Leadership
The Hispanic Women of Distinction Charity luncheon will be held Aug. 14 at the Signature Grand in Davie. It will recognize the Latina Pioneer for 2015, among other Florida philanthropists, business leaders and elected officials. The Latina Pioneer is Marielena A Villamil, president and chief operating officer of The Washington Economics Group, founded in 1993 with economist Tony Villamil. The 2015 Hispanic Women of Distinction are Yvette A. Aleman, president and CEO of F.R. Aleman & Associates, Miami; Daisy j. Baez, founder and xecutive director, Dominican Health Care Association of Florida, Coral Gables; Claudia Bartra, co-founder and chief financial officer, La Granja Restaurants, Boynton Beach; Kattia A. Castellanos, crime victim/witness specialist, Coral Gables Police Department; Sylvia R. Cobo, teacher/ESOL coordinator, Broward County Schools, Fort Lauderdale; Maria Elena Ferrer, senior vice president of private banking for IberiaBank, Davie; Maria Hernandez, vice president of program operations, United Way of Broward County, Miramar; Julie Kime, Allstate Insurance, philanthropist, retired, Palm Beach Gardens; Eugenia Isabel Millender, director and assistant professor, Florida Atlantic University, West Palm Beach; Maylen Montoto, director of community development, Catholic Hospice, Coral Gables; Adreina B. Ojeda, president, Lingua Language Center at Broward College, Weston; and Mercedes A. Quiroga, campus president, Broward College, Miami Shores. The honors are presented by Bank of America in partnership with Latina Style Magazine, and co-sponsored by Baptist Health South Florida, Latin Business Today, Univision Networks and Sylvester Cancer Center. The event will feature a fashion show by design students from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and a charity raffle to benefit the Light of the World Clinic, founded by the late Dr. Erwin Vasquez. For more information, go to hispanicwomenofdistinction.com. Betty Kane was presented The Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s James H. Nobil Community Leadership Award in recognition of her committment to the community and organization. She was the federation’s annual campaign chair from 2013 until April 2015. Additionally, Robert Marton received the federation’s James and Marjorie Baer Outstanding Young Leadership Award for his efforts on behalf of the organization and the Jewish community, including as a co-chair of the Federation’s Business & Professional Division. Marton is a founding member of The Marton Bute Marcus Wealth Management Group at Merrill Lynch.