Miami MoCAAD’s development, ongoing advisory and management are guided by a collaborative body of community members, public officials, private sector leaders, academics, philanthropists, artists, and educator activists.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sheldon T. Anderson, former Interim President, CEO and past Chair of The Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the Official Economic Development Partnership for Miami-Dade County. He previously served as President & CEO of Northern Trust, Southeast Region where he was responsible for managing the company's investment management, trust and estate planning, private and business banking and financial consulting in Florida and Georgia. Anderson is a board member of United Way of Miami-Dade, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Miami Dade College Foundation, Institute of Contemporary Art, New World Symphony and other organizations. He is a member of the Orange Bowl Committee and the President’s Council of FIU. A Miami native, he has a degree in international studies from Ohio State University.
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Monique D. Hayes, Esq. is a partner in the Miami office of Goldstein & McClintock, LLLP. She focuses her practice in the areas of business transactions, commercial litigation, and corporate restructuring. She has extensive experience advising fiduciaries, corporations, and non-profit board members. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Hayes served as law clerk to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurel Myerson Isicoff and housing attorney for Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.Ms. Hayes is a member of the American Bar Association Business Law Section – Young Lawyers Committee Incoming Chair, Bankruptcy Bar Association S.D. Fla., American Bankruptcy Institute, International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (“IWIRC”) – Florida Network Chair, and the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Bar Association – President-Elect. She is also a member of the ABA Business Bankruptcy Committee and served as its 2013-2015 Fellow and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Executive Contracts Subcommittee. Ms. Hayes frequently serves as a writer, commentator, and panelist on business law issues.
Marilyn Holifield is a partner at the international law firm Holland & Knight LLP. Born in Tallahassee, Florida, she was one of three black students to desegregate Leon High School. Her legal career began at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in New York City, where she litigated class action employment and prison reform lawsuits. She was General Counsel for Peter Edelman at the New York State Division for Youth and worked as a law clerk for Judge Paul H. Roney of the United States (former) Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. She joined Holland & Knight in 1981 and in 1986 became the first black woman partner of a major law firm in Florida. Ms. Holifield serves on the Harvard Board of Overseers, Board of Managers of Swarthmore College, Board of Trustees of University of Miami and the Advisory Committee to Harvard Memorial Church. She has served on the Directors Committee of Holland & Knight, Executive Committee of the Harvard Alumni Association and two terms as chairperson of the ABA Conference of Minority Partners in Majority/Corporate Law Firms. She is consistently listed as a top lawyer in The Best Lawyers in America, Florida Trend's Legal Elite and Super Lawyers and has received numerous awards. Ms. Holifield has a Bachelor of Arts in economics, a Concentration in Black Studies from Swarthmore College and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard University. Her continuing involvement in the arts includes her collection of art from the African Diaspora.
Hans Ottinot, Esq. is Chief Legal Strategist for RK Centers, a real estate development company with more than 8 million square feet of commercial property in South Florida and New England.  In 2014, Ottinot served on the 11th Circuit Judicial Nomination Commission. He has served as Chair for the Executive Council of the City, County and Local Government Law Section of the Florida Bar, and as a member of Miami-Dade County Charter Committee. He was appointed to serve as the liaison for government lawyers on the Florida Bar Board of Governors. Ottinot served as Deputy City Attorney for the City of Sunny Isles Beach, and City Attorney for the City of North Miami. As City Attorney of the City of Sunny Isles Beach, he played an integral role in the review and approval of numerous development projects with real estate value exceeding 5 billion dollars. He was recognized in 2008 by Florida Trend’s Magazine Legal Elite as one of the top government attorneys in the State of Florida, and in 2004 South Florida Legal Guide recognized him as one of the top government attorneys in South Florida.He was the first City Attorney for the City of Miami Gardens and is a former State of Florida Assistant Attorney General and a former president of the Haitian Lawyers Association. He holds memberships in the Wilkie D. Ferguson Bar Association, Caribbean Bar Association, TJ Reddick Bar Association, and the Cuban-American Bar Association. Ottinot received his undergraduate degree from Colgate University and law degree from University of Miami School of Law. 

