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FAU Honors 2022 Hall of Fame Induc tee Along With Distinguished Alumni

The Florida Atlantic University Alumni Association (FAUAA) hosted its annual Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni ceremony and reception recently. The event brought together alumni to celebrate the accomplishments of their most outstanding peers. Alumni from eight of FAU’s colleges were honored for their career accomplishments, and Seth L. Siegel, B.S. ‘96, a graduate of the College of Business was introduced as the 2022 Hall of Fame inductee.

Siegel is the chief executive officer-elect of Grant Thornton LLP and will assume the role on Aug. 1. He previously served as Grant Thornton’s office managing partner for South Florida, which includes offices in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. He also served on the Grant Thornton partnership board as one of 10 members elected by the firm’s partners and principals to govern the partnership and oversee the work of the firm’s chief executive officer.

Siegel joined Grant Thornton in 1996 and became a partner in 2006 after having briefly left the firm in the late 1990s to work as a controller and a registered representative in the financial services sector. He served as Grant Thornton’s Florida Audit practice leader from 2012 to 2019, with operational responsibility for the five offices in the state. In the role, he expanded the practice area and seeded exceptional growth in revenue and profitability, while maintaining excellent quality. Siegel previously led Grant Thornton’s Florida real estate, construction and hospitality industry group.

The presenting sponsor of the event was Grant Thornton, and the event sponsors included Geico and Cynthia C. Spray AIA in memory of Philip Koch. Representing eight of FAU’s colleges are the following distinguished alumni: > Charles L. Bender III, B.A. ‘93, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts

and Letters > Cheryl Shields Proctor, Ph.D. ‘17, College of Education > Danielle T. Dzung, B.S. ‘87, College of Engineering and Computer Science > Cara Capp, MURP ‘10, B.A. ‘08, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College > Jodi-Ann S. Edwards, M.D. ‘17, B.S. ‘11, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine > Taren J. O’Brien, R.N. ‘03, M.S.N. ‘07, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing > Rik J. Deitsch, B.S. ‘97, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science > Belcida N. Encinosa, M.S.W. ‘08, B.S.W. ‘05, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice

Hadassah Advoc ac y Team Shares Legislative Views with Congresswomen Lois Frankel

Members of the Hadassah Florida Atlantic advocacy team had the opportunity to share the organization’s views on a variety of legislative issues with Congresswoman Lois Frankel and members of her staff at a virtual Day in the District session on April 21.

Guided by Susan Wakshul, Florida Atlantic Vice President of Education and Advocacy and Joy Parks, Region Advocacy Chair, Susan Shulman, Evalyn Katz, Joanna Rothstein, Adrianne Bendich, Debby Gershon, Marlene Gart, Fran Romer, and supported by team colleagues spoke with the Congresswoman and her Congressional staff about specific legislation. The group addressed Standing with Israel and support of the Commission of Inquiry Act of 2022 (H.R. 7223); expansion of the US-Israel Medical Partnership; combatting Antisemitism; women’s health with a focus on access to and the high cost of infertility treatments and promoting insurance coverage, reproductive health and women’s health equity.

Congresswoman Frankel told the group that “they can count on her on Israel and that everyone should have full access to health care.” The Congresswoman is a co-lead of the Housepassed Women’s Health Protection Act, which would protect access to abortion care regardless of income-level or zip code. She also shared that she is presently working on legislation to address disparities in research funding and knowledge on women’s health issues. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, she is a consistent advocate for strengthening the US-Israel relationship, and played a critical role in providing billions of dollars to our friend and ally to bolster Israel’s security and replenish the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The Hadassah Florida Atlantic Region office can be reached at 877-949-1818 or florida@ hadassah.org. The Region is home to 50 chapters and 23,000 members in Palm Beach, Martin & St. Lucie Counties and is part of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. (HWZOA). HWZOA is the largest Jewish women’s organization in the United States. With nearly 300,000 members, Associates and supporters, Hadassah brings women together to effect change and advocate on such critical issues as ensuring the security of Israel, combating antisemitism and promoting women’s health. Through the Hadassah Medical Organization’s (HMO) two hospitals in Jerusalem, Hadassah delivers exemplary patient care to over a million people every year and supports world-renowned medical research. HMO serves without regard to race, religion or nationality.For more information, visit www.hadassah.org.

