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Bobby
R. Henry, Sr.
Bobby R.
Henry, Sr., is the Publisher and CEO of the family-owned Westside Gazette in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In circulation since 1971, the Gazette serves the
African American community in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Mr. Henry
earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Florida Memorial
College and pursued graduate studies in Special Education at St. Thomas
University in Miami.
Mr.
Henry's innovative entrepreneurial initiatives have led to the dramatic
transformation of the traditional family-owned African American newspaper. The
past seven years since his elevation to CEO of the newspaper have seen his
emergence as an influential corporate player within the State of Florida and
throughout the nation.
Within the
community, Mr. Henry contributes enormously. He
has devoted many years to uplifting youth. He
is a mentor, a high school and little league football coach and a "Partner in
Education" with the Broward County School System. Besides
being appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to sit on The Florida Black Business
Investment Board, Mr. Henry sits on the board of numerous organizations,
including the Negro Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Children, Broward Halfway
House, Friends of Joseph C. Carter Park, L.A. Lee Branch YMCA, the Fort
Lauderdale Youth Resource Center and the National Newspaper Publishers
Association. He is also an active participant with the Sickle Cell of Broward
Foundation, the Fort Lauderdale Branch of the NAACP, the Urban League of
Broward County, Mount Olive Baptist Church, A.F.&A.M. McDonald Lodge #70
and his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, Inc.
Mr. Henry
has received many awards and citations for his ongoing efforts to better the
African-American community including:
Florida Conference of Black Legislators Award
Citation for Outstanding Public Service in Support of the United Nations
The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated Brotherhood Award
NAACP Continuous Support Award
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee Community Service Award
Black Affairs Advisory Council - BAAC Public Service Award
Blades Foundation Builders of Dreams Award
Nova Southeastern University Outstanding South Floridian Award
Dr. James F. Sistrunk Award
Bill
Jong-Ebot
Bill
Jong-Ebot is Associate Professor and head of Mass Communications at Florida
Memorial College. He is also Principal Consultant at Alpha Communications and
Consultants International, Miami, FL.
Dr.
Jong-Ebot is a researcher, communications specialist, and educator. He obtained
a B.A. in English/Journalism at Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI; M.A. in Mass
Communications, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; and Ph.D. in Mass
Communications, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
His
research interests include new media technologies (digital divide),
international communications, mass media and society, media law and ethics,
press freedom, mass media and minorities, and public relations.
His
publications include Press Freedom and Communications in Africa (co-author),
1997.
Dr.
Paul Driscoll
Dr. Paul Driscoll holds a MA degree in Telecommunications and a Ph.D.
degree in Mass Communications from Indiana University. His
research interests are in media regulation and media effects.
His work has been published in legal and academic journals. He is
presently co-authoring a research-based book on Online News and the Public. Dr.
Driscoll directs the Broadcasting, Broadcast Journalism and Media Management
programs in the School of Communication at the University of Miami.
Juan
Mendieta
Juan
Mendieta is the Director of the Miami-Dade County Communications Department.
This critical department houses the County's cable television station and media
relations, advertising, creative writing, protocol, graphics, and technology
divisions. In addition, the Communications Department is charged with
developing public education campaigns for Miami-Dade Government. Its primary
mission is to efficiently and thoroughly provide information to the residents
of Miami-Dade County. Mr. Mendieta was named the department's director in March
2001.
Prior
to joining the Communications Department, Mr. Mendieta served as Communications
Director and Press Secretary for the Miami-Dade Mayor's Office. There, he
supervised the mayor's communications department and advised the mayor on media
relations, outreach and position strategies.
His
responsibilities included traveling with the mayor on business and marketing
missions, and representing the mayor and the county government throughout the
country. He was hired in June of 1998.
His
first assignment was to restructure the mayor's communications department,
reduce staff size, and increase efficiency.
In
addition, he expanded the mayor's positive exposure by enhancing the mayor's
website, utilizing video news releases, and distributing photos and captions of
all mayoral activities to hundreds of media outlets via email. He also
developed a system of weekly press briefings and created a public appearance
calendar for the mayor to increase his accessibility.
Mr.
Mendieta's understanding of deadlines and how the media operates allowed the
mayor's communications department to function more effectively. It also
significantly improved the relations between the mayor's office and the media.
Previously,
Mr. Mendieta was a television news reporter with WSVN Fox Channel 7 in
Miami. There, he covered the news in a major four county market. He
also reported statewide news on elections, hurricanes, high profile crimes, and
the environment.
Mr.
Mendieta developed his thorough and no-nonsense reporting approach on the
radio, having previously worked at Miami stations for nearly five years. He was
a news anchor and reporter at 610 AM WIOD where he reported local news
during the morning drive time and anchored news bulletins during Miami Dolphins
football games.
At
940 AM WINZ, Mr. Mendieta was a news anchor and reporter on the market's
only 24-hour news station. His main responsibilities included reporting the
news and providing timely traffic, weather, and community calendar information
to listeners. In addition, he hosted weekend public affairs shows on
current events and community issues.
