by numerous nations and organizations including the Republic of France, which named him Commandeur in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques; the Republic of Argentina, which awarded him the Order of San Martin; Spain’s King Juan Carlos II, who bestowed upon him the Order of Queen Isabella; Spain’s Prince and Princess of Asturias, Felipe and Letizia, who presented him with the Juan Ponce de Leon 500th Anniversary award; and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, who appointed him Honorary Consul in Florida of the Kingdom of Morocco in 2016.
Dr. Padrón’s pace-setting work at Miami Dade College has been hailed as a model of innovation in higher education. He is credited with engineering a culture of success that has produced impressive results in student access, retention, graduation, and overall achievement. MDC enrolls and graduates more minorities than any other institution in the United States, including the largest numbers of Hispanics and African-Americans.Under Dr. Padrón’s leadership, Miami Dade College has received national recognition for its longstanding involvement with its urban community, its catalytic effect for social and economic change, and the marked difference the College has made in student access and success through pace-setting initiatives.
He currently serves on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Urban Institute; RC 2020; White House Fellows Southern Region Selection Panel (Chair); the International Association of University Presidents; and Achieving the Dream. In past years he has held leadership positions on the boards of the Federal Reserve Board of Atlanta, Miami Branch (past Chair); the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (Chair); the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the White House Commission on Educational Excellence; Campus Compact; Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute; The College Board; and the White House/Congressional Commission of the National Museum of the American Latino.
He is the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates and prestigious awards.
President at Miami Dade College
Councilman at City of Homestead
Councilman Elvis R. Maldonado was re-elected in 2013 to a four-year term in Council Seat #5, which includes the Waterstone Community. He was first elected as a Homestead a council member in that seat in 2009.
As a proven leader in the community, Councilman Maldonado has been extremely proactive throughout the City of Homestead. His involvement includes educational work as an outreach counselor with Aspira South Charter School, Homestead Senior High School, and Homestead Middle School. Councilman Maldonado’s involvement includes being a member of the Homestead City Charter Review, being the former chair of the Community Development District (CDD) and former president of the Homeowners Association of his community—Malibu Bay.
As a councilman who comes from a diverse leadership background he currently chair the Best Practices/New Trends Committee, serves as Miami-Dade County League of Cities Liaison, and has a seat on the Elected Officials Pension Board and the Beacon Council.
Councilman Maldonado was raised in Homestead since the age of 5. From playing little league baseball, to surviving Hurricane Andrew, the councilman can attribute many of his experiences to our city. He graduated from Florida Computer and Business College in 1998 and, in 2007, opened Laptop Zone, a full-service computer technology company, located in Homestead.
Outside of serving the Homestead community, Councilman Maldonado also enjoys spending time with his family.
Councilman at City of Homestead
Chairman at Harper Meyer Perez Hagen O’Connor Albert & Dribin LLP
Burton A. Landy serves as Chairman, Sole Arbitrator, or Co-Arbitrator in international commercial and investment arbitrations principally involving parties in Latin American and the Caribbean. He currently serves as Founding Chairman of the Miami International Arbitration Society (MIAS). Mr Landy has served as Arbitrator and as a Counsel in a number of international arbitration panels and tribunals under ICC, AAA , ICDR, UNCITRAL, and ICSID Rules concerning commercial and investment disputes involving parties and the laws of Argentina, the Bahamas, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Japan, Peru, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
Mr. Landy focuses his practice on the inbound structuring of foreign client U.S. operations and investments and U.S. clients on their outbound worldwide investments including establishing offshore trusts in the Bahamas and Cayman Islands. In addition, Mr. Landy has represented purchasers and sellers of U.S. financial institutions including Florida and federal commercial banks and savings and loan associations. Mr. Landy has experience representing the syndicator of multi-million euro loan to joint venture of Colombian and Venezuelan petro-chemical companies as well as foreign banks in obtaining Florida and federal approvals for agencies, administrative, and representative offices.
