Maria Millares, President and Founder of Millares & Company P.A., has been elected as President of the Board of Directors at Feeding South Florida (formerly Daily Bread Food Bank). Millares joined the board in 1992 and has since worked tirelessly to advance the mission of FSF, South Florida’s affiliate of Feeding America. And she is not alone in the fight to end hunger. Her husband, artist Manuel Millares, along with their sons Ruben M. Millares, CPA, CFP and Javier M. Millares, Esq., have also had a long standing relationship with FSF through volunteering their time and efforts while organizing fundraising events. For information, call 954-518-1818 or visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org.

Six young girls from migrant families celebrated a traditional Fiesta de Quinceñera hosted by the Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida. The Quinceñera’s, pictured - Karina Rodriguez, Ana Zenteno, Estefania Loredo (first row) and Maria Marceleno, Roxana Cervantes, Gabriela Ponce (second row) – enjoyed the traditional coming of age ceremony and reception at the Homestead Community Center. Joining the Girl Scout Council in sponsoring the program are Ford Motor Company Foundation, Mexican American Council and Miami-Dade County Public School Migrant Education Program. For more information on the Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida, call 305-253-4841 or visit www.girlscoutsfl.org.

Temple Israel of Greater Miami has named Marla Towbin its new Executive Director. Born in New York and raised in South Florida, Marla grew up learning all facets of catering and management by assisting her father in his resort and restaurant businesses. She served as Executive Director at Congregation Agudath Achim in Savannah, Georgia, where her secular business experience effectively meshed with her commitment to Jewish tradition. During her tenure at Temple Sholom, in Greenwich, Connecticut, Marla had the honor of hosting and providing security for Henry Kissinger, Hilary Clinton, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, among others. She a life member of Hadassah, and a member of both the North American Association of Synagogue Executives and National Association of Temple Administrators.

HOK, the architectural firm that designed The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum project on Florida International University’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus, has been selected to receive the 2010 AIA Florida Honor Award of Excellence for New Work. The Design Awards are given each year to AIA Florida/Caribbean members to recognize those owners, designers, and contractors whose work enriches the community. The 46,000-square-foot building was designed by Yann Weymouth, design director of HOK. The state-of-the-art museum includes nine galleries and 10,000 square feet of gallery spaces. The building was completed in 2007 and opened to the public in 2008.

Two state-of-the-art refrigerated trucks and the funds to operate each of these trucks for the first year have been donated to Feeding South Florida by JPMorgan Chase. The new trucks make it possible for Feeding South Florida to move millions of pounds of fresh foods to people in need each year. They will be used to collect and distribute food to the more than one million people served by Feeding South Florida in Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach Counties. Chase’s donation in South Florida is part of a $5 million national grant to Feeding America and its nationwide network of food banks. This donation marks the largest single corporate donation that Feeding America has received from a corporation to date. Pictured: Dale Holness, Vice Mayor of Lauderhill, looks on as Chase South Florida Market Commercial Banking President Guillermo Castillo presents keys to Judith Gatti, Executive Director of Feeding South Florida.

The Miami Children’s Museum has named Martha de la Pena Rojas, Wayne M. Pathman and Patricia Baloyra to serve on the Board of Directors. Martha de la Pena Rojas serves as Senior Manager of Public Affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) in South Florida and leads the community relations strategies for Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Indian River, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. Wayne M. Pathman is a partner with the Miami Law firm of Pathman Lewis, LLP and heads the environmental/land use and zoning sections of the firm. Patricia Baloyra is a partner in the Miami office of Broad and Cassel and is a member of the firm’s Land Use and Environmental Law Practice Group. The Miami Children’s Museum is located at 980 MacArthur Causeway on Watson Island in Miami. It is open to the general public seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, contact 305-373-KIDS (5437).

Famed dancer/choreographer Desmond Richardson has joined the Board of Trustees of YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Hailed as one of the great modern dancers of his time, Richardson was a 1986 YoungArts Award Winner in Modern Dance and Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He is Co- founder and Co-Artistic Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet N.Y., celebrating its 15th year. Richardson brings to the table a wealth of knowledge about the dance community, as well as a unique insider’s perspective of the YoungArts program, and will assist the organization as it ushers in its next era of excellence in the arts. For more information, please visit www.youngarts.org. Photo credit: James Houston.

Danielle Spiegelman has been named the new Executive Director / Director of Development for the Cancer Support Community Greater Miami (formerly The Wellness Community-Greater Miami). A Miami native, Spiegelman has more than 18 years of corporate and non-profit fundraising experience. Prior to joining the Cancer Support Community, she was the Development Director for Temple Beth Am. She also served as Marketing Director for The Falls where she was responsible for all marketing, advertising, local branding, public relations, corporate and promotional partnerships, center special events and web based marketing. Actively involved in charitable work, Spiegelman has served with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Children's Home Society, Miami Children's Hospital and Hadassah of Greater Miami. She lives in Miami with her husband Marc and children Logan, 8 and Austin, 6 and Ethan, 4.

Fifteen college students from the New World School of the Arts Dance Division along with four faculty members including the dean of dance Daniel Lewis attended New Prague Dance Festival in the Czech Republic, and won numerous prizes and accolades including the final two grand prizes.

Parents from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade Kendall Club came together to host a Summer Jam Concert featuring cover bands, TILT and Eruption. TILT performed the best from the 90s, Alternative and Spanish Rock and Eruption performed cover songs from U2’s Unforgettable Fire tour, the Police’s Synchronicity tour, INXS’s Listen Like Thieves tour to name a few. The concert was held at Bayside Hut in Key Biscayne. “The concert was a huge success,” said Alex Rodriguez-Roig, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade. “It was a great initiative from the parents of the Kendall Club to host this concert to make the club a better place for the children.”