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On January 21, 2026, the Deering Estate Foundation and the Deering Estate honored its 2025 Champion Partners of the Year. A group of awardees were recognized for their accomplishments, and were accompanied by dedicated community leaders, collaborating partners, and Estate volunteers and staff who joined the meeting.
In presenting the 2025 Champion Partner Awards, Deering Estate Foundation President, Suzanne Gottlieb Calleja, Executive Director, Nina Zanella, and Chief of Deering Estate, Karen Solms, emphasized the importance of cooperative efforts and community engagement in preserving and enhancing the Deering Estate and fulfilling its mission. Celebrating and receiving their awards were:
R.J. Heisenbottle Architects – 2025 Restoration and Preservation Partner of the Year
Founded in 1987 and based in Coral Gables, RJ Heisenbottle Architects is a nationally respected firm specializing in architecture and historic preservation. Their work reflects a deep commitment to protecting cultural heritage while ensuring historic sites remain relevant and accessible for future generations.
This award recognizes their exceptional involvement in the Stone House Restoration Project at the Deering Estate. The Stone House is one of the Estate’s most iconic and historically significant structures and restoring it has required both technical expertise and great respect for its legacy. RJ Heisenbottle Architects has and continues to approach this project with care, integrity, and an unwavering dedication to preservation excellence, helping ensure this landmark will endure for years to come.
Stephanie Michell, Project Manager at RJ Heisenbottle Architects, was also acknowledged for her support and leadership throughout the restoration process.
Amerant Bank – 2025 Corporate Partner of the Year
Amerant Bank is a Florida-headquartered community bank offering a wide array of banking and wealth management services and is known for its personalized, local approach with a focus on customer relationships and being a supportive financial partner with a strong community presence. Amerant Bank has been an integral part of the success of the Deering Estate Foundation’s signature events through sponsorships of Mistletoe & Martinis, Chef’s Table on the Bay, and the beloved annual Deering Seafood Festival on the Bay.
Perhaps the most beneficial gift that Amerant Bank has bestowed upon the Deering Estate Foundation is sharing their expertise and commitment through one of their employees, Carole Wright, SVP, Private Client Group Relationship Manager. Carole has been an integral part of the Deering Estate Foundation Board of Directors for many years as Treasurer, Vice President, President, and now Past President.
Carole, through her banking and financial expertise, guided the foundation during the pandemic in maximizing resources and positioning the foundation in a stronger position.
Amerant Bank is now working with the foundation to manage and grow investments to ensure that the Deering Estate Foundation remains strong and resilient to meet our mission of conservation, preservation, and protection of the Deering Estate in perpetuity.
Barron Sherer – 2025 Programming Partner of the Year
Barron Sherer, Deering Estate Artist-in-Residence, was named as the 2025 Programming Partner of the Year. Barron Sherer helped expand understanding of film and moving-image art at the Deering Estate. Barron is an artist who works with films in new and creative ways, using old footage, archives, and experimental techniques to bring ideas to life.
Through his Moving Image Alliance, Barron brought exciting programs and screenings to the Estate. One memorable event was his collaboration with artist Roger Beebe, featuring multi-projector films that mixed past and present approaches to cinema. Barron also led hands-on workshops that invite people of all levels of experience to learn, experiment, and play with film as an art form. His curatorial work helped build a rich and exciting film program at Deering Estate, full of screenings, special presentations, and creative collaborations.
We celebrate Barron for his passion for film, his leadership, and his bold artistic vision. His work inspires artists, audiences, and the wider community, and he is acknowledged for helping make the Deering Estate a cultural hub for innovative and experimental cinema.
Baptist Health – Miami Cancer Institute – 2025 Champion Partner of the Year
Miami Cancer Institute is vital for the community by providing local access to world-class, advanced cancer care, including unique services like proton therapy and connections to Memorial Sloan Kettering, preventing the need to travel for treatment, and addressing healthcare disparities through specialized research and diverse patient inclusion, ensuring high-quality, personalized, and comprehensive support for South Florida residents and beyond.
Each year, Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute plays an integral role at the annual Deering Seafood Festival by the Bay not only through sponsorship but by providing complimentary cancer screenings during the festival.
We are grateful for their community commitment and proud to award the 2025 Champion Partner of the Year award to Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute for its commitment to offering Compassionate Care In An Environment That Promotes Healing and Wellness.
Susana Behar, Artist in Residence – 2025 Community Partner of the Year
Susana Behar has made a wonderful impact on the Deering Estate and on our community. Susana, our Community Partner and Artist-in-Residence, shared music that crosses generations, cultures, and languages.
During her time with the Deering Estate, Susana created uplifting musical moments that transcend eras and genres, from her powerful Women’s History Month concerts celebrating women’s voices around the world, to her joyful Mother’s Day performances that honored the strength and love of mothers everywhere.
Most recently, Susana invited us to imagine the soundtrack to Charles Deering’s travels. She researched and interpreted music inspired by the places and cultures he visited, creating a concert that blended history, imagination, and her own unique voice. Through this work, she showed how music can tell stories, spark curiosity, and bring people together.
