The 2019 MDC Hall of Fame Inductees
BUSINESS
Joseph “Pepe” Badia
President
Badía Spices Inc.
A Cuban immigrant who came to Miami at the age of 14, Joseph “Pepe” Badia is the President of the worldwide company Badía Spices. The company began with Badia’s father in 1967, and Badia got his start working for the company in 1970 by doing local sales to area bodegas. Soon, Badia grew the business with sales to larger chain stores. Badía Spices can now be found in 90 nations worldwide, while employing more than 300 people. For years, Badia has generously supported a variety of causes in the community, including scholarships for students at Miami Dade College. In 2017, he was honored with Philanthropy Miami’s Donor Next Door award.
CIVIC
Desmond Meade
Executive Director
Florida Rights Restoration Coalition
Desmond Meade, who was formerly homeless, overcame many obstacles to eventually become the Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and Chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy. Meade has orchestrated the reorganization and incorporation of a coalition comprising over 70 state and national organizations and individuals, and led the group to a historic victory in 2018 with the successful passage of Amendment 4, a grassroots citizen’s initiative which restored voting rights to over 1.4 million Floridians with past felony convictions. Meade is presently leading efforts to empower and civically re-engage local communities across the state, and to reshape local, state, and national criminal justice policies.
DENTISTRY
Claudio L. Miro, D.D.S.
Dentist/President
Miro Dental Centers
Dr. Claudio Miro is a Dentist and President of Miro Dental Centers, which has been treating patients in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties for more than 30 years. Dr. Miro received his Doctor of Dentistry at Central East University in the Dominican Republic. He began his private practice career in 1988 dedicating his practice to surgical and prosthetic implant reconstruction. He has taught nationally and internationally on various topics related to dental implants. In addition, he serves as chairman of the Florida Board of Dentistry and on the boards of the Robert Morgan Dental Implant Clinic and the Larkin Community Hospital.
EDUCATION
David K. Moore, Ed.D.
Assistant Superintendent
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Dr. David K. Moore serves as Assistant Superintendent for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the fourth largest school district in the nation. Since 2014, Dr. Moore has led the Division of Academic Support, which encompasses district-wide school improvement, student services, and the Education Transformation Office. Dr. Moore was instrumental in redesigning each area under his supervision, and under his leadership, Miami-Dade County Public Schools reduced the percentage of schools rated below a “C” from 83% in 2015 to 5% in 2018. Dr. Moore’s work in the school district spans more than 20 years, starting as a teacher at South Dade Senior High School and working in a variety of roles across the district including Counselor, Assistant Principal, Principal, and Administrative Director. He received a Doctorate of Education from Nova Southeastern University and a master’s in guidance and counseling from St. Thomas University.
ENGINEERING
Maximo “Max” Fajardo
Vice President, Aviation
T.Y. Lin International
Maximo “Max” Fajardo has more than 45 years of design and construction experience in the transportation infrastructure market, specifically in the areas of aviation, seaports and other related facilities. He has specialized in program and construction management, engineering, procurement, operations, maintenance and business development. During his career, he has worked in both the private and public sectors, including 21 years at the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. Most recently, he served as T.Y. Lin International’s Project Manager for the award-winning Cinta Costera Phase 3 project in Panama City, Republic of Panama, Engineering News Record’s International Project of the Year for 2015.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Esteban E. Formoso
Senior Vice President, Wealth Management
Morgan Stanley
Esteban Formoso currently serves as Senior Vice President of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley at its Coral Gables office, a position he has held since 2011. Prior, he worked as Senior Vice President for UBS for 10 years, where he generated $1.24 million in revenue a year and managed $83 million in assets. He received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and finance from University of Florida.
FUNERAL SCIENCE
Lori A. Hadley Davis
CEO/Founder
Hadley Davis Funeral Home
Lori Hadley Davis is CEO and Founder of the family-operated Hadley Davis Funeral Home, which now has two locations in Miami. Hadley Davis’s areas of specialty include bereavement counseling, embalming and funeral arranging, and she has extensive business finance and operations management experience. Hadley Davis is also an inspirational speaker and author of the Amazon best-selling book, “Faith Through It All: How I Transformed My Life From Devastation To Abundant Success.”
