Miami, Fla. – June 23, 2022 – Greenspoon Marder is pleased to announce that associate Frank Whitaker has been awarded the Carlos J. Arboleya Community Service Award by Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Leadership Miami®. Now in its 43rd year, the program is designed to prepare Miami’s future leaders to succeed in their professional spaces by cultivating civic engagement, learning to identify and address vital issues affecting Miami-Dade County, and establishing a long-lasting network of professional relationships to ensure collaboration among leaders in the county and beyond.
The award was created over 25 years ago, and named in honor of Carlos J. Arboleya, a distinguished business and civic leader who has given his time and efforts for the betterment of the Greater Miami community. It recognizes a current Leadership Miami® participant who has demonstrated a leadership role within the team and a strong commitment to community service throughout the year.
“Frank epitomizes all that this prestigious Carlos J. Arboleya award signifies. He definitely stood out as a leader among his peers. The Executive Leadership team recognized his calmness, passion, and determination. His team faced many challenges with their project and Frank helped to hold the reins together and lead them to the finish line. We appreciate and applaud him for this! This award is well deserved,” said Ashaki Bronson-Marcellus, Leadership Miami® Chair for Class 43.
During the Leadership Miami® program, Mr. Whitaker led team 1, One M1AM1, to reimagine the Family Room for parents with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Holtz Children’s Hospital, the largest NICU facility in the state and one of the largest in the country. Under his leadership, One M1AM1 also helped launch the first-ever Family Forum for parents to provide support throughout their NICU journey and beyond. The project was completed in partnership with ICU baby, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families with a premature or critically ill baby in the NICU, by uniting families and providing emotional, financial, and informational support so that babies and families can thrive together.
Through One M1AM1’s dedication over the last five months, the team was able to fulfill its mission and exceed a $15,000 goal by raising over $33,000 in cash and in-kind donations. Greenspoon Marder helped Mr. Whitaker host a fundraising event, which alone helped the team raise hundreds of dollars towards its goal.
“It was an honor to participate in this program and help NICU families in our community with a much-needed, reimagined Family Room that will help bring them comfort and support as they go through unimaginable challenges,” said One M1AM1 Team Lead and Greenspoon Marder associate Frank Whitaker. “The room will provide them a peaceful space where they can recharge, be informed, have private conversations with doctors, or simply take a moment to relax. The first-ever Family Forum will also provide continued support for parents beyond the NICU for years to come,” he added.
In addition to his involvement with Leadership Miami®, Mr. Whitaker is active member of Greenspoon Marder’s Impact Council and regularly volunteers his time to provide pro bono legal services through the firm’s Project New Leaf Community Workshop. Mr. Whitaker also maintains a burgeoning practice where he focuses on counseling clients in the acquisition, disposition, development, and leasing of residential and commercial properties throughout the United States.
About The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce is the proud champion for the Greater Miami Business Community and a civic engine that fuels the advancement of The Magic City. Founded in 1907 as the Miami Board of Trade, today’s Chamber boasts representing more than 400,000-member company employees and is heralded for its legacy of leadership in economic development, and its unwavering commitment to improving the Miami-Dade community.
About Greenspoon Marder Greenspoon Marder LLP is a full-service law firm with over 225 attorneys and more than 20 office locations across the United States. With operations from Miami to New York and from Denver to Los Angeles, our firm attracts some of the nation’s top talent in key markets and innovation hubs. Our core practice areas include Real Estate, Litigation, and Transactional Services, complemented by the capabilities of a full-service firm. Greenspoon Marder has maintained a spot on The American Lawyer’s Am Law 200 as one of the top law firms in the U.S. since 2015, and our goal is to provide exceptional client service by developing a thorough understanding of each client’s business needs and objectives in order to provide strategic, cost-effective solutions.
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