WORKING GROUP

Dr. Keisha N. Abraham is Director of Strategic Initiatives for CIEE. (Council for Independent Education Exchange)  Prior to CIEE, Dr. Abraham was the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Chair of the Humanities Department, Director of International Education and Associate Professor of English at Florida Memorial University. She earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Binghamton University and holds a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in Women’s Studies from Spelman College. Dr. Abraham is a two-time Fulbright Scholar, having conducted research in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and in India in the Fulbright-Nehru program for International Education Administrators. She is a Mellon Foundation Community Initiative, Mellon Global Citizenship Program Fellow, active with the Salzburg Global Seminar, an Institute for International Public Policy Faculty Fellow, an active NAFSA member and Academy Fellow, and a CIEE- Ping Fellow. Her scholarly work appears in journals and books, and as an editor in the Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora and The Caribbean Woman Writer as Scholar: Imagining, Creating, Theorizing. Dr. Abraham is a contributor to the Routledge Encyclopedia of Women’s Studies and has several forthcoming book projects.   Dr. Abraham has lived, worked and travelled in Southern Africa, North Africa; Europe; India; and the Caribbean. She remains deeply committed to enhancing global African diasporic knowledge and experiential cultural exchange.
Malik S. Benjamin finds growth opportunities at the intersections of energy, design, climate, economics, and community development. He runs strategy, implementation, and knowledge sharing as the Business Development Manager of Elevate Energy and Senior Associate at RW Ventures. In these roles, he manages regional economic development projects from strategy to implementation, and develops national partnerships and opportunities. Through a fellowship with the Roddenberry Foundation, he has worked with groups to promote 21st century workforce skills in underemployed communities; promoted economic viability at the individual and community level; built economic partnerships between like-minded yet geographically separated local communities; built tourism networks between burgeoning creatively- and culturally-interesting communities; and developed digital platforms to enhance, not replace, local analog systems. He is a Roddenberry Fellow, BMe Fellow and a member of Harvard Business School’s Young American Leader Cohort 1.
Etzer Kenta Botes began his career at Deloitte Consulting where he advised government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and multi-national NGOs on business strategy and technology issues.  He took a year off to work in New York City as a Broad Education Resident supporting initiatives to improve the quality of charter schools in New York City. When he returned to Deloitte Consulting, he relocated to South Florida where he hopes to make a positive impact in youth mentorship and encouraging students toward business careers. Recently, he joined Kaplan, Inc. as Director of Strategy. Kaplan, a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company, is a premier provider of educational services for individuals, schools and businesses worldwide. Etzer obtained his Bachelor's degree in Urban Studies from New York University, and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy, Strategic Management and Finance from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.
Melvin Bratton served two terms as Councilman on the Inaugural City Council of the City of Miami Gardens. His public service has also included two terms as Miami-Dade County Community Councilman, membership in the Miami-Dade, State of Florida and National Leagues of Cities and elected member of the Miami-Dade Black Caucus. Active in the community, he has been a member of the Citizen Advisory Committee for Miami-Dade County and the Citizen Advisory Committee for the City of Miami Gardens. His community activism has involved organizing homeowner associations, serving as president of the Leslie Estates Homeowners Associations and volunteering for numerous charity events.  After graduating from Miami Northwestern Senior High School, he attended Miami Dade Community College.  For two years, he served active duty in the United States Army and retired from the Army Reserve after more than twenty years.  He is retired from the United States Postal Service.
Dr. Benjamin Cowins, Ph. D is a semi-retired public school educator. He is the author/co-author of six books, an educational consultant to the Urban League of Greater Miami, FL.; Vice President and co-founder of the Ralph Hogges and Benjamin Cowins Writers Group of South Florida; member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., a U.S. Military Combat Veteran of Vietnam and member of Mt. Herman AME Church of Miami Gardens.Additionally, he is a proud literary health advocate, the Director of the Christian Community Service Agency of Miami  Gardens, a Liberty City Alumnus of Miami Northwestern Senior High, as well as a graduate of Florida A&M University, Barry University and University of Oklahoma. He is married to Harriet Blackshear-Cowins and the father of three children. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the State's Florida Fund for Minority Teachers.
