Sponsors Spotlights

The Bratters – Joshua, Samantha, and their son, Max – have long supported Miami Book Fair and have been attending even longer. A warm, outgoing, and close-knit literature- and film-loving family, they work together, too: Joshua helms his namesake Bratter PA law firm, Samantha is its COO, and until he

Miami Heat center and NBA legend Bam Adebayo has candidly discussed in the press his hardscrabble upbringing and his appreciation for the single mom who instilled within him the importance of hard work and education – and that led to him founding the BBB Foundation in 2021. There, he leads

Native Miamian and proud Cuban American Anthony Rionda has been at Florida International University for nearly 25 years – he started as an undergrad – and he currently serves as its associate vice president for strategic communications, government and external affairs as well as co-executive director of the Center for

Angelica Santibanez, Amazon’s head of community engagement for Florida and Latin America, is a self-proclaimed “proud product of the 305” and a first-generation daughter of immigrants from Cuba and Venezuela. What compelled Amazon to partner with Miami Book Fair – how does our work support your community-building goals? Amazon began

Melissa Saavedra founded Steamy Lit – a romance-centric indie bookstore that’s also a beloved community hub – in Deerfield Beach in early 2024 (there’s one in Tampa, too). A native Miamian, she lives with her partner and three rottweilers, Grizzly, Zilla, and Saga. What compelled you to partner with Miami

Eileen Higgins, commissioner for Miami’s District 5, grew up in New Mexico in a family of readers and made Miami her home in 2014. She’s a vocal advocate for Miami Book Fair – as well as a Friend – and is looking forward to what’s coming in November. What compelled

Francinelee Hand was raised in Miami Beach and as an adult relocated to New York City, where she met and married her husband, David. Thirty years later they came to Miami and today they split their time between South Florida and Colorado, where their daughter and grandchildren live. A longtime

Neil Goldberg, founder and artistic director of Dream Studios, is a prolific, award-winning theatrical content creator and producer who founded Cirque Productions and Cirque Dreams – both now live under the Cirque du Soleil umbrella – and he also currently serves as president and CEO of Variety Arts Management and

Lifelong Miamian Maria Alonso is the CEO and regional dean of Northeastern University Miami. Natalie Grillo, born and raised in the Magic City, is a graduate student at the school’s Khoury College of Computer Science, where she’s pursuing a master’s degree in the Align program. What compelled Northeastern to support

Originally from Cleveland, David Jobin, CEO and president of The Our Fund Foundation, was living in Washington, D.C., when he and his husband, Angel Burgos, decided to pull up stakes and settle in South Florida 10 years ago. In 2022 the foundation sponsored An Evening With Harvey Fierstein; last year

We sat down with the folks at Jolly Time Pop Corn – one of the most popular stops at Street Fair, yum! – to talk about the company’s presence at and support of Miami Book Fair. What compelled Jolly Time to partner with Miami Book Fair – in other words,

Florencia Tabeni is the COO of MDM Hotel Group, home to the JW Marriott Marquis and JW Marriott Miami, which hosted our authors and inaugural Next Page Celebration Dinner in 2023. The Argentine-born mom of one has been living in the Magic City for 23 years. What compelled Marriott to

Matt Love, president and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System, relocated to Miami with his family six years ago when he joined the organization as its CFO. He and his wife – who have been married nearly 31 years – have two children and two grandchildren, with a third on

Al Dotson is the CEO and managing partner of law firm Bilzin Sumberg, and a longtime supporter of Miami Book Fair. Born in Detroit, he lived in Chicago and Atlanta before settling in Miami in 1976. He and his wife are the proud parents of two children, a son and

Monica Bloom is chief marketing officer for Kino Lorber Media Group, which counts streaming platform MHz Choice among its portfolio. She grew up in Pennsylvania and lived in San Francisco before she and her husband decided to up stakes and relocate to Miami. Just over a year in, they and

Debby Bussel is the president of the Shepard Broad Foundation and the principal of Bussel Philanthropy Associates. She grew up in Miami and has deep ties to the community, where she lives with her husband, Steve Goldin, and their 16-year-old daughter, Lily. Your foundation supports a lot of critical causes,

