Max Sklar is the Tourism, Culture, and Economic Development Director for the City of Miami Beach. Mr. Sklar is responsible for the Office of Film and Event Production Management (which includes Special Events and Film and Print); the Convention Center and Jackie Gleason Theater of Performing Arts; the Cultural Affairs Program; the Cultural Arts Council; Colony and Byron Carlyle Theaters; the Tourism, Convention and Protocol Office; the Entertainment Office and Art in Public Places and serves as the liaison to the Bass Museum of Art, the Visitors and Convention Authority (VCA) and Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB). He also oversees the City’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA), sponsorship sales and marketing, the City’s real estate assets and economic development initiatives.
Mr. Sklar has been employed by the City of Miami Beach since 1998 and has worked in several areas during his tenure. He began his career at the City of Miami Beach as a Staff Assistant for then Mayor, Neisen Kasdin, and the City Commission. Within 20 months he was appointed Chief of Staff for Mayor Kasdin. In that capacity he developed and coordinated the Mayor’s legislative and community agendas in conjunction with the City Administration. He was also responsible for the Mayor’s Office annual budget, mayoral staff, and administration of staff protocols and assisted the Mayor in review and approval of the City’s annual $220 million City budget. Mr. Sklar represented the Mayor to his constituency, business community, government and nongovernment organizations, state and federal lobbyists, dignitaries, and the media. He supervised daily operations of mayoral office, as well as all constituent correspondence and services.
In 2001, Mr. Sklar began working in the City’s Neighborhood Services Department where he assisted in management and oversight of its $8.5 million budget, nine divisions and fifty-six employees. He worked closely with operational departments to develop long-term comprehensive solutions that provide quality customer service and enhanced quality of life for Miami Beach residents. In this capacity he implemented a new customer relationship management system into a web enabled answer center with a centralized database; developed and implemented Neighborhood Leadership Academy/Citizens Academy to educate residents on available services and enable them to be effective participants in city government; and served as Acting Director of Log Cabin Training Center and Nursery which included managing daily operations of vocational training center and non-profit plant nursery and its sheltered worksite program for developmentally disabled adults. In that capacity, he executed an action plan to repair financial strength for the Log Cabin, developed and implemented standard operating procedures including the implementation of inventory and cost controls.
Mr. Sklar received his Bachelor of Arts in Justice from The American University in Washington D.C. in 1997. He also earned a Masters in Business Administration from Florida International University in 2002. Mr. Sklar is also a graduate from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Miami Class of 2000 and received the Outstanding Community Service Project of the Year Award for the creation of a recreation / education center targeting at risk inner city youth.
Finally, Mr. Sklar is a proud product of Miami Beach being born at Mount Sinai Medical Center and attending the Lehrman Day School and Miami Beach Senior High School.
