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Miami Bridge Youth & Family Services Inc. has announced its new executive board of directors.
Steve Lezman, senior director of Governmental Affairs at PepsiCo, will now serve as president; Todd Giardina, PhD, a licensed psychologist at the Coral Gables Counseling Center, will serve as vice president; Melanie Sanchez, vice president and Treasury Management Officer III at Fifth Third Bank, will serve as secretary, and Marco Lopez, audit manager at ZOMMA Group LLP will continue as treasurer for his second term.
“We are very fortunate to have this distinguished group of local leaders on our board,” said Dr. Dorcas Wilcox, CEO of Miami Bridge. “Not only are they accomplished in their respective fields, but they bring valuable insights that will help with our ongoing work to develop programs to best serve our at-risk kids and their families.”
Lezman has 38 years of experience in the food industry. He represents all of PepsiCo’s brands including Tropicana, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Quaker, and Gatorade, throughout states in the Southeast and Midwest regions. Lezman currently serves on the boards of the Juice Products Association, Keep Florida Beautiful, and the Florida Recycling Partnership Foundation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.
With more than 15 years of experience as a licensed psychologist, Giardina is one of the few male psychologists in South Florida who focuses on women’s issues. Additionally, he and his colleagues discuss a variety of women’s wellness topics on their podcast, The Counseling Corner. He completed his doctoral program at the University of New York at Buffalo and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Sanchez has 13 years of experience in banking, including retail, private banking, and commercial lending. She represents Fifth Third Bank where she is Treasury Management Officer, facilitating payments for middle market commercial organizations. She currently leads Miami Bridge’s Young Professionals Committee to help raise funds and awareness.
Sanchez in very involved with the community and also sits on the Tour of Kitchen Committee for the Coral Gables Community Foundation. Previously she was on the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce Board from 2018 to 2021. She earned both her MBA and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida International University.
Lopez is a certified public accountant and is a member of the American and Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He also sits on the Cuban American CPA Association and the United Way Audit Committee board. Lopez earned both a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Florida International University.
Lezman, Giardina and Sanchez previously served as board members.
Miami Bridge serves as Miami-Dade County’s only 24-hour emergency shelter for children and teens (ages 10-17) in crisis. For more than three decades, the non-profit organization has worked to rescue youth in the community from lives of victimization and crime by providing refuge, protection and specialized care in a nurturing, stable environment.
Annually, Miami Bridge shelters more than 600 children and teens, providing over 10,000 care days for those individuals, as well as counseling to more than 550 families with children ages 6-17.
For additional information, visit www.miamibridge.org.