Chairman at Harper Meyer Perez Hagen O’Connor Albert & Dribin LLP
Director at Port of Miami-Dade
Mr. Kuryla began his career with Miami-Dade County in the Parks and Recreation Department in 1987. He moved to the County’s Finance Department in 1993 as an administrative officer, where he managed a grants program funded by tourist tax dollars. After approximately a year and a half in the Finance Department, Mr. Kuryla took the position of Section Head at the County’s Public Works Department’s Road, Bridge and Canal Maintenance Division.
In 1996, Mr. Kuryla was promoted to work in the County Manager’s Office as an Assistant Administrator. He was promoted again in May 1998 to the Port of Miami as Assistant to the Port Director, where he oversaw the Department’s local, state and federal legislative agenda. From February 2001 through February 2007 Mr. Kuryla held the positions of Assistant Port Director for Intergovernmental Affairs and Assistant Port Director for Intergovernmental Affairs and Promotions.
In 2007, Mr. Kuryla was promoted to Assistant Port Director for Maritime Services. In this capacity, he served as co-lead negotiator for the Port on all long term agreements executed with cruise and cargo customers as well as oversaw Port operations, facilities management, berthing, and property management, in addition to the customer service, business development, public information and media relations. In 2009, Mr. Kuryla was promoted to Deputy Port Director. In this capacity, he was responsible for directly overseeing the Port’s five assistant port directors. In May 2013, Mr. Kuryla was promoted to Seaport Director Designee.
On April 1, 2014 Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez appointed Mr. Kuryla to the position of Director of Port Miami, where he oversees operations and capital development for the largest cruise port in the world. In 2013, 4.13 million passengers passed through Port Miami’s terminals and berthed 2500 cargo and cruise vessels. Port Miami generates more than 207,000 jobs and has an economic impact of 27 billion.
Mr. Kuryla holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from Florida International University. In 2010, Mr. Kuryla obtained his Professional Port Manager PPM® degree from the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).
Director at Port of Miami-Dade
Vice President at Florida International University
Saif Ishoof serves as Vice President for Engagement at Florida International University. He was appointed in May 2015 by President Mark B. Rosenberg and leads the office in incubating transformational partnerships. As VP for Engagement, Saif builds win-win-win partnerships that create sustainable change for the university and its students; public and private sector partners; and the global community. He is also a Green Fellow at the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. Previously, Saif served as founding Executive Director at City Year Miami, which provides 17-24 year olds an opportunity to serve one year in high-need schools as tutors, mentors and role models to address the opportunity gap. Under Saif’s leadership, the organization more than doubled in size and scope with an expansion from 8 to 17 schools.
Saif earned his bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law. His professional career includes being a startup technology entrepreneur and executive in the agricultural and engineering space. Prior to City Year, Saif served as CEO of FCT Technologies Corp., a firm involved in renewable energy, crop science and water resource management.
Saif is a graduate of America’s Leaders of Change, a program of the National Urban Fellows. He served as a member of the Public Health Trust, the oversight body for Jackson Memorial Hospital. Saif is past chairman of the Miami-Dade County Asian American Advisory Board and a graduate of Leadership Florida Class 28. In the international realm, Saif participated in a U.S. State Department exchange to Turkey of Young American/Young Turkish leaders as part of a public diplomacy initiative.
Saif was named a “20 Under 40” Leader by the Miami Herald in 2010 and a 2010 Diversity Leader by the American Jewish Committee. In 2012, Saif was named a Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leader of the Year. He was also named a “Rising Star” leader by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce in 2012. Saif was recognized by the University of Miami School of Law Alumni Association as the Distinguished Leader of 2013. He was named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Miami” in 2011 and 2012 by Poder Magazine. Saif was named a 2013 “Father of the Year” by the American Diabetes Association. In 2012, Saif co-founded a technology entrepreneurship initiative called TekFight to empower young innovators in Miami. In 2014, he was awarded the Ruth Shack Leadership Award for his ethical leadership and service to Greater Miami. In 2015, he was recognized as a Monsignor Walsh Outstanding Human Services Professional by the United Way of Miami-Dade and a Volunteer Florida Champion of Service. Saif’s personal and professional life has been defined by a commitment to developing young people, building civic institutions, international dialogue, and entrepreneurship.