Melissa Hunter Davis is the founder and editor of Sugarcane Magazine, a digital platform for visual and performing artists of Africa and the African diaspora. Melissa is responsible for leading a team of five creatives with growing the platform and providing content that appeals to a global audience.  Sugarcane Magazine is a part of Sugarcane Global Media, a boutique videography firm that works with non-profits, small corporations, podcasters, and artists. Sugarcane Global Media is the official media firm for Prizm Art Fair.  Melissa’s background in the arts started with her love for theatre in her hometown of Gary, Indiana. She was active in high school theatre and moved to Miami to major in theater at Barry University. Her work at Barry led to a revival of not only the theatre department but led the university to restore performance space for students to produce cutting-edge work. After graduation, Melissa started her career at Miami-Dade Parks Department’s African Heritage Cultural Arts Center. At African Heritage, Mrs. Davis led a team to revive Cornucopia of the Arts, a children's arts festival powered by children, she successfully produced Calabash, an Afrocentric arts festival, and the Calabash Visual Arts Awards celebration. After working Broward Cultural Council, Melissa dedicated her time to developing Sugarcane Magazine.
Dr. Ralph Hogges is a retired professor and administrator of Nova Southeastern University. He formerly held professorial and administrative positions at Florida International University and Florida Memorial University. A scholar, writer, poet and playwright, he is the author of sixteen books and two plays. His literary works include poetry, memoir, biography, fiction, nonfiction, anthology and drama. A native of Georgia, Hogges earned his B.S. and M.Ed. at Tuskegee University and the Ed.D. at Nova Southeastern University. He has done postdoctoral studies at the University of Miami and Harvard University. He has also attended workshops and seminars for writers sponsored by the University of Miami Creative Writers Program. He resides in Miami and Hollywood Beach, Florida with his wife, Lilia, a retired Professor of French and Spanish and Director of the Study Abroad Program at Florida Memorial University.  ​
​Michelle Johnson is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Concerned African Women, Inc. based in Miami Florida. She is responsible for building close collaborative relationships with non-governmental organizations, businesses, academic institutions and government officials that support the mission to improve the lives of children and families by providing the highest quality services which promotes healthy relationships, high achieving children, and advocacy that empowers the community.  Michelle has an extensive background in finance and program management working in the private and non-profit sector.  She is also responsible for ensuring outstanding outcomes for over 1,800 participants including parents, youth and community members and coordinating multiple programs including: The Independent Parent Council, New Dimensions in Parenting, Synergy Service Partnership and Youth Violence Prevention.
Dr. Willie Logan is a founder of the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation (OLCDC) and has served as its CEO and president since 1980. In addition to his work with the OLCDC, Logan served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1982 to 2000 and was elected Democrat Speaker-Designate from 1998 to 2000. He also served as Mayor of the City of Opa-locka from 1980 to 1982. Logan earned his Ph.D. in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University and his M.B.A. and Bachelor’s in Accounting from the University of Miami where he is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Architecture.   Dr. Logan is a sought-after speaker at many different housing and community development conferences and recently he has spoken at the First Future of Places International Conference on Public Space and Placemaking in Stockholm, Sweden and in Rome, Italy 2013; the Future of Places International Conference on Streets as Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban Prosperity in Buenos Aires, Argentina 2014. Finally, he spoke at the Project for Public Spaces Conference on Public Markets, Barcelona, Spain 2015.  He is also a published author and his writing includes a chapter entitled “Revitalization & Transforming the Community” in the Future of Places book Shifting from Objects to Places published by Ax: son Johnson Foundation, Stockholm 2014.  Under Dr. Logan’s leadership, the Opa-Locka Community Development Corporation uses art as a force of transformation of a community.
Carolyn "Kiani" Nesbitt has remained on the leading edge in the field of youth and family development for 25 years. After moving to Miami, Florida in 1986, she quickly became a leading proponent of parental involvement in educational advancements for black children.  In 1989, Ms. Nesbitt co-founded Concerned African Women, Inc. and has since served as its President and Chief Executive Officer. She spearheaded New Dimensions in Community Education, an innovative, cultural curriculum that, combined with science-based models for academic enrichment, delinquency prevention, intervention and diversion, have produced record-setting accomplishments.  Ninety percent of its program participants improve in reading by at least one grade level within 18 weeks of specialized programming. Its intervention programs produce 93% non-recidivism among previously adjudicated youth, as well as a 71% decrease in school absences and an 82% drop in school suspensions. Its parental involvement model generates 70%+ participation rates.  From its humble beginnings with 12 students and three volunteer instructors, Concerned African Women has served more than 7,000 youth and families in its history.  Concerned African Women, which is based in the City of Miami Gardens, has executed partnership agreements to implement its Independent Parent Council model in Northwest Miami-Dade communities, including the City of Opa-Locka, City of Miami Gardens and Liberty City.
