Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade Announces New Appointments to Board of Directors
Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade Announces New Appointments to Board of Directors
Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade Announces New Appointments to Board of Directors
Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade is pleased to announce new appointments to the organization’s Board of Directors.
Longtime Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade supporter Rodolfo “Rudy” Lleonart has been named chair of the Club’s Board of Directors. Daniel Susik has been named as an Executive Board member and Bill Bermont, Michelle Zubizarreta, Silvio Martinez and Dr. William W. Culbertson, IV, MD have been appointed to the General Board.
Lleonart will serve in the position for a two-year term. Immediately prior to being named chair, Lleonart was vice chair of the Board of Directors and served on the Executive Committee. He has been active in Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade since 2013. In addition, he has served on the Board of Directors for the South Florida Banking Institute, Inc. since 2018.
Lleonart, who has 30 years of experience in various aspects of the banking industry, is executive vice president and managing director of Community Banking — Florida market for First American Bank. Prior to joining First American Bank in 2019, he served in executive leadership roles for Continental National Bank, Sabadell United Bank, JGB Bank, Great Florida Bank, City National Bank of Florida and Citibank. He started his career at Capital Bank. He earned a bachelor’s in business management and finance with a minor in Accounting from Barry University.
He has served on the board of several other organizations including the Boys Scouts of America, the Association for the Development of the Exceptional and PGKids.
“It is a great honor to serve as chair of Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade’s Board of Directors,” said Lleonart. “Having been a part of this organization for more than 10 years, I am looking forward to working with the Club to continue to make a difference in the lives of Miami-Dade area youth. This includes raising critical funds for its many positive programs, continued support of the Capital Campaign to rebuild the Northwest Club and expanding the organization’s sixth Club.”
Daniel Susik has been named as an Executive Board member. He currently serves as senior vice president, finance and treasurer for Ryder System, Inc. Prior to joining Ryder System, Inc. in 1994, he worked in finance/management capacities for American Cyanamid Company, Seagram Company, and Bell Atlantic Corp. Dan has been a corporate finance lecturer at the University of Florida, University of Miami, University of Iowa, Indiana University and the University of Michigan. He has also served on the MBA program advisory boards at the University of Michigan and at the University of Florida. In addition, he has served as Ryder’s United Way campaign chairman. He holds an MBA in finance from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Rutgers College.
Bill Bermont, managing director of Bermont Gold Wealth Advisory, has been named to Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade’s General Board. Prior to joining Bermont Gold Wealth Advisory, he was a managing director at Credit Suisse for 13 years. His other experiences include senior positions at Citigroup, The Pritzker Organization and First Chicago. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Duke University, an MBA in finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a master’s in accountancy (MSA) from Loyola University of Chicago. He serves in volunteer leadership roles for Duke University,The Cathedral School, Cancer Support Community and support of Ransom Everglades, Park Avenue Synagogue and City Harvest.
Michelle Zubizarreta has been named to the General Board. She is co-owner of TAZ Partners, LLC in Coral Gables, and the former chief administrative officer for Zubi Advertising in Miami for more than 25 years. Prior to joining Zubi, Zubizarreta worked as a counselor and teacher at the Academy for Community Education. That experience led her to become involved with various local organizations and actively, though anonymously, support causes such as cancer treatment and research, child development and education. She is a graduate of Florida International University.
Silvio Martinez, senior director of Business Services for Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), has been named to the General Board. During his more than 28 years with FPL, he has also served as director of Cyber, Planning, and Safety and director of Customer Care. He serves the community as a United Way ambassador, and well as volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. Martinez holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida International University.
Dr. William W. Culbertson, IV, MD is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida and holds the Lou Higgins Distinguished Chair. He received his undergraduate and medical school education at Emory University and his ophthalmology residency at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Culbertson performed fellowships in cornea and external diseases at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami and the Proctor Foundation in San Francisco. He has served on the cornea faculty at Bascom Palmer since 1980 with special interests in lamellar corneal surgery, refractive surgery and cataract surgery. At Bascom Palmer, he presently is Director of the Bascom Palmer Refractive Surgery Center, Director of the Cornea-External Disease Service, and Director of Optometric and General Ophthalmology Services.
Dr. Culbertson joined what was then called the Boys Club in 1953 when he was nine years old and played sports year-round including baseball, basketball and weight level football. He credits the Club for instilling teamwork, hard work, honesty, fairness, and respect for authority – values that shaped his path through college, medical school and a career in academic ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.
“I am proud that Rudy Lleonart, who has been dedicated to Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade for more than 10 years, has been named Board Chair; and to welcome several new leaders to our Executive Board and General Board of Directors,” said Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade President Alex Rodriguez-Roig. “All of them are highly respected and essential members of the Miami-Dade community and dedicated to our mission: To inspire and enable young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.”
Additionally, Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade is raising funds for its Capital Campaign to completely rebuild and renovate its Northwest Club into a state-of-the-art facility for generations to come. Located at 10915 NW 14 Avenue Miami, FL 33167, the Northwest Club opened its doors in 1953 and today it serves predominately African American children from lower income families. Boys & Girls of Miami-Dade’s plan is to completely rebuild the 11-acre campus including demolition of the existing 1950s building to build a new 25,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility featuring a learning center, STEM and computer lab, teen center and recreational areas, and the complete refurbishment of its existing fields and gym. The total cost of the project is $13 million, and construction is expected to begin in 2023.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade offers many positive programs at its six Clubs, including its mentoring, educational after-school programs, homework assistance and tutoring, computer training, social skills, dance, arts and crafts and summer and athletic programs, for area youth who need them the most.