MHCommercial Real Estate Fund II Acquires Boc a Raton O ffice Complex, Yamato O ffice Center, for $45.9 Million

West Palm Beach, FL – MHCommercial Real Estate Fund II (“MHCREFII”), a discretionary real estate private equity fund formed by Dung Lam, Neil E. Merin and Jordan Paul, has closed on the purchase of Yamato Office Center in Boca Raton for $45,925,000 ($267/SF) in a joint venture partnership with an institutional real estate fund based out of New York. Yamato Office Center is a 171,724-square-foot office complex comprising two Class-A office buildings located at 999 and 1001 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida. Yamato Office Center was approximately 71% leased at the time of the sale. Christian Lee, Marcos Minaya, and Sean Kelly with CBRE Capital Markets represented the seller, Adler Real Estate Partners (“Adler Partners”). 999 Yamato Road, built in 2000, is a three-story, 82,974-square-foot office building. 1001 Yamato Road, built in 1986, is a four-story, 88,750-square-foot office building. The complex is located near the entrance of the Park at Broken Sound and is situated on approximately 10 acres of prime Yamato Road frontage lending a generous parking ratio which includes covered parking. The Park of Broken Sound has recently benefited from a renaissance through the development of over 1,900 multi-family units and over 554,000 square feet of retail. Yamato Office Center’s prime location is a short drive to a large variety of nearby upscale amenities and 15 minutes away from transportation infrastructures including I-95, the Boca Raton Airport, Tri-Rail and the future Boca Raton Brightline Florida station.

MHCREFII is the second real estate fund for Neil Merin, Dung Lam and Jordan Paul after closing and fully deploying their first fund in December 2021 acquiring approximately $125 million in commercial real estate. MHCREFII launched in January 2022 and closed on its first acquisition in April 2022 with the $32.5 million purchase of EcoPlex® Office Center in West Palm Beach. Yamato Office Center is the second acquisition for MHCREFII with a target to acquire a total of $250 million of commercial real estate throughout the Southeastern United States over the next 12 to 18 months MHCREF and MHCREFII principals Neil E. Merin, Dung Lam and Jordan Paul stated, “We are very excited with the acquisition of Yamato Office Center at a purchase price well below replacement cost while also providing a tremendous opportunity to create value. Our plan is to reposition the asset as a premier Class-A office center primarily through capital improvements allowing Yamato Office Center to capture the robust demand for Class-A office space in Boca Raton. Boca Raton is one of the nation’s most attractive communities for wealthy decision makers and Yamato Office Center is specifically located in one of Boca Raton’s most rapidly urbanizing micro-markets.”

Corey Winsett, Director of Acquisitions for MHCREF oversaw the acquisition and due diligence process on behalf of MHCRFII’s JV partnership. Financing for the transaction was provided by LoanCore Capital a leading institutional lender that has financed over $25 billion in commercial real estate loans since 2008 Steve Kay, Managing Director and JP Kost, Vice President structured the financing transaction on behalf of LoanCore Capital.

Elizabeth Jones and John Strickroot of the Shutts & Bowen law firm represented the purchaser on the transaction. NAI/ Merin Hunter Codman will manage and lease the property. For leasing opportunities please reach out to Managing Director, Richard Brockey at 561-471-8000.

‘I want to be an overachiever ’: Michelle Puer ta among 35 dual enrollment graduates

When Michelle Puerta dual enrolled at Palm Beach State College in June 2020, the summer after her high school sophomore year, the pandemic crushed her plans to take classes on campus but not her goal to earn an Associate in Arts degree.

“It was not easy, but I still pushed myself,” said Puerta, who will graduate from PBSC and Wellington High School this month. “I would have liked to go in person, but at that time the pandemic was bad. It was all online. I kept on taking courses online because I do have a heavy schedule. I just could not go in person.”