JOURNALISM
Boris Sanchez
White House Correspondent
CNN
Boris Sanchez is a CNN White House Correspondent based in Washington D.C. Sanchez joined CNN in June 2015 as a New York-based correspondent and relocated to Miami a year later. Sanchez has covered numerous breaking news events, which includes being one of the first reporters on the scene at both the Fort Lauderdale Airport shooting (2017) and the Orlando Pulse Nightclub massacre (2016). His reporting during violent unrest and riots following the shooting of an African-American man by police in Charlotte, N.C. (2016) helped CNN win an Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news coverage.
MEDICINE
James Jackson Hutson, Jr., M.D.
Professor Orthopedic Trauma Surgery
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Dr. James Jackson Hutson, Jr. practices Orthopedic Trauma Reconstruction Surgery at the University of Miami Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, which was founded by his great grandfather, Dr. James M. Jackson. Dr. Hutson is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the UM Miller School of Medicine, and he has been a member of the faculty for 20 years. He graduated from the University of Florida School of Medicine and completed orthopedic residency at Jackson Memorial/University of Miami. Dr. Hutson serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Orthopedic Trauma, and he is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery, Orthopedic Trauma Association and the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society.
NONPROFIT
Angie McAllister, Ph.D.
SVP Research
ACT
Dr. Angie McAllister is a leader in personalized learning and analytics, and helps to lead ACT’s efforts in next-generation assessment and learning technologies in her current role as Senior Vice President of Research and Development. She has spent more than a quarter century in the classroom—as an elementary and middle school teacher in South Florida, urban Maryland, Japan, and England. She also served as a principal in Georgia, and as an adjunct professor at a number of colleges and universities. Dr. McAllister has earned several patents, including for technology that adapts digital learning experiences to the real-time needs of students. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership from Capella University, and her B.S. in elementary and early childhood education from Florida International University.
NURSING
Frances Civilette Downs, Ph.D., R.N.
Chair Preventive Ethics
Miami VA Healthcare System
With more than 20 years of clinical and regulatory experience, Dr. Frances Civilette Downs leads, directs and coordinates a multi-disciplinary team in Preventive Ethics initiatives across service lines at the Miami VA Healthcare system. Dr. Downs also mentors graduate nursing students for research practicums, including application of qualitative and quantitative research methods for health and preventive ethics projects. She is a member of the Miami VA Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center Advisory Board and of the Ethics Consult Committee. Dr. Downs received a B.S.N from University of Miami, and a M.S.N in Nursing Education and Ph.D. from Barry University.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
JennyLee Molina
Principal/Founder
JLPR/305 Cafecito/305 Day
For the past 15 years, JennyLee Molina’s communications and public relations work has helped shape brands, placing them on the leading edge of popular culture. As the founder of the boutique PR agency JLPR, Molina has represented clients in the areas of art, food, beverage, lifestyle, health, wellness, entertainment, and nonprofit. Molina placed Miami on the social media map as the founder of 3:05 Cafecito, a social media campaign that proclaimed Miami’s area code as the official time for a coffee break. During Social Media Week 2013, her efforts garnered her recognition as the most influential Twitter user in the United States and the second most influential Twitter influencer globally. She was recently awarded BizBash’s Award for PR Professional of the Year.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Alexander E. Rolle, Jr.
Chief of Police
Homestead Police Department
Alexander E. Rolle, Jr. currently serves as the Chief of Police for the Homestead Police Department, a position he has held for two decades. He began working at the police department in 1980. Chief Rolle is committed to serving his community and is actively engaged in local issues, from addressing inequality to improving the justice system.
About Miami Dade College Foundation
Founded in 1965, Miami Dade College Foundation raises essential private funds to support scholarships, academic programs and support services so MDC students have the opportunity to pursue their dreams. MDC Foundation also supports world-class arts and cultural programming at MDC that enriches the community. In 2017-2018, MDC Foundation distributed nearly $9.5 million to benefit the students and programs of MDC. Known as Democracy’s College, MDC changes lives through accessible, high-quality teaching and learning experiences that prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce. Miami Dade College is the largest degree-granting institution in the nation.
Find out More About the MDC Foundation and Ways to Support MDC
Alyssa Zamora
305-237-3331
azamora@mdc.edu