As we celebrate the Women’s History Month concert coming up in March and think about the families and memories we hold dear, Susana is acknowledged for sharing her talent, her heart, and her vision with all of us, through an exquisitely curated vocal tapestry that brings people together and enriches the many communities we serve.
Eric Tulberg, Green Mobility Network – 2025 Community Partner of the Year
The Green Mobility Network advocates making Miami-Dade County a safe and enjoyable place to bicycle, run, and walk. They also work to connect trails and improve infrastructure for non-motorized transport, alongside initiatives like the major Miami LOOP project and the Atlantic Greenway for a more connected, eco-friendly city. The Deering Estate Foundation is fortunate each year to incorporate the mission and expertise of the Green Mobility Network as they manage and oversee the bike valet area of the Deering Seafood Festival.
Annually, Eric Tullberg, member of the Board of Directors of the Green Mobility Network, collaborates with members of the Seafood Festival committee, to measure and mark off an area for the bike valet. The bike valet provides free, secure, supervised parking for bicycles, like a coat check, checking bikes in with a ticket system and returning them to the owner, offering peace of mind and convenience, reducing event traffic, and encouraging eco-friendly transport.
Valet staff check bikes in, store them safely and ensure they are there when the guest returns. Green Mobility Network ensures the success of the annual Seafood Festival by providing this important guest services component and we are grateful for their commitment and expertise.
Beth Person – 2025 Volunteer of the Year
The Deering Estate Foundation is proud to honor Beth Person, member of the Deering Estate Foundation Board of Directors, the 100 Ladies of Deering, Mistletoe & Martinis Committee, Chef’s Table on the Bay Committee, Seafood Festival Committee, and overseer of the silent auction and the Kid’s Concession area of the seafood festival, and volunteer sign-up at the Seafood Festival. On top of her philanthropic and community efforts, Beth is a great mom and full time real estate broker. There is nothing this amazing woman can’t or won’t do to help.
Beth has boundless energy and enthusiasm for life and is a lover of the outdoors, nature, and the Deering Estate. She is an environmental advocate and one of those people who offers her time and talent for the greater good. In other words, she walks the walk. When Beth commits to a project, you know it will be done to perfection. When Beth approaches a challenging situation, she becomes mindful for the solution and will see it through with grace.
As Michelle Obama stated, “Volunteering is the lifeblood of our communities. It’s not just about giving back; it’s about giving forward and creating a better world for all of us.” Thank you, Beth, for creating a better world.
Melody Carrion Nunez – 2025 Volunteer of the Year
Melody Carrion Nunez is being honored as the 2025 Volunteer of the Year. Melody has been an exemplary volunteer research intern with the Learning and Conservation Department of Deering Estate. They focused their research on collecting and analyzing animal scat on the Deering Estate trails and currently they are writing their research as a publication that is being sponsored by the 100 Ladies of Deering.
Melody also actively cleaned up our coastline and has logged over 250 hours. Melody is continuing the legacy of conservation and research as they are now a FIU PhD student whose Dissertation will focus on microplastics at Deering Estate and how it is traveling through our slough potentially ending up in Biscayne Bay.
Jerrod Sharp – 2025 Volunteer of the Year
Jerrod Sharp, member of the Deering Estate Foundation Board of Directors, Mistletoe & Martinis Committee, Chef’s Table on the Bay Committee, Seafood Festival Committee, and chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, is the 2025 Volunteer of the Year. As a lover of history, Jerrod also finds time to serve as a volunteer docent. This year, he even took on designing and decorating one of the main rooms of the Richmond Cottage as part of the holiday décor.
Jerrod is a great dad and husband, was raised in the Midwest and exudes the values of hard work and community.
Jerrod is a person of immense passion with a fervent dedication to making a difference and to the greater good. He is an exceptional writer, orator, and communicator. Jerrod too has boundless energy and enthusiasm for life and is a lover of history and travel with a never-ending drive to learn and teach.
Jerrod is known for his creativity and eternal optimism and brings to mind the adage that life is for the living.
As Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” I can attest that Jerrod surely lost himself in all he had done for the Deering Estate Foundation and Deering Estate.
The Greater Miami Festivals & Events Association – 2024 Marketing and Media Partner
The Greater Miami Festivals & Events Association (GMFEA) is being honored as the 2025 Marketing and Media Partner. As the nation’s largest local festival and events organization, GMFEA champions professional development, strengthens event success, and ensures year-round promotion of festivals and events throughout South Florida.
Founded in December 1985, GMFEA brings together South Florida’s major annual festivals with the mission of promoting a vibrant calendar of special events for residents and visitors alike. Today, the Association boasts more than 100 members, including festivals, special event groups, public agencies, institutions, and local businesses.
GMFEA actively promotes South Florida’s events, including Deering Estate’s signature events such as the Moonlight & Music Valentine’s Day Concert, the Deering Seafood Festival, and the Deering Estate’s Holiday Season of Events. Jenna Noordhoek, Deering Estate’s Special Events Coordinator, serves on GMFEA’s Board of Directors and on the planning committee for the Association’s annual conference. This partnership underscores our commitment to community engagement and excellence in event programming.