April Myerscough is a grants coordinator at Florida Humanities, which most recently supported both Miami Book Fair’s NEA Big Read programming and the November festival. The native Floridian – who is an avid reader, natch – recently spoke with us about sharing Florida’s stories, a Great British Bake Off-style mystery,

William Johnson is the director of PEN Across America, an initiative that provides resources to PEN America communities nationwide so they can carry forward the organization’s mission of defending and celebrating free expression. PEN Across America is a sponsor of the Miami Book Fair-produced Little Haiti Book Festival, which takes

Hannah Matheson is the senior editor at Four Way Books, an indie, New York-based publishing house celebrating its 30th year that’s focused on releasing 18-20 poetry, short story collection and novella titles each year. (Poet and longtime Friend of the Fair Michael Anna De Armas is on its board.) Originally

Dionne Polite is director of state operations for AARP’s Florida team, which she joined after spending six years in the organization’s New York office. A Broward County resident, she recently welcomed grandchild Josea – her first! – in December. AARP first became involved with Miami Book Fair in 2020 –

Rudy Fernandez is the executive vice president for external affairs and strategic initiatives and chief of staff at the University of Miami. He and his wife, Jennifer – they met when both were working at UM; she’s since moved on to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital – have four children, twin teenage

Madeline Barrios has been with Jackson Health System for 15 years, where she currently serves in the communications and outreach department as the associate director for community outreach and special events. She was raised and educated in Miami – as was her husband – and is a proud mom to

David Whitaker was named president & CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau last July, a full circle moment for the GMCVB lead, who left the agency in 2007 after 17 years to boost tourism in Toronto and then Chicago before making his way back to the Magic

Marya Meyer grew up in Wisconsin, spent 10 years in Spain after college, and now calls Miami home. The interim director of The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade – whose mission is to address the most pressing issues affecting women and girls in our community – sat down with us to talk

T-Mobile has a stated commitment to building stronger, more equitable communities, and to supporting youth – how does your support of Miami Book Fair align with those goals? At T-Mobile, we believe that access to education is access to opportunity. In addition to providing free (Wi-Fi) hot spots to eligible

A Georgia native, Dale Webb relocated to Miami as a teenager. Through the Chapman Foundation, she and her family – who can claim several generations of newspaper owners and publishers – are longtime MBF supporters with a focus on children’s and youth programs. How did the Chapman Foundation come to

Julie Katz is a lifelong Miami resident who came back home after college and founded Everybody Wins! South Florida – now known as Read to a Child – a children’s literacy and mentoring organization. She currently works in community relations and corporate responsibility at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. How does the

Sandy Nusbaum and his wife, Ellen, have made Miami their home for 50 years and are longtime supporters of Miami Book Fair and other stakeholder institutions, including HistoryMiami Museum, Actors’ Playhouse, and the University of Miami athletics department. How did you come to be involved with Miami Book Fair? Initially

Brian Pearl is a principal and co-founder of Global City Development, where part of his day to day focuses on discovering new opportunities for the nonprofit side of the firm, which is a longtime supporter of Miami Book Fair. The Billings, Montana, native has called Miami home for 20 years.

Kimberly Green was born and raised in Miami, and through the Green Family Foundation has been a longtime and significant supporter of Miami Book Fair, as well as other vital cultural institutions in the Magic City. How did the Green Family Foundation come to be a Miami Book Fair supporter?

Native Virginian Brian C. Perlin came to Miami to earn his undergraduate and law degrees at UM, and decided to stay put. He established his namesake firm 36 years ago in Coral Gables, where he lives with his wife, Wendy. How did you initially come to be a Miami Book

Belissa Alvarez, director of The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, was born in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents and grew up in New York. She’s lived in Miami for 16 years, where she’s dedicated to uplifting the collective community through strategic philanthropic efforts. The Foundation supports Miami Book Fair’s Emerging

Jonathan Chariff is the CEO of South Motors, which has been supporting Miami Book Fair since 2011! He recently sat down with us to share his thoughts on the country’s largest and most beloved celebration of books and literature. Why does South Motors support Miami Book Fair? Reading opens our