Mr.
Mendieta's first on-air job was as host of South FLA; a public affairs
show on TCI Cable in the early 1990's. For a year, he explored
neighborhood improvement issues, environmental news, and the quality of
schools.
He
became a working reporter in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
As an intern at WTVJ NBC Channel 4, he was assigned to venture into the
community with photographers to cover events and interview the people making
headlines.
In
addition to his work in the electronic media, Mr. Mendieta has had some
articles published in the print media. An article he wrote appeared in
the Key West Citizen covering Ernest Hemingway's influence on fishing in
the Florida Keys.
Aside
from his professional work, Mr. Mendieta regularly serves as master of
ceremonies at charitable events and performs voice-overs for television and
radio commercials.
Community
involvement is a top priority for Mr. Mendieta. He currently serves on the
Hispanic Advisory Board of the Make a Wish Foundation, the Executive
Board of Kids Voting USA, and the Steering Committee of the Miami Senior
High School Public Affairs Magnet Program. During his spare time, he is a
student mentor and volunteer tutor. In addition, he is a fellow member of the
International Game Fish Association.
Mr.
Mendieta is a 1995 graduate of Florida International University (FIU) with a
bachelor in science degree in broadcast journalism and communications. He is
currently completing a master's degree in public administration at FIU with an
expected graduation date of April 2003.
He
graduated from the highly respected Miami Belen Jesuit Preparatory High School
in 1987 and subsequently received an associate in arts degree in business
administration from Miami-Dade Community College in 1990.
When
not working in government or in the community, Mr. Mendieta enjoys fishing with
his friends and family. He is an avid light tackle offshore angler who has been
recognized by the Metropolitan Fishing Tournament (MET) for outstanding
catches. He has also placed among the top finishers in several offshore
tournaments. Mr. Mendieta specializes in a technique known as "deep-jigging."
He also enjoys using live bait methods. In addition to fishing, he enjoys
exploring our waters, diving and camping. Gardening, cooking and writing are
also among his favorite hobbies.
He
and his wife, Nancy, have a two-year old daughter, Nina.
MIGUEL
A. SOUTHWELL
Mr.
Southwell is the Assistant Director of Business Development at Miami
International Airport (MIA), responsible for marketing; public relations;
local, state, and federal intergovernmental affairs and customer service. He
joined MIA in July 2001.
Prior
to joining MIA, Mr. Southwell served at Hartsfield Atlanta International
Airport for eleven years in a number of positions, including the Director of
Marketing and Public Relations. Under
his direction, Atlanta's International Airport experienced an average, annual
passenger growth of 7.50 percent, rising from fourth place in 1994, to become
the busiest airport in the world by 1998.
From
July 1999 to November 2000 whilst still director, Mr. Southwell also served as
the Acting Assistant General Manager of Business and Finance at Hartsfield
Atlanta International Airport. He was responsible for Hartsfield's fiscal
management and business development, and directed the divisions of Finance and
Accounting, Auditing, Property Management, Concessions, Parking and Ground
Transportation, Marketing and Public Relations.
Mr.
Southwell was also an adjunct professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta
and taught a number of transportation management courses including airline and
airport management, marketing and public relations.
Prior
to his airport career, Mr. Southwell worked in the banking and airline
industries. He was a Regional
Branch Manager and Assistant Vice President of Willamette Savings in Portland,
Oregon, where he was responsible for the operation of sixteen branches in the
metropolitan Portland area. He also worked previously with British West Indian
Airways in Antigua in the British West Indies where he was born.
Mr.
Southwell holds a bachelor's degree in management from Portland State
University, and a master's degree in international business from City
University of New York. He is married to Allison, his wife of 25 years and has
two sons, Kiel 20 and Sean 17.
Ralph W.
Schusler Jr
Ralph W. Schusler Jr.
is a native New Yorker who has worked as a staff writer stateside for
newspapers in New York, Colorado and South Texas and overseas for the
Associated Press and English-language dailies in Venezuela and Mexico. He has
covered the gamut of beats, from high-school sports to federal courts and
free-lanced for dozens of publications, including the
Arab News, Africa Report, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsday and The Miami
Herald.
Schusler received his
B.A. in German literature from Florida Atlantic University and a master's in
journalism and mass communications from Florida International University.
His first foray in
international reporting was as a free-lancer in The Sudan, where he reported on
the drought of 1984 from near the Chadian border and President Gafaar Numeri's
implementation of Islamic law and subsequent ouster from power in a bloodless
coup.
Schusler's focus later
shifted to South America, where his investigations into the Oct. 29, 1988,
massacre of 14 fishermen from El Amparo, Venezuela, along the Colombian border
helped debunk the Venezuelan government's claim that the victims had been armed
guerrillas. The case would later mark the first time that the Inter-American
Human Rights Court of the Organization of American States ruled against a
democratic government.
Schusler
currently works at the EFE International News Service in
Coral Gables, Florida. He lives in Hollywood, Fla, with his wife and
10-year-old daughter.
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