The Dean’s Council—a group of business leaders representing a cross section of industries who offer College Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam insights about the college’s strategic direction, new initiatives, and existing programs, to name a few of their contributions—has a number of new faces.

	Jorge Arrizurieta, chairman, International Policy Group, and governmental consultant, has served the public and private sectors for more than twenty years. Governor Jeb Bush has appointed him to several positions: leader of the Florida Trade Area of the America’s (FTAA) effort to secure Miami as the site of the organization’s permanent secretariat; State of Florida’s Board of Governors; and the Miami-Dade County Public Health Trust. He was recognized as one of South Florida’s most important business and civic leaders as featured in the “Power Issue” of South Florida CEO, April, 2005, and has garnered many other awards.
	Eric Levin, vice chairman, Gold Coast Beverage Distributors, Inc., joined the company in 1996, holding five positions, including vice president, before assuming his current role. Previously, he was a financial analyst with Electronic Data Systems. Since July, 2005, he has been the South Florida Regional Chairman of the Florida chapter of the Young Presidents Organization—a peer network that connects business leaders to exchange ideas, pursue learning, and share strategies to achieve personal and professional growth and success—and the Gold Coast Beverage Distributors corporate coordinator of United Way of Miami-Dade. He also fulfills numerous additional community service commitments.
	Monica Luechtefeld, executive vice president, Office Depot, is responsible for mergers and acquisitions as well as for global information technology applications, architecture, and infrastructures for the corporation. She has been with Office Depot for more than eleven years and has more than twenty-five years of experience in the office products industry. Prior to her appointment as executive vice president of business development and IT, Luechtefeld was executive vice president of strategy and development and executive vice president of global e-commerce, a position in which she was responsible for building Office Depot’s leadership in electronic commerce.
	Ramiro Ortiz, director, president, and CEO, BankUnited Holding Company and Bank, has a banking career that stretches back to 1968, with positions ranging from IT director to senior vice president to president to chairman and CEO. A member of the athletics committee of the Florida International University Foundation, Inc., he also is active in organizations in the community—from the Don Shula Foundation to Mercy Hospital. Ortiz has received a number of awards as a leader and humanitarian as well as a banker, most recently capturing the “Ultimate CEO Award” from the South Florida Business Journal.
	Elizabeth “Liz” Parnes (BBA ’77), vice president–general manager, IKON Document Efficiency, leads a team of 375 sales, service, and administrative professionals in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Prior to joining IKON in 2003, she held a variety of positions with Xerox that carried increasing responsibility, and received many awards, including the “Malcolm Baldrige Award” for Florida/Puerto Rico from 1990-1997 and the Xerox “President’s Award” twice. A committee member of the Young Patronesses of Opera, Parnes also has co-chaired the Community Partnership for the Homeless and is a member of many cultural organizations.
	Mario Trueba (MBA ’87), president and CEO, Mellon United National Bank, has had a distinguished career in banking, beginning in 1984 at the time of the Flagship/Sun Bank merger, with stints in what became known as SunTrust and United National before helping formulate the sale of United National to Mellon. He graduated with highest honors from Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University) in 1980, and currently is a member of its board of trustees. He also serves on other boards and councils—as trustee, director, or advisor—including those of Miami Children’s Hospital and the Family Resource Center.

The most recent Dean’s Council meeting was held May 12, 2006, at the Biltmore Hotel.

The college’s other distinguished Dean’s Council members are:

José M. Aldrich, managing partner, Tax & Legal Services, Latin America, KPMG, LLP
Mario de Armas, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Daniel H. Aronson, shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, P.A.
Demian Bellumio, president, Hoodiny Entertainment Group
Paul Bonk, vice president, store operations, Walgreen Co.
Joseph L. Caruncho, Esq., chief executive officer, Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp.
Roberto Cavalcanti
Pablo Cejas, managing member, Aquarius Capital, LLC
Thomas Cornish, president and CEO, Seitlin
Rui da Costa, managing director Latin American & Caribbean/vice president, Customer Solutions Group, Hewlett-Packard Company
Rafael Couttolenc, senior vice president–Latin America, DHL Express
Patricia Dahne, Pat Dahne Realty Group
Dennis Klinger, vice president and CIO, Florida Power & Light Company
Angel Medina, Jr., president, Miami-Dade County Regions Bank
Luis Gabriel Merizalde, regional vice president, Latin America & South Africa Region, General Mills
Carlos Migoya, president, Dade and Monroe Counties, Wachovia Bank, N.A.
Alvaro G. de Molina, chief financial officer, Bank of America
Pete Pizarro, CEO, Telefónica
Carlos Sabater, managing partner, South Florida & Puerto Rico, Deloitte
Federico Sánchez, president, L.I.C. Capital
Gabriel Sánchez-Zinny, partner, Egon Zehnder International
Albert Santalo, president and CEO, Avisena
Oscar Suarez, South Florida tax managing partner, Ernst & Young LLP
N. K. Tripathy “Trip,” president, Macy’s Florida
Jesse J. Tyson, president and fuels marketing sales director, Americas South, ExxonMobil Inter-America Inc.
Raul J. Valdes-Fauli, partner, Fowler Rodriguez Chalos
Augusto L. Vidaurreta, principal, RAM Strategy
Gabriel Zambrano Benitez, director general, Proeza TI