Art Bodega Magazine’s 10th Anniversary Issue Unveiling

Art Bodega magazine’s 10th anniversary issue is out, featuring “The 50 Most Beautiful People in Art & Philanthropy.” The photo spread included some well-known Miamians, several who hopped on a jet and flew to New York for the issue’s unveiling party. On the cover: major philanthropist, engineer, attorney and University of Miami trustee Ana VeigaMilton and founder and chief executive officer of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, Mayi de la Vega. Turn the thick, glossy pages and you’ll find artist event planner and photographer Anirays Camino, Kristi House CEO Amanda Altman. In the crowd to cheer and celebrate was the magazine’s publisher Rebecca Herrero, trauma surgeon Dr. Angeleke Saridakis, and SocialMiami editor Brett Graff. Also appearing, though not at the party, were preservationist Karelia Martinez Carbonell, business executive Daissy Olarte de Kanavos, philanthropist and CEO of Jorge Luis Lopez law firm Marile Lopez, and realtor Sandra Fiorenza. All were photographed by celebrity photographer Nigel Barker — a 12-season judge for America’s Top Model — in a Manhattan penthouse owned by Serafina restaurant chain owner Vittorio Assaf.

Chapman Partnership Kick Off Party

Heide and Jose Dans of Wow MKTG hosted a Kick-Off Reception for the Chapman Partnership’s Illuminations Gala in November, the nonprofit organization’s largest fundraising event of the year. With the organization’s goal of surpassing $1.1 million in donations this year, over 100 of Miami-Dade’s community leaders, including television personalities, business executives and philanthropists came out to show their support. Guests included Laurie Jennings and husband Josh Salman, Chapman Partnership interim president and CEO Peter Pruitt, Jr., philanthropists Trish and David Bell, Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill), The Children’s Trust CEO Jim Haj, Jackson Health Foundation marketing chief Matthew Pinzur, and WSVN general sales manager Cindy Feinstein.

At the event, it was announced Timothy Adams would receive the next Alvah H. and Betty B. Chapman Humanitarian Award recipient. Adams has been on Chapman Partnership Board of Trustees since 2002 and is Chairman of the Spiritual Life Committee since 2018, which aims to help participants achieve a sense of value and self-worth through faith. Mr. Adams is also involved in numerous charities and international missions around the world.

Chapman Partnership serves those experiencing homelessness in Miami-Dade County. Each day, the charity provides attention and care to over 800 men, women and children at their centers in Downtown Miami and Homestead.

Newspaper News

Daily Business Review Reunion

The Daily Business Review – a paper owned by ALM.com with Miami, Broward and Palm Beach editions – has always boasted a powerful readership. And under the direction of Edward Wasserman who served as editor-in-chief from 1986 to 2000, reporters were expected to toss aside press releases and pull back the glossy veneers of business, law, real estate and government, revealing the inner workings of money and power. The staff was fearless and when columnist Dan Cook uncovered questionable dealings at PortMiami and the story was later picked up by the Miami Herald, DBR in turn purchased billboard featuring both front pages, their dates, and a headline, “Follow the Leader.”

Wasserman – today a professor of journalism at UC Berkeley – recently returned to Miami and Keith Donner (now a political consultant) organized a reunion attended by former editorial and business staff including: freelance photographer Melanie Bell; Florida Bulldog editor Dan Christensen; Palm Beach Post opinion editor Tony Doris; South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Krischer Goodman; The Costal Star reporter Mary Hladky; freelance journalist (US News and World Report, Florida Bulldog) Noreen Marcus; freelance photographer (SocialMiami, DBR, Miami Herald) Aixa Montero Holt; writer Mark Sell; FIU business consultant Alina Matas; retired financial journalist Howard Gold, retired editor Chuck Buhman, co-chair of the Dade Real Estate Investors Association Jim Pamplin; VP of Philanthropic Development for The Associated Press Lisa Gibbs; attorney Karen Myatt; Condo Vultures principal Peter Zalewski; B2B content marketing manager Pat Dunnigan; public information officer at Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office Phil Stelly; current DBR managing editor Cathy Wilson; financial communications specialist David Zigas; TheRealDeal reporter Francisco Alvarado;  writer Jay Sandusky; Northeastern Journalism professor Laurel Leff; educator Lynne Tweardy; attorney Rob Kuntz and SocialMiami editor Brett Graff, who is terrified Wasserman will find an error in this piece.

Coffee with the Newsroom

The Miami Herald invited readers to the Coral Gables Museum for a discussion of the paper’s coverage. The Miami Herald’s senior director for journalism Jane Wooldridge moderated the morning and opened with optimism, introducing Alex Mena, interim executive editor and Dana Banker, senior managing editor and saying there are 15.2 million unique average visitors monthly to Miami Herald / el Nuevo Herald websites. Plus thanks to a foundation raising money from Jewish, Christian and Muslim supporters, the paper has dedicated a reporter to the religion beat. What’s more, there’s a fulltime videographer on staff producing Instagram reels fetching 100,000 views. Editor Amy Driscoll discussed the civic accountability series winning the paper a 2023 Pulitzer Prize and climate reporters Alex Harris and Nicolás Rivero discussed their approach to covering matters from flooding to financial investment, saying the paper participates in three climate change collaborations that report on the issues worldwide and matter locally.  Seats were filled with citizens wanting to know about how reporters select topics to cover and to relay information on their own experiences in South Florida.