Bryant Salter is the CEO of Business Diplomacy Consulting, an international business consulting firm. Mr. Salter created and has managed Enterprise Florida’s (the official economic development organization for the State of Florida) African Trade Expansion Program since 2000. A diplomat for more than 20 years, Mr. Salter joined the U.S. State Department’s foreign service in 1977. He first served as the Staff Aid to the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (1977-82), making visits to Africa on behalf of the African Bureau, the State Department and the White House. Mr. Salter served as the US Consul at the US Embassy in Antigua from 1982-90, the permanent Charge d’ Affaires and Chief of Mission. In 1994, he was assigned to the Florida Governor’s office as a State Department liaison officer during the 1994 Summit of the Americas. A 1971 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Salter currently serves on the University’s Board of Trustees. Pitt honored him with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Mr. Salter earned a Master’s Degree from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and has attended Law School at the University of San Diego and Business School at the University of California at San Diego.  Prior to his Foreign Service career, Bryant was a Collegiate All-American in Track and Field and in 1971 was drafted into the National Football League by the San Diego Chargers. Salter played in the NFL from 1971-1976 for the Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Colts and the Chargers.
Theresa Therilus, Esq. is an experienced attorney in government, sports and entertainment and commercial litigation. Ms. Therilus has extensive experience representing professional athletes as an NFL agent. She has served as legal counsel to several professional artists and entertainers in licensing and endorsement deals.  Ms. Therilus is a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida and legal advisor for Miami-Dade County's Regulatory and Economic Resources Department. Ms. Therilus has also taught Trial Advocacy at Harvard Law School since 2010. Currently, Ms. Therilus is Assistant Director for the Miami-Dade County Internal Services Department. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree from University of Miami and her law degree from Harvard Law School.
ADVISORS
Anthony Bogues is a scholar, writer and curator. He is the Asa Messer Professor of Humanities and Critical Theory, Professor of Africana studies and African and African diaspora art and the inaugural director of the center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University. He is the author / editor of six volumes and has published over 80 essays in the fields of intellectual history, political theory and Haitian / Caribbean art. He has curated several major shows in the USA and the Caribbean. He is currently working on a book on freedom, serves as the series editor for the collected works of Sylvia Wynter and is a co-convener for the global curatorial project on slavery and colonialism. His edited volume on the history of black political thought will be published in 2019. He is a visiting professor in the Faculty of visual arts at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Tony E. Crapp, Sr. is President of CMDI Solutions, a management consulting company providing services to public and private organizations. He holds a Master of Public Affairs with a concentration in Urban & Domestic Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts in Government, cum laude, from Harvard University. Mr. Crapp has over thirty-five years of high-quality professional experience in community redevelopment, county/city management and administration, urban and community economic development, business development programming, economic analysis, economic and community planning, affordable housing development and budget and financial management/analysis. Prior to CMDI, he was Executive Director of the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency where he worked with the City of North Miami to leverage millions of dollars to implement infrastructure, housing and economic development projects. He has also worked as Director of the Miami Dade County Office of Community and Economic Development and as Assistant County Manager overseeing community redevelopment.
Alejandro de la Fuente is the Director of the Harvard University Afro-Latin American Research Institute, Robert Woods Bliss Professor of Latin American History and Economics and Professor of African and African American Studies. He is a historian of Latin America and the Caribbean who specializes in the study of comparative slavery and race relations.  He is the author of Havana and the Atlantic in the Sixteenth Century (University of North Carolina Press, 2008), and of A Nation for All: Race, Inequality, and Politics in Twentieth-Century Cuba (University of North Carolina Press, 2001). He is also the curator of two art exhibits dealing with issues of race: Queloides: Race and Racism in Cuban Contemporary Art (2010-12) and Grupo Antillano: The Art of Afro-Cuba (ongoing). De la Fuente is currently working on a comparative study of slaves and the law in Cuba, Virginia and Louisiana. He is the editor of Transition magazine and of the journal Cuban Studies.  Alejandro de la Fuente recently curated "Diago: The Pasts of This Afro-Cuban Present" at the Cooper Gallery of Harvard University that travelled to the Lowe Museum of Art at the University of Miami.
