CEO at Workscapes
“Family First” is Elizabeth’s philosophy and an integral part of the Workscapes environment and tradition. Creating healthy relationships with business partners as well as the community is very important to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Dvorak is the Owner and CEO of Workscapes, Inc. She founded the company in 1998 and has been in the industry over twenty-four (24) years. Orlando Business Journal’s Business Woman of the Year and Business Owner of the year for 2006. Workscapes is currently one of the largest woman owned businesses in the state of Florida.
CEO at Workscapes
Executive Vice President, Head of US Distribution at TD Bank
Ernie Diaz serves as the Regional President for TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank in Florida, where he is responsible for providing strategic direction and sales leadership to TD’s retail, small business, commercial and specialty banking operations and lending services throughout a network of more than 150 stores in Florida.
His banking career spans more than 28 years where he held positions at several financial institutions in Florida, including TD’s predecessor the South Financial Group; Mercantile Bank, Regions Bank; Terrabank; and the former Southeast Bank. Most recently, he served as Market President for TD Bank in South Florida.
A long-time South Florida resident, he currently serves as Chair of The Beacon Council Executive Board. In addition, he is a member of the Orange Bowl Committee, serve as the Director for the Florida Bankers Association board, and am a board member of Enterprise Florida. Lastly, he is the immediate past Chair for the Dean’s Council at Florida International University.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida International University and a Master’s degree in accounting from Nova Southeastern University. He is also a licensed CPA in the state of Florida.
Executive Vice President, Head of US Distribution at TD Bank
Co-Managing Shareholder of Greenberg Traurig
Jaret L. Davis is the Co-Managing Shareholder of the firm’s Miami office, where he oversees approximately 170 attorneys and 200 business staff based in the firm’s founding office and focuses his corporate and securities practice on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, and large financings.
For over a decade, Jaret has led the efforts of the Miami office and served as one of several leaders leading efforts of the firm globally to be a dominant player in the technology industry. Most Jaret’s clients are technology players, ranging from information technology companies, to life sciences/biotech companies, to companies focusing on renewable energy sources. During this time, the Miami office has been a thought leader in representing angel investors, venture capital firms, growth equity funds, as well as various technology companies along all intervals of the life cycle, from startup to multi-billion dollar publicly traded companies. He routinely provides representation to publicly traded clients having an aggregate market capitalization of over $20 billion.
In addition to his practice, Jaret serves in several civic capacities which allow him to leverage his professional interests to assist the community. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, a thought leader at leveraging telemedicine solutions and serves as a co-founder and General Counsel of the eMerge Americas global technology conference. He recently served as Chair of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the Official Economic Development Partnership for Miami-Dade County.
Co-Managing Shareholder of Greenberg Traurig
Shareholder at Cozen O’Connor
Jeffrey Feldman is a trial lawyer who represents clients in intellectual property and business litigation matters. His cases have included patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, false advertising, unfair competition, contract, business torts, and civil RICO disputes in state and federal courts throughout the United States. He has tried a number of these cases to verdict, often for clients who were in late-stage litigation and had an eleventh-hour need for experienced trial counsel. In addition to trial work, Jeff also counsels clients about procuring, registering, protecting and licensing intellectual property rights and avoiding the intellectual property rights of others.
Jeff is board certified by the Florida Bar in Intellectual Property Law, a distinction held by only 138 Florida attorneys.
Jeff began his career in 1981 as an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade County, a position he was appointed to by former State Attorney and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Jeff rose to the rank of felony prosecutor and later, felony division chief, and his experience included prosecution of numerous cases as first chair trial counsel. In 1985, Jeff was appointed as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. As a federal prosecutor, Jeff tried numerous cases to verdict and routinely conducted grand jury investigations, including several cases related to the Iran-Contra Affair. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency recognized Jeff for distinguished service in relation to matters he prosecuted for them.
Jeff entered private practice in 1988 as a civil and criminal trial lawyer and in 1994, he co-founded Feldman Gale, P.A., an intellectual property litigation boutique that remained in practice until 2016 when he and other members of his firm joined Cozen O’Connor.
Jeff has been listed annually in “Best Lawyers in America” since 2007, “Florida Super Lawyers” since 2006 and the South Florida Legal Guide since 2003. He is also a Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America, a national trial lawyer’s honorary society. Jeff has also been recognized by The International Who’s Who of Patent Lawyers, Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite,” and Managing Intellectual Property’s “IP Stars.” He is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale Hubbell since 1992.
Jeff is an active participant in various community organizations. He is a member of the executive board of the Miami Dade County Beacon Council — the city’s official economic development organization; a trustee of the University of Florida’s Law Center Association, a leadership and fundraising arm of the Levin College of Law; a director of the Lung Transplant Foundation of Florida; and a member of the Tocqueville Society of the United Way of Miami-Dade County. Jeff is also past president of the Miami Music Association, an organization that supported the Cleveland Orchestra’s residency in South Florida.