Vice President at Florida International University
Council President at City of Hialeah
Council President Luis Gonzalez was born June 18, 1970 in Santa Fe, Cuba. He arrived to the United States in 1979 and moved to the City of Hialeah in 1981 with his parents Jose Luis and Daisy Gonzalez. Luis Gonzalez grew up playing baseball in our local parks. He played for HAA, Pony League and Hialeah High School.
Luis Gonzalez graduated from Mae M. Walters Elementary, Filer Junior High, and Hialeah High. He attended Miami-Dade College and earned an Associate in Arts and later received a B.A. in Business Administration from Florida International University. He established his printing business in Hialeah in 1996.
In 2001, Luis Gonzalez was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Board by a unanimous vote of the Hialeah City Council and served until June of 2005. In that capacity, he earned valuable experience in city government as well as greater knowledge of the needs of Hialeah and its residents. Luis was elected to the Hialeah City Council in 2005 and served the City and its constituents as Council Vice-President for a better Hialeah until 2015.
Luis Gonzalez was re-elected as council member for the City of Hialeah on November 5, 2013. He currently serves as Council President.
Luis is married to Denise and together they have three girls Kristen, Lauren and Priscila.
Council President at City of Hialeah
President of the University of Miami
A fourth-generation physician whose paternal grandparents fled Germany in the early 1930s to build a new life in Mexico, Julio Frenk catalyzed his deep gratitude for the kindness of strangers into a lifelong mission to improve the health, education, and well-being of people around the world.
Dr. Frenk became the sixth president of the University of Miami in August of 2015. He also holds academic appointments as Professor of Public Health Sciences at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Professor of Health Sector Management and Policy at the Miami Herbert Business School, and Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Prior to joining the University of Miami, he served for nearly seven years as dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and T & G Angelopoulos Professor of Public Health and International Development, a joint appointment with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Julio Frenk was the Minister of Health of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. There he pursued an ambitious agenda to reform the nation’s health system and introduced a program of comprehensive universal coverage, which expanded access to health care for 55 million previously uninsured persons.
He was the founding director-general of the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico, one of the leading institutions of its kind in the developing world. He also served as executive director in charge of Evidence and Information for Policy at the World Health Organization and as senior fellow in the global health program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among other leadership positions.
Dr. Frenk holds a medical degree from the National University of Mexico, as well as a Master of Public Health and a joint Ph.D. in Medical Care Organization and in Sociology from the University of Michigan.
His scholarly production, which includes over 180 articles in academic journals, as well as many books and book chapters, has been cited more than 23,000 times. In addition, he has written three best-selling novels for youngsters explaining the functions of the human body.
He serves on the boards of the United Nations Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and has chaired the board of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington since its founding in 2007.
Julio Frenk is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico. In 2017, he was elected as a member of El Colegio Nacional, one of the most prestigious learned societies of Mexico, comprising intellectuals, artists, writers, and scientists.
He has received numerous distinctions, including the Clinton Global Citizen Award for changing the way practitioners and policy makers across the world think about health, the Bouchet Medal for Outstanding Leadership presented by Yale University for promoting diversity in graduate education, the Welch-Rose Award for Distinguished Service from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, and the Columbia University Frank A. Calderone Prize in Public Health in recognition of his transformational contributions to the field.
Ten universities in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and Mexico have granted honorary degrees to him. In September 2016, the Julio Frenk Professorship of Public Health Leadership was established at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with an anonymous endowment gift.
In summary, Dr. Frenk’s career has included leadership positions in all relevant aspects of public health and higher education: research, teaching, analysis of public policies, institution-building, international cooperation, and national public service. He has also been involved in various initiatives to reform higher education.
President of the University of Miami