Tumelo Mosaka  is an independent curator from South Africa. Most recently, he was the contemporary art curator at the Krannert Art Museum (KAM) in Champaign, IL where he curated several exhibitions including: Blind Field (2013), OPENSTUDIO (2011), The Kangarok Epic (2011), iona rozeal brown (2011), MAKEBA! (2011), Baggage Allowance (2010), The Bikeriders: Danny Lyon (2010), Lida Abdul (2010), and On Screen: Global Intimacy (2009), among others. Prior to joining KAM, Mosaka was Associate Curator of Exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum where he curated exhibitions such as Infinite Islands: Contemporary Caribbean Art (2007), Passing/Posing: Kehinde Wiley (2004) and co-curated Open House: Working in Brooklyn (2004). Mosaka has also worked for the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina where he co-curated the exhibition Listening Across Cultures (2001) and Evoking History (2002). He has also organized several international exhibitions including Otherwise Black (2014) for the 1st edition International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Martinique (BIAC)
Rosie Gordon Wallace is the Founder, Curator, and Director of Diaspora Vibe Gallery and Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator. Since 1996, Gordon-Wallace has initiated and produced transnational creative programs that redefine concept of “diaspora” including the International Cultural Exchange program, the Caribbean Crossroads Series, the Art-In-Residence program, an ongoing contemporary exhibitions program, and numerous community-based outreach projects. A licensed Medical Microbiologist and former Senior Consultant for Searle Pharmaceuticals from 1981-1999, Gordon-Wallace devoted herself full time to the gallery she created and developed in 1999. Diaspora Vibe Gallery and Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubators specializes in Caribbean and Latin American Art with an emphasis on emerging artist. The gallery supports the development of new work by resident artists by offering exhibitions opportunities, artist talks, workshops and other skill-building core values for emerging artists.
ARCHITECTS
Philip Freelon (1953–2019) was the Managing and Design Director of the North Carolina practice and formerly led both Perkins + Will North Carolina offices in Research Triangle Park and Charlotte. He was an important member of the firm wide leadership team and the Board of Directors. He was also a key leader for the firm's cultural and civic practice. Freelon’s design achievements include cultural, civic and academic projects for some of America’s most respected cultural institutions. He led the design team for the $500M Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall, and was the design architect for the National Center for Civil Rights in Atlanta. His portfolio also includes the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, Emancipation Park in Houston, multiple library projects for the DC Public Library System and the Durham County Human Services Complex. He was an Obama appointee to the National Commission of Fine Arts, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and a recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. Freelon was the founder of The Freelon Group, a Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based firm that joined Perkins + Will in 2014. 
Zena Howard is the Managing and Design Director of Perkins + Will’s cultural practice in North Carolina, and has more than 25 years of experience with private and public institutions, museum and cultural facilities, libraries, and higher education facilities. Her experience focuses on clients with specialized and/or unique design goals such as environmentally sensitive artifact exhibit areas, environmentally and spatially sensitive spaces for autistic children, historically and culturally significant buildings and locations, and sustainable design in pursuit of LEED® certification and other high-performance building goals. Zena earned her Bachelor of Science degree in architecture from the University of Virginia. She is a LEED Accredited Professional, a member of the American Institute of Architects, and the National Organization of Minority Architects.
Kunlé Adeyemi is an architect, designer and urban researcher. He is the founder/principal of NLÉ and Aga Khan Design Critic in Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Born and raised in Nigeria, Adeyemi studied architecture at the University of Lagos where he began his early practice, before joining the world renowned Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in 2002. At OMA, working closely with its founder Rem Koolhaas for nearly a decade, he led the design, development and execution of numerous projects in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These projects include the award-winning Samsung Museum of Art, the Seoul National University Museum, NM Rothschild Bank in London, Shenzhen Stock Exchange tower in China, Prada Transformer in South Korea, Qatar National Library, Qatar Foundation Headquarters and the 4th Mainland Bridge and master plan in Lagos.  Adeyemi’s notable works include ‘Makoko Floating School’, an innovative prototype floating structure located on the lagoon in the heart of Lagos, Nigeria, which received 2019's Silver Lion Award at the Venice Biennale. Other projects include Chicoco Radio Media Center – an amphibious community building in Port Harcourt, Nigeria; ROCK – Lakefront Kiosk in Chicago, USA; CDL Head Office in Lagos, Nigeria and Serpentine Summer House at the Royal Kensington Gardens in London, UK.  Adeyemi is an international speaker, thought leader serving and a multiple award winner. He holds an honorary doctorate degree in Architecture from Hasselt University, Belgium, and has taught at Cornell University, was an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, New York.