Puerta is among PBSC’s over 2,000 spring graduates and the first class since fall 2019 to have traditional commencement ceremonies. She is also one of 35 dual enrollment students earning A.A. deg rees while in high school and is looking forward to celebrating at commencement May 12 at the South Florida Fairgrounds Expo Center.

Like other graduates, the aspiring veterinarian juggled numerous commitments and a myriad of personal challeng es during the pandemic to achieve her goal. Puerta’s dad got COVID-19 and spent two weeks in the hospital just before her senior year at Wellington High School started, and her dog died. It took two months for her dad to fully recover. “It was very difficult to go through that and help him recover.”

Puerta’s love for animals and the loss of her pet sparked her interest in veterinary medicine, and because of the experience, she hopes to one day provide low-cost veterinarian services to make access easier. “As I was grieving, I realized I did not want oth-

er families to grieve the way I was.” Despite those challenges, she juggled her studies, including more rigorous AICE and Advanced Placement courses at her high school, with serving as the captain of both her high school varsity women’s basketball team and her team with the American Youth Soccer Organization Region 345 at Okeeheelee Park. In addition, she was actively involved or held leadership roles in the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, American Sign Language Honor Society, Latinos in Action, the Interact Club and the Vet Club, as well as completed numerous community service hours. She applied to five universities—the University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University, Florida State University, the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida— Puerta is among PBSC’s and got accepted to over 2,000 spring all of them. She will attend UF this year graduates and the first for her bachelor’s class since fall 2019 degree because she also hopes to pursue to have traditional her Doctor of Vetcommencement erinary Medicine at the flagship univerceremonies. sity’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the only one in the state. “Getting an education is one of the main things that motivates me to push my family forward,” said Puerta, whose parents and older half-brother are from Colombia. “They did come to the U.S. to help me get a better future, so I do want to accomplish their dream,’’ she said. How did she do it? “I think it’s just the motivation that I have inside of me because, at the end of the day, if I wanted, I could have just quit if I was overwhelmed. I want to be an overachiever. I want to push forward.”

$150,000 Raised at Footloose & Cancer Free 2022

The Pap Corps, Champions for Cancer Research is proud to announce they raise $150,000 for cancer research at Footloose & Cancer Free 2022, Sharon Goodhart Presenting Sponsor. Four hundred guests enjoyed a dazzling afternoon of enter tainment at The Opal Grand Resort in Delray Beach. The lovely luncheon featured an amateur dance competition by Pap Corps members. Joel and Trina Schwartz from the Valencia Pointe chapter took the top prize in fundraising, while Patti and Mike Golub from the Palm Isles chapter took home the top dancing trophy! Proceeds from the event support groundbreaking research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only NCI-designated cancer center in South Florida.

“We are so proud of all of our dance competitors,” said event co-chair Beverly Berkowitz. “They all brought their A-game and put on a terrific show for our guests. This event had been postponed four times due to COVID, but our dancers remained steadfast in their commitment to fundraise and learn their dance routines.”

To prepare for dance competition, the amateur couples took dance lessons at The Delray Ballroom and were judged at the event by an esteemed panel including Marilynn Wick, Shari Upbin and Angela Manfredi.

“We are so grateful to our dance couples who inspired our audience to give even more during the event,” said Nancy Levinsohn, event co-chair. “Each dancer shared such moving and inspiring stories about their reasons for participating, often leaving the audience visibly affected. Their stories beautifully reflected our mission to support the next survivor.” Special thanks to the event’s sponsors including Sharon Goodhart Travel Agency, Joel and Linda Moses, David Barry Designs, Jane Lozano, Parelle Electric, Friedman Elder Law, PNC Bank, Raymond James, Dr. Heidi Schaeffer, The Wrobel Family Foundation, The Wechsler Foundation, The Wawa Foundation, Bauman Medical, Cruise Planners, PNC Bank, Philip and Paula Karp, Debra Saunders, Stacey Shinder, Shelter Palms Foundation, Susan & Ed Dinter, Alan & Nancy Levinsohn, Brian & Beverly Berkowitz, The Delray Ballroom and media sponsors Boca Magazine and Legends Radio 100.3 FM.