DOUBLING DOWN
IN PARADISE Mother of Two Sets of Twins on ‘Working-It’ in Palm Beach and Beyond By Melissa Berthier
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t’s Monday morning and Carolina Buia Barefoot’s iPhone alarm goes off at 6:15 am. She’s forced to rise, as her phone has been purposely placed on a small desk 15 feet away, next to her Pilates reformer. Before beginning her choreographed morning, which includes making buttermilk pancakes for her two sets of twins, the svelte, petite blonde sneaks in some reformer moves. Next, she is at her stove, flipping pancakes, yelling for her kids to hurry up, checking emails on four separate accounts, and writing in daily tasks on her Minimalist app. “I’m obsessed with my to-do list,” says Buia with a disarming smile. “If I don’t have a daily roadmap, I’m going to find myself taking too many scenic routes.” Buia has certainly traveled many routes to have landed where she is today. Born in Venezuela to an Italian father and a Venezuelan mother, Buia’s parents exposed her to many cultures, countries and languages. Eventually settling in Miami, Buia always had an affinity towards writing and politics, becoming a high school intern for Senator Connie Mack and a US Page in DC for Representative Ileana Ros-Leithnam (R). At Duke University, she met her husband, Heath Barefoot, and together they moved to Manhattan to break through in one of the toughest cities. “It was such an exciting time. Rent was on Broadway, Guiliani was ushering a new era of prosperity, Chelsea was becoming an art mecca and I felt as if I had won a golden ticket—a front seat to history as a cub reporter for TIME magazine.” After working in print media, Buia transitioned to national on-air television and internet jobs, slowing down only after she started “having those babies two by two.” Out of all her assignments, she credits motherhood as being the most challenging “It’s all-encompassing physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s a tour of duty.” Today, Buia’s twins are 15 and 12 years old, and she is back at work on her own terms. After moving to Palm Beach Gardens nine years ago, Buia has found new ways to use her business and storytelling skills: Working as both a real estate agent for ONE Sotheby’s International Realty and a publicist for Altima. “They seem like two different jobs, but honestly there is so much overlap,” she says. “I’ll have a client that is downsizing their home, but then starting a new business and in need of PR consulting. I sell and write about Palm Beach. And I couldn’t be happier.”
The publicist is Maribel Alvarez, CEO and Founder of Altima Palm Beach, whom represents Palm Beach island art galleries, restaurants, fine caviar, fashion designers and jewelers. “Carolina fit right into my organization,” says Maribel. “She is tireless, vibrant, funny and puts her heart into every sentence she crafts and every action she executes. She knows how to attract the right clients for our Altima brand.” Most recently, Buia met an award-winning scientist, Dr. Richard Miron, phD, who has his own lab at the renowned Scripps Center in Jupiter and will be opening a boutique med spa in April. Miron’s spa, Care Esthetics, will offer plasma rich fibrin injections for skin rejuvenation and hair loss. “Discovering, working and developing global innovators such as Dr. Miron makes me excited to get up each morning,” says Buia. Miron is credited with developing a patented, plasma-based alternative to products like Juvéderm® and Restylane®, based on a patient’s own biomaterials. He will also provide the most cutting-edge laser therapies to his Palm Beach and Jupiter patients. “Whether it’s my PR or my real estate clients— I learn something new on a daily basis,” says Buia. Being a life-long learner is a trait Buia is intent on passing down. Together with a team of high school students, including her oldest daughters (piano and visual art majors at Dreyfoos High School), Buia is helping to launch an organization, the AuntFLOridaproject.org, that will bring a yearly art education camp to local, underserved communities and aims to lessen period poverty in areas of Central America. “The goal is for my daughters and their friends to connect to their community and to the world at large,” says Buia. “I had the most beautiful childhood in Venezuela, but it’s a place of extremes—extreme wealth and poverty, extreme vistas and violence—the dichotomy is palpable. But working in numbers—doubling up efforts—is how we’ll make this world a kinder and more equitable place.” More goals for that morning to-do list.
Photo by Sally Prissert
Together with her close friend, Laura Gambino, Buia created the CL Team at ONE Sothebys. “Laura is the greatest real estate partner and asset. She literally grew up in the business with her mother and she is as sharp, driven and honest as they come. In fact, she was my agent when we moved here—and let me tell you, I was not an easy client.” Together, the CL Team specializes in North County Palm Beach homes on the water and homes in gated, golf communities. As for the PR business, Buia fell into it by happenstance. “When I moved to Palm Beach, I was still contributing to national and local publications. I became friends with a local PR maven who needed help with one of her many high luxury accounts. Somehow, I’m still there.” January 2022
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