Yoca Arditi-Rocha
Executive Director, The CLEO Institute
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Natasha Carrizosa
Poet & Emcee, Natty Roots and Rhyme
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Diana Chao
Executive Director, Letters to Strangers
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Marsha Frith
Director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
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Ken Furton
Provost, Florida International University
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Daniella Levine Cava
Mayor, Miami-Dade County
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Dan Porterfield
President and CEO, The Aspen Institute
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Luisa Santos
District 9 Representative, Miami-Dade School Board
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Joe Zubizarreta
Interim President & CEO, United Way Miami
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Yoca Arditi-Rocha
Executive Director, The CLEO Institute
Yoca Arditi-Rocha is executive director of The CLEO Institute in Florida, working with policymakers and stakeholders to build climate resilience and mobilize climate action. She previously was founding executive director of No Planeta B, a consultancy with an advocacy core. Arditi-Rocha has participated in UN climate negotiation conferences of parties (COPs) and has been a sustainability advisor for schools, colleges, and organizations. An Al Gore-trained climate speaker and presenter, she’s on the leadership council of Resilience 21 and on the steering committee of the Resilience Roadmap, hosted by Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. Arditi-Rocha’s honors include Ford Motor Company’s 2019 Mujeres Legendarias Award in Sustainability. She has a corporate sustainability degree from University of Vermont’s Institute of Global Sustainability and a master’s degree from Harvard University in liberal arts in sustainability.
Natasha Carrizosa
Poet & Emcee, Natty Roots and Rhyme
Natasha Carrizosa is a poet, writer, creative writing teacher, and speaker. Her work is deeply rooted in her childhood and life experiences. Raised as the daughter of a fierce African-American mother and Mexican father, her writing reflects the dichotomy of these two rich cultures. Carrizosa is the author of mexiafricana, heavy light, and crown. She has performed her work and conducted workshops for audiences in Madrid, Paris, St. Lucia, New York, Chicago, Houston, and many other places. Her love for the arts inspired the creation of natty roots & rhyme, one of the most dynamic poetry open mics in the country.
Diana Chao
Executive Director, Letters to Strangers
Diana Chao is executive director of Letters to Strangers, which she founded as a sophomore in high school after bipolar disorder nearly ended her life. Today, L2S is the largest global youth-for-youth mental health nonprofit, impacting over 35,000 people annually on six continents and publishing the world’s first youth-for-youth mental health guidebook. Chao, who teaches and speaks on youth mental health, is a 2021 Princess Diana Legacy Award winner, 2020 L'Oréal Paris Woman of Worth, and O, The Oprah Magazine’s 2019 Health Hero. As part of Adobe’s inaugural class of global Top Talents, her photographic self-portrait series went viral with more than two million views. A 2021 Princeton University graduate with a degree in geological and earth sciences, she is also a writer and works as a natural hazards analyst for Kinetic Analysis Corporation.
Marsha Frith
Director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Marsha Frith is director of education programs for the Southern Division of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), where she oversees and implements education activities and leads the divisional education team in its efforts to support regional and community education. She was previously education director for ADL’s Florida region for two years. Before joining ADL, Frith directed the Fulbright Foreign Student Program at the Institute of International Education (IIE), a nonprofit educational and cultural exchange organization that supports master’s and PhD programs for 4,000 international students. At IIE she developed partnerships with higher education institutions, including collaborations on international student orientation and cultural adjustment curricula. A graduate of Wellesley College, Frith received her master’s degree in English from Brooklyn College.
Ken Furton
Provost, Florida International University
Kenneth Furton is provost, EVP, and COO of Florida International University and a leading scholar in forensic chemistry specializing in scent detection. He was previously dean of the FIU College of Arts and Sciences and associate dean of budget, facilities, and research. Having started at FIU in 1988 as an assistant professor in chemistry, Furton founded FIU’s International Forensic Research Institute, where he continues to be active. Among other service, he chairs the Organization for Scientific Area Committees Dog and Sensors group and the Dogs and Sensors Consensus Body of the American Academy of Forensic Science Standards Board creating national standards. Furton authored or co-authored more than 207 peer-reviewed publications, 21 patents, two books, and 658 conference presentations, and is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Academy of Inventors.
Daniella Levine Cava
Mayor, Miami-Dade County
Daniella Levine Cava is mayor of Miami-Dade County, the first woman elected to the office in November 2020. She was previously a Miami-Dade County commissioner from 2014 to 2020. Cava came to elected office after advocating for South Florida families for over 30 years: serving special needs children and immigrants at Legal Services of Greater Miami and representing children in the child welfare system as associate and legal director for the Guardian ad Litem program. Cava’s service also includes the South Florida Regional Planning Council (2015 to 2020), Florida Bar Committee on Legal Needs of Children, and the boards of League of Women Voters, Orange Bowl Foundation, North Dade Medical Foundation, and South Florida Health Information Initiative. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Yale and graduate degrees in law and social work from Columbia University.
Dan Porterfield
President and CEO, The Aspen Institute
Dan Porterfield is president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. Previously, he was president of Franklin & Marshall College for seven years, senior vice president for strategic development and an English professor at his alma mater, Georgetown University, and a senior public affairs official in the US Department of Health and Human Services. Recognized as a visionary leader and advocate for expanding educational opportunity and improving the human condition, Porterfield was named a White House Champion of Change in 2016. He earned BA degrees from Georgetown and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and his PhD from The City University of New York Graduate Center, where he was awarded a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities.
Luisa Santos
District 9 Representative, Miami-Dade School Board
Luisa Santos is a Miami-Dade County Public Schools board member, representing District 9, and founder of Lulu’s Ice Cream. Born in Colombia, she is a product of Miami-Dade public schools and a naturalized US citizen. Santos started her higher education at Miami-Dade College and graduated from Georgetown University with a minor in education. During that time she was program coordinator for DC Reads at Georgetown University’s Center for Social Justice, operations coordinator for Teach for America, and worked in President Obama’s Education Department. Following graduation, she launched Lulu’s Ice Cream, driven by a desire to be a changemaker in her community — employing and mentoring local students and allowing community organizations to use the store for meetings and events. Elected to the school board in November 2020, Santos serves through 2024.
Joe Zubizarreta
Interim President & CEO, United Way Miami
Joe Zubizarreta is interim president and CEO of United Way Miami, a role he assumed in November 2021 after serving as a volunteer, board member, and chair of the marketing committee. Previously, he owned one Zubi Advertising, one of the country’s largest Hispanic advertising agencies, with clients including Ford Motor Company, JP Morgan Chase, Walgreens, and American Airlines. After selling Zubi Advertising, Zubizarreta was SVP of communications at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce for three years. In his current role, he is committed to supporting the staff and volunteers in United Way’s mission to build a thriving, equitable community where all people have access to quality education and the opportunity to lead healthy, financially secure lives. Zubizarreta is a graduate of University of Florida.
