Federation's 81st Annual Meeting to Honor and Elect Community Leaders
Hundreds of people will gather to honor dedicated individuals for their service to the Jewish community and elect new leadership at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s 81st Annual Meeting on Friday, May 31 at Hilton Miami Downtown, 1601 Biscayne Boulevard.
STANLEY C. MYERS PRESIDENTS’ LEADERSHIP AWARD
Amanda Adler
Amanda appreciates the importance of sharing the richness of her Jewish heritage with the next generation. She began participating in Federation in 2007 and has since demonstrated an outstanding commitment to leadership and volunteerism. Amanda is a member of Women’s Philanthropy Executive Committee and chaired The Women’s Event last year. She is also a Committee Member of the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), a Federation subsidiary agency, which reflects her deep devotion to Jewish education. She was previously Chair of the Young Leadership Division, Co-Chair of PJ Library and an active member of the Women’s Amutot Committee.
Outside of Federation, Amanda holds a number of various Jewish leadership positions in the community. She is a Board member and Development Committee Chair at the Lehrman Community Day School, where her three children, Ella, Jaden and Adalynn, are students. She also volunteers at the Galbut Family Miami Beach Jewish Community Center, where she serves on the Board of Directors.
As a recipient of the 2011 Sandra C. Goldstein Young Leadership Award, Amanda follows in the footsteps of family members who previously received the Stanley C. Myers Presidents’ Leadership Award, including her husband, Matthew, in 2016; her in-laws, Judy and Michael Adler, in 1987 and 1981, respectively; and two of her aunts, Sara Adler in 1994 and Debby Grodnick in 1983.
Amanda and Matthew and their children live in Miami Beach.
Michael Simkins
Michael’s leadership skills are inspired by his clear vision of a bright Jewish future in Miami and across the globe. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Galbut Family Miami Beach Jewish Community Center on the Simkins Family Campus and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. Michael also has been actively involved in Federation’s Real Estate Division and is a Past Chair of its Sunset Over Miami event. He participated in a Real Estate Division mission to Israel and is a member of the Zachor Society of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach.
Even before the Miami Beach JCC opened at its current site in 2011, Michael and his family provided significant support and leadership to propel its initial $15 million capital campaign. In recognition of their contributions, the Miami Beach JCC property was officially named as the Simkins Family Campus. He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization of Mt. Sinai Hospital.
The youngest of five children born and raised in Miami Beach, Michael is President of Lion Associates, with operating businesses in paperboard manufacturing, lending, real estate development, hospitality and parking. In Miami, Michael is overseeing the revitalization of properties on Washington Avenue, Allapattah, Overtown and in Downtown the Miami Innovation District.
As a teenager, Michael met his wife, Nicole, while attending the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program. Today, Michael and Nicole live in Miami Beach with their three children, Eli, Jaden and Harper.
ROBERT RUSSELL FELLOWSHIP AWARD
Joel Birnbaum
Joel has harnessed his energies and significant marketing skills to recruit greater involvement in the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and other vital causes for the benefit of the Jewish people. He is a member of Federation’s Board of Directors and currently serves as its International Division Campaign Chair. He is also a member of the North Dade Executive Committee and the North Dade Business Breakfast Committee.
A former member of Federation’s Agency Support Committee, Joel and his wife, Gabriela, have chaired Super Sunday, planned several “mini-missions” to local Federation-supported agencies and organized programs with experts in the field of Jewish parenting. Joel is a graduate of the OLAM Leadership Development Program and participated in Federation’s Missions to Israel in 2012 and 2018.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela and educated in Los Angeles, where he received an MBA from the University of Southern California, Joel works commercializing various internationally recognized brands in Latin American markets. He and Gabriela live in Aventura with their three children, Taly, Alan and Emma.
SANDRA C. GOLDSTEIN YOUNG LEADERSHIP AWARD
Jacqueline Berenson Brad
Jacqueline is a third-generation member of the Miami Jewish community with strong ties to her Cuban-Jewish roots. Her Jewish identity has been molded by Temple Menorah, Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center, Lehrman Community Day School and Scheck Hillel Community School.
A University of Miami alumna, Jacqueline served as University Liaison on the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Board of Directors. After graduating with a business degree, she worked in New York as a retail buyer before returning to Miami, immediately joining Federation’s Leadership Development Institute (LDI). Jacqueline is Co-Chair of the Young Leadership Division, and prior to that was Co-Chair of the Ben-Gurion Society and LDI. She has also been a member of the Young Leadership Division’s Social Action and Special Events/Partnerships Committees. She has traveled to Israel on several Federation missions and graduated from the OLAM Leadership Development Program.
Jacqueline is a Jewish Community Services (JCS) Board of Directors member, and founded and Co-Chaired the JCS Alliance. Additionally, she is a former participant and staff member of the March of the Living and has been active in a variety of other Jewish organizations. Jacqueline is a lover of music, theater and art participating in many of the city's cultural arts events and activities. She and her husband, Alex, live in Sunny Isles Beach.
Michael Tabacinic
For Michael, involvement in the Greater Miami Jewish Federation began with a friend’s invitation to attend an event organized by the Young Leadership Division. As his participation in the Young Leadership Division grew, Michael was impressed by Federation’s vital role in supporting Jewish education and social-service agencies at home and abroad. Soon, he was elected to the Young Leadership Division Board as a member-at-large and, subsequently, was named to the National Young Leadership Cabinet of The Jewish Federations of North America. He is a member of Federation’s Board of Directors.
Michael is Incoming President of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Young Leadership Division and serves on the Hebrew Academy Building Committee and the boards of The Shul of Bal Harbour and Chabad of Downtown Young Jewish Professionals. He is the Managing Director of MTR Capital Group, a real estate fund that invests in income-producing retail and office centers throughout the U.S.
Raised in Colombia and France before moving to Miami, Michael graduated from the University of Miami and worked briefly in New York City before earning an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
