Hispanic Unity of Florida Inducts 2018 Board Officers

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Josie Bacallao
Hispanic Unity of Florida
jbacallao@hispanicunity.org
954-683-2028 (Mobile)
954-342-0298 (Direct Line)

Hispanic Unity of Florida Inducts 2018 Board Officers  

Hollywood, FL, January 24, 2018 - Hispanic Unity of Florida (HUF) announces its new Board officers to the Board of Directors, as well as the full slate of Board members for 2018.

Charles Tatelbaum, a Director with the Ft. Lauderdale law firm of Tripp Scott, P.A., has been elected to serve as Chair of the HUF Board of Directors.  Mr. Tatelbaum has been a Board member and officer for the past five years and served as the Chair of the HUF Development Committee. He succeeds Guillermo Gomez (Woodforest National Bank) who served as the Board Chair in 2017. Rounding out the Executive Committee, are the following elected officers: Lucia Rodriguez (Comcast) as Chair-Elect; Emma Pfister (Templeton & Company) as Treasurer, and Christina Paradowski (Tripp Scott, P.A) as Secretary. Guillermo Gomez will continue to serve as an officer as Past-Chair.

Mr. Tatelbaum expressed his pleasure and excitement in embarking on this opportunity to lead the Board of an organization that provides so many vital and needed services to the South Florida community. He stated that with the unique diversity of the South Florida community, he welcomes the opportunity to chair HUF’s Board of Directors so that he can be part of augmenting the services provided to the community by HUF.

In addition to his more than 50 years of practice as an attorney focusing on bankruptcy and creditors’ rights issues, complex business litigation, Uniform Commercial Code transactions and lender liability litigation, Mr. Tatelbaum has been active in the South Florida community. He has served as a member (and Chair) of the Board of Friends of WLRN, a volunteer for Broward Partnership for the Homeless, as well as serving on the Board of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

Lucia Rodriguez (Chair-Elect) is Sr. Director of Sales and Marketing Communications at Comcast. She has more than 20 years of experience in the Television/Telecommunications industry, with a proven-track record in Multicultural Marketing and Management. Educated in Venezuela and the United States, she holds a degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, and a Master’s degree in Broadcast Administration from Boston University.

Emma Pfister (Treasurer) is a Partner in Templeton & Company LLP’s Tax Services Division. She has more than 30 years of experience in providing tax services, planning and consulting.  She is based in the firms’ Fort Lauderdale office.  A longtime resident of Broward County, she is active on the Board of the Friends for Jack & Jill Children’s Center in Fort Lauderdale and has been active in the St. Anthony Parish School in Fort Lauderdale serving in past leadership positions.

Christina V. Paradowski (Secretary) is an attorney with Tripp Scott, P.A., and focuses her practice in the areas of creditors’ rights, commercial litigation, and general civil litigation. In addition to her service on HUF’s Board, she is also a member of the current Leadership Broward class (Class XXXVI), a graduate of Women Leading Broward (Class IV), and the Immediate Past President of the Broward County Gator Club (an official affiliate of the University of Florida Alumni Association). 

Willy Gomez (Past Chair) has served on the Board of Hispanic Unity for three years and will remain on the Executive Board. Mr. Gomez is Florida’s Regional President for Commercial Banking at Woodforest National Bank. He is a graduate of the University of Miami. Previously, he served nine years on the Board of the Make a Wish Foundation of Southern Florida with one year as Chairman of the Board, and served on the Board of the Miami Science Museum for 12 years.

HUF is proud to welcome six new members to the Board of Directors: Dr. Rolando Garcia (Broward College), Daniel Herz (DFH Business Consultants Inc.), Daphne Maingot (Crowe Horwath LLP), Angie Stone (Citrix), Daniel Schevis (Community Volunteer) and Carolina Cardozo, Esq. (attorney). Continuing in their roles as members of the Board are: Melida Akiti (Memorial Healthcare System), John Guerrero (JM Family Enterprises, Inc.), Hector Lima (Citrix), Al Quintana (Edward Jones Investments), and Steve Sampier (Community Volunteer). Catalina Avalos serves as HUF’s non-voting and pro bono legal counsel.

To learn more about HUF's volunteer leadership on the board and on its committees, visit us at: www.hispanicunity.org or contact Felina Furer at 954-862-7693 to schedule a private tour.

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About Hispanic Unity of Florida

Hispanic Unity of Florida (HUF) is a non-profit founded 36 years ago by community leaders to ease the acculturation transition for newcomers from other nations. Today, HUF provides assistance through 12 programs and 30+ services in four languages to Broward's diverse community. HUF remains the county's largest agency dedicated to the immigrant population, providing them with the tools they need to build a new life. In 2016, the agency served more than 15,000 children and families. The agency offers assistance at eight Broward County sites, in addition to 18 FREE tax preparation sites and nine citizenship preparation sites. For more information visit: www.hispanicunity.org or call (954) 964-8884, ext. 216.