University of Miami Shark Research and Conservation Program – 2025 Educational Partner of the Year
The University of Miami Shark Research and Conservation Program is this year’s Learning and Conservation Partner because of their unwavering dedication to understanding the incredible sharks that inhabit our near shore waters at Deering Estate. Through their work they have conducted 1.5 years of unmanned aerial vehicle surveys or simply put drone surveys demonstrating the incredible diversity of sharks, fish turtles, and a plethora of other marine species and how they are using this area. However, it is their comradery and open communication which has really solidified this partnership and stood out to us. We are proud to assist them in any way we can, and we hope Catherine’s amazing team continues to do this work giving us insight into the amazing world of these important predators.
Louis Aguirre, News Anchor on WPLG, Environmental Advocate on “Don’t Trash our Treasure” – 2025 William N. Irvine Stewardship Award
In September 2017, WPLG-Local 10 welcomed multiple Emmy-award winning journalist Louis Aguirre back home to South Florida and the Local 10 family. Louis co-anchors the station’s weekday 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. newscasts. He also anchors the 10 p.m. Local 10 newscast on WSFL.
On Earth Day 2021, Louis became WPLG Local 10’s Environmental Advocate and the face of a new station-wide campaign called Don’t Trash Our Treasure. A longtime and staunch defender of the planet, Louis brings awareness of environmental issues in South Florida with the purpose of seeking solutions.
“Don’t Trash Our Treasure” is a South Florida environmental initiative, primarily led by WPLG Local 10 News and anchor Louis Aguirre, to combat pollution and promote conservation of the region’s unique natural resources, like Biscayne Bay and the coral reefs, through news segments, community engagement, and highlighting local heroes making a difference. It’s a broad campaign encouraging residents to reduce waste, recycle properly, and protect marine life from threats like plastic pollution and derelict boats.
Louis has received numerous accolades for Don’t Trash Our Treasure, including six of his eight Emmy awards for environmental reporting, an Esserman-Knight Foundation Journalism award for the primetime series Saving Biscayne Bay and the “Good 2 Green” award from the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He’s also been recognized with a commendation from the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners, a commendation from the City of Miami Beach for efforts involving International Coastal Cleanup Day and induction into the Boys and Girls Club Hall of Fame. Most recently, Miami Waterkeepers honored Louis with the prestigious Porter Prize.
On behalf of the Deering Estate Foundation and the Deering Estate, we would like to Honor Louis Aguirre with the William N. Irvine Stewardship Award in honor of his advocacy and dedication to the protection of South Florida’s Environment and our shared commitment to protecting our earth.
Senator Alexis Calatayud – 2025 William N. Irvine Stewardship Award
Alexis’ story is one of consistency and commitment – most recently, she served as the Director of Policy and Programs at the Florida Department of Education. To Alexis, educational opportunity means we ensure every child can achieve the American Dream through high-quality, accessible VPK-12 education, affordable postsecondary programs, and workforce training that align with the jobs of the future.
Alexis is also a committed environmental advocate and steward of resiliency initiatives in South Florida. And when two of her passions, education and the environment, converge, Alexis goes to work. She has been actively involved with and co-sponsored requests for legislative funding for the Deering Estate that has resulted in Florida Department of State funding totaling $1.7 million for renovations to the Foundation’s Institute for Culture, Research, and Learning; Improvement to the Deering Estate Visitor’s Center and People’s Dock to promote conservation, preservation, and connection to our water resources; and, the remodeling of the Educational Pavilions on the Deering Estate.
Alexis, thank you for your passion, impact, and dedication to shaping a better future. You inspire learning, action, and hope for the communities of South Florida. Because of your efforts, we can connect complex environmental issues with accessible education, empowering others to become both stewards of the earth and future leaders.
About the Deering Estate
Deering Estate is a 21st Century house museum, cultural and ecological field station, and a national landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, owned by the State of Florida, and managed by Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. Deering Estate is designated as one of seven Miami-Dade County “Heritage Parks” which have a vital role in our community’s history, environment and in providing recreational and cultural experiences.
About the Deering Estate Foundation
For those who treasure the Deering Estate, who advocate for its preservation and wish to invest in its future, the Deering Estate Foundation provides opportunities for individuals and corporations alike to partake in membership, signature events, and one-of-a-kind experiences, all in service of providing vital funding and support to the Deering Estate. Through these efforts, the foundation fulfills its mission to uphold the legacy of Charles Deering’s cherished 1920s-era property, to provide funding for the cultural, educational and recreational experiences it offers, as well as its significant scientific and archaeological endeavors to conserve its diverse flora, fauna and the eight native ecosystems that thrive on its 450 acres, and to ensure its longevity as a prized American heritage site. Established in 1989, The Deering Estate Foundation, Inc. is a community-based charitable 501(c)3 Florida Corporation and the philanthropic partner of the Deering Estate.
