“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
-Helen Keller

Miami Shores Friendly Villagers
Executive Board Member | Second Recording Secretary 

The Miami Shores Friendly Villagers are dedicated to enhancing our community by providing networking opportunities and engaging in charitable endeavors. We foster a welcoming environment of friendship, honesty, caring, sharing, and fun.

Our vision is to build a tightly-knit, inclusive community where everyone feels welcomed and valued. Through our efforts in networking, charitable initiatives, and fostering a culture of friendship and integrity, we aspire to make our community stronger.

GLEAM Network
Network Partnership Liaison | Mentor 
As an Ambassador of GLEAM, I actively raise awareness of GLEAM's mission, partnering with other Networks in the Industry through in-person conferences and social media to enhance our footprint, while providing mentorship & leadership development to mentees for each cohort. 

Former Advisory Board Member | Program Development Team Lead
While on the Advisory Board & Program Development Team, I provided strategic guidance to improve and enhance program development and partnership relations. Actively sourcing and recruiting new mentees, mentors, alliance partners and sponsors for the Network. 

GLEAM Network is a non-profit, volunteer-based Global leadership enhancement & mentorship network whose mission is to provide mentorship and leadership development to hospitality, restaurant, and foodservice professionals.
www.gleamnetwork.net

Read my article on why transparency matters when
developing talent @ GLEAM’s CEO Corner Article

WOTVS Foundation
Scholarship Foundation Committee | Member 
As an active Committee member and champion for DE&I, I support, advise, and provide guidance and industry knowledge to improve and enhance foundation awareness. Annually, we are instrumental in the judging process for over 200 scholarship applications, globally. 

WOTVS is an all-encompassing global membership organization, dedicated to pushing the wine, beer, spirits, food, and hospitality industries towards a more diverse, equitable and inclusive era that supports business development & innovation. The Foundation 501(c)(3) is the charitable arm of WOTVS which provides scholarships for the purpose of helping women advance their careers in the food, wine, spirit, beer and hospitality industries through education, leadership, and professional development. ⭐ "This is where our GRACE meets our GRIT and our POISE meets our POWER. Together, we can stay connected, sustain and prosper as an industry."

www.womenofthevine.com

Pace Center for Girls
WE (Women’s Engagement) Team
As a member of the WE Team, we provide guidance, support & empowerment throughout the year for various events at Pace Center, Miami.

Pace provides girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy. At Pace, we envision a world where all girls and young women are safe, have economic security and an opportunity to use their voice in shaping their future.

www.pacecenter.org

Out & About In The Community

  • Humbled to be appointed to the Miami Shores Friendly Villagers Executive Board!

  • Miami Shores Big Gay Brunch, Celebrating Love, Community & Equality.

  • Pride with a Mission: “the inaugural event 2 years ago, Shores Pride has donated nearly $30,000 to local LGBTQIA+ charities, with profits going to scholarships for local students through Safe Schools South Florida and Point Foundation.”

  • Celebrating at the Miami Shores Pride Brunch with Vanessa Maggi & Liangy Fernandez-Calli

  • Proud to be a table host for the 2024 Annual Miami Shores Big Gay Brunch.

  • Friends who are family, Celebrating Pride Month and a night of diversity at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden

  • Juneteenth Pride Celebration at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, June 14th 2024

  • Our Summer Sangria Recipe Featured in Miami Shores Living Magazine, July 2024.

  • Juneteenth Pride Celebration, Miami Beach Botanical Garden 2024

  • Honoring Pace Center for Girls Miami as one of our recipients at the Miami Shores Friendly Villagers Annual Heros Luncheon.

  • Humbled as a Network Partner, to be connecting Catalyst Kitchens with mentorship services through GLEAM network. Here, sharing my personal & professional journey and about the importance of Leadership Development & Mentorship at the CK SE Regional Summit in Sunrise, FL.

  • Collaborating with Justin Smith, Executive Director & Dina Altieri, Director of Education & Training at Catalyst Kitchens. SE Regional Summit, 2024

  • Catalyst Kitchens SE Regional Summit 2024 at Arc Broward & Arc Culinary in Sunrise, FL

  • The Women Behind the Wine Scholarships supported by Gallo close April 30, 2024

  • Extremely humbled and honored to have joined the Catalyst Kitchens team as a Network Partner for the SE Summit, where I shared about the importance of mentorship and our mission at GLEAM Network. I couldn't be more humbled to support each other to raise awareness on this relentless mission to make a difference in the lives of underserved and underrepresented in our Industry

  • Deb talking to a group in front of a white board

    PwC’s Experience Center in Chicago, sharing my personal & professional career journey with leaders from a global organization

  • Virtual Guest Lecture for Hospitality Academy, April 2023

  • Virtual Guest Lecture for Hospitality Academy’s Instagram Live Session (July 27, 2023)

  • GLEAM Team at the CHART Resource Gallery for the #104 Hospitality Training conference, Orlando 2023.

  • GLEAM & CHART (Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers) Alliance Partnership at the #104 Hospitality Training conference, Orlando 2023. Sheri Miska and I celebrating our raffle winner, who won a free six month mentorship.

Industry Resources

“I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.” - Brene Brown

Brene Brown