Enrique Lopez is a brilliant man who thrives on challenges and has excelled in a variety of fields from telecommunications to education.
With a long history of civic involvement and community service, Lopez has used his education and skill sets to great advantage in both his career choices and in his nonprofit roles.
Born in Havana, Cuba, Lopez was raised in Miami from the time he was 8 years old. After graduating from Miami Senior High School where he was class president (1971), drum major, a member of several honor societies, Lopez went on to the University of Miami earning a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1975 and then a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1979.
From working as a traffic engineer for Miami-Dade County, he went on to work for Southern Bell, American Bell and thrived in the consulting field with Deloitte Haskins and Sells before forming his own international consulting firm, AKL Group Inc.
From 1984 to 1987 he also was adjunct faculty member at Barry University for the Department of Telecommunications and School of Adult and Continuing Education and served a few years on the University of Miami’s faculty for the School of Business and NGJ Information Systems Institute.
After 21 years dealing with his own large multinational clients, Lopez accepted a position as adjunct faculty at Dade Medical College’s Department of General Education and was promoted in a year’s time to the college’s academic dean for the School of Continuing Education. Most recently he was named interim campus director for the college’s flagship campus in Miami Lakes.
Lopez credits his introduction and commitment service to the time he was employed by Deloitte Haskins and Sells, whose partner then, Sherrill W. Hudson, always promoted community service by his own example. That example was one that Lopez has followed through his professional life from serving as president of the Epilepsy Foundation of South Florida, serving various positions as a member of the Junior Orange Bowl Committee and his involvement with the March of Dimes, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation, Downs Syndrome Walkathon and more.
When Lopez commits, he is often handson as in the time he co-chaired the Junior Orange Bowl Parade. That year they decided to have their first nighttime parade and got the city’s permission to install lights in all the trees up and down Miracle Mile to enhance the parade route. Using the Langston hook, a cane pole another parade co-chair, Hank Langston, used to decorate his own tree for the holidays, Lopez and other volunteers tirelessly hung the twinkle along the street.
Within days of the installation, Lopez became the city’s point person when the lights needed to be adjusted. He actually ran around, dressed in an expensive business suit, unloading the cane pole from his car and re-hanging lights throughout a very windy season. The city finally took over the lighting in years to follow but Lopez’s dedication that year is still part of Junior Orange Bowl lore and one that always brings a laugh.
Enrique lives in Coral Gables with his wife, Tania, and daughter, Stephania Nicole, 8. He also has two grown children, Alexandra Kristina, who gave him two granddaughters, and Enrique Jr. He certainly is a great role model to those children and to us all as he uses his considerable life experiences and knowledge to serve others.