Shareholder at Cozen O’Connor
President & Publisher, South Florida Business Journal
A journalism graduate of the University of Maryland who started her career with the Washington Journalism Review, Melanie has spent her career in publishing. Born in Philadelphia and raised in South Florida, her next journalism position was with the Miami Herald.
After living in Seattle for several years, in 1997, Melanie joined the Philadelphia Business Journal, part of the American Cities Business Journal network. After six years, she was named advertising director and later publisher of the company’s Birmingham Business Journal.
Melanie returned home to Florida in 2008 to lead the South Florida Business Journal. As President & Publisher of the largest business-to-business publication in the region, Melanie’s leadership and drive to deliver breaking news and in-depth business stories designed to foster growth for local business owners has resulted in multiple industry awards to the South Florida Business Journal’s editorial and design teams.
Melanie led the transformation and product redesign of the South Florida Business Journal in 2013. Her input allowed the then, 34-year-old company to leap from a traditional weekly print newspaper to a digital-first media giant. The cutting-edge design and complete makeover of the South Florida Business Journal website now allows for easy consumption of news on multiple platforms. The product overhaul has resulted in double-digit increases in viewership and website engagement with the Business Journal audience.
Melanie’s passion for recognizing and elevating the achievements of women in business led to the creation of the Women’s Leadership Group. This invitation-only women’s membership organization allows CEOs, presidents and business owners the opportunity to share their successes, frustrations and ideas with other women of similar position in a setting of support and confidentiality. Now in its third year, the Women’s Leadership Group membership list includes some of the region’s most impactful disrupters and true captains of industry.
Commitment to community can be seen in Melanie’s work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, The Education Fund, and the United Way. She advocates for business and the growth of our region via her board positions with Florida International University’s College of Business, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Miami-Dade Beacon Council, Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, and the Broward Workshop.
South Florida Business Journal is part of Advance Publications, one of the top privately held companies in the nation and one of the top privately held companies based in New York, according to Forbes magazine. The publication Melanie leads is one of 43 Business Journals under the American City Business Journals umbrella, which are located in many of the nation’s major metro markets.
President and Publisher at South Florida Business Journal
Lead Partner at RSM US LLP
Robert Feldmann is a Certified Public Accountant and lead partner at the Coral Gables branch of the accounting firm RSM McGladrey. He has been with the firm since 1990 and was formerly a senior manager in the audit department. He specializes in audit, accounting, business counseling and tax planning. He serves on Florida International University’s School of Accounting Advisory Board, and is a member of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Florida Healthcare Association, the HFMA, the Government Finance of Officers Association and the Florida Government Finance Officers Association. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center.
Lead Partner at RSM US LLP
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Ocean Bank
Terry Curry has been Ocean Bank’s executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2008, brings more than 30 years of leadership in nearly all aspects of banking to his position as head of the bank’s operations. Curry joined Ocean Bank in 1989 as head of Credit Administration. Within a year, he was promoted to senior lending officer, and five years later to chief credit officer, a position he held for 13 years. Before joining Ocean Bank, he was Southeast Bank’s vice president of external reporting. He started his banking career with the Bank of Miami in 1976.
Dedicated to the community, Curry is active with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, the Chapman Partnership and the Baptist Health Foundation, and is a member of the Finance Committee of the Greater Miami Visitors and Convention Bureau. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Curry received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Ocean Bank
Commissioner, District 5
Bruno A. Barreiro was first elected into public office in 1992 to serve in the Florida House of Representatives representing District 107. While serving in the Florida House of Representatives, he chaired the Tourism Committee. On June 2, 1998, Bruno A. Barreiro was elected to serve as Miami-Dade County Commissioner representing District 5. He served as Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners in 2007 and 2008. He has been re-elected for subsequent terms to represent constituents in portions of the Cities of Miami and Miami Beach, as well as the communities of Little Havana, Downtown, and South Beach.
Currently, Commissioner Barreiro serves as the Chair of the Transportation and Public Works Committee, Vice-Chair of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, and Vice-Chair of the South Florida Regional Planning Transportation Council. On behalf of Miami-Dade County he sits on the Downtown Development Authority, Southeast Florida Transportation Council, Miami River Commission, Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency and the Beacon Council. Barreiro has been recognized by many local, state, and federal organizations.
Barreiro is an alumnus of Christopher Columbus High School and attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. He is the owner of BABJ Investment Corporation, Marketing Vice President of Fatima Home Care and a Director of IUSA Partners, Inc.
Barreiro is the son of Cuban immigrant parents and was born in Clearwater, Florida on December 1965. He and his wife Zoraida are the proud parents of Bianca Fatima and Bruno Antonio.
Commissioner, District 5