 | | President: Helen Stankiewicz is a pioneer member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. She has been a leader and member of PACT since 1990, serves as the co-chair of the education committee, and is a board member, and past co-chair of the FDOF, the state-wide coalition of DART organizations. Originally from New Jersey, Helen has lived in South Florida for the last 50 years. A retired school teacher of 33 years, Helen became personally involved in PACT’s public school education reform work when she saw her own grandchildren struggling to learn to read.
|
| |
 | | Secretary: Rosel A. Lebreton was born in Haiti and came to the United States at the age of 14. She has lived in Miami for the past 34 years. Rosel has been an exceptionally dedicated leader at Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church for the past 23 years and has taken shown great leadership in PACT for the past eight years. Married, Rosel has four grown children. Rosel is a translations specialist at Miami-Dade County Public Schools and is fluent in Haitian-Creole and English. She also speaks conversational French and some Spanish.
|
| |
 | | Treasurer: Maria Nazco moved to the United States from Cuba in 1955 and lived in New Jersey. She moved to Miami once in 1972, and again in 1993. On both occasions she has been a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church where she is also a member of a prayer group. Maria has worked in the textile industry all her life until she returned to Miami to be with her four children and eight grandchildren. She has been an active leader in PACT’s immigration committee for three years and served as secretary of the PACT board last year. |
| |
 | | Vice President for Membership Strengthening: Rev. William Bailey is originally from Tampa and has been in Miami since 1989. He has been serving as pastor of Sellers Memorial United Methodist Church for three years. Rev. Bailey served at Mt Tabor Missionary Baptist Church as a layperson before completing seminary in 1995. He has been passionately involved in social justice ministry since the 1960’s. |
| |
 | | Vice President for Membership Growth: Fr. John Cox is originally from Lowell, Massachusetts and recently moved to Miami. He serves as the associate pastor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the Overtown area of Miami. He has been actively engaged in ministry with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate since 1980, and was ordained as a priest in 1987. Fr. John was active in community organizing in Massachusetts and served on the Board of Directors for the Merrimack Valley Project, a group very similar to PACT, for eight years.
|
| |
 | | Vice President for Development and Fund Raising: Dr. Julio Carrera is the principal of South Hialeah Elementary Community Comer School in Hialeah, Florida. Julio was born in Havana, Cuba and is a graduate of Miami Senior High School. Dr. Carrera has an extensive background in education including a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from The Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Carrera has been a strong ally and supporter of PACT’s work on education reform.
|
| |
 | | Vice President for Personnel: Rev. Richard Ledgister has been the pastor of Sierra Norwood Calvary Baptist Church since 1988 and in ministry for over 30 years. He is originally from Jamaica. Rev. Ledgister has been a faithful supporter of PACT for several years. He has served PACT as the Education Committee Co-chair and has been a past President.
|
| |
 | | Vice President for Media and Public Relations: Belkis Zarate was born in Colombia and moved to Miami when she was 1 year old. She has been an active member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church since she first moved to Miami. Belkis has also been a dedicated leader in PACT and participate in the Healthcare committee. Belkis has been employed with Miami-Dade County since 1988. She is Fluent in English and Spanish.
|
| |
| | Co-Chair: Crime Committee
Adela Serrano is originally from El Salvador and has been in the United States for over 40 years. She retired from Miami’s Jackson Hospital after working there for over 20 years, and has been involved with PACT since the very beginning. Adela is a lay leader and heads the PACT ministry at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, her church home for over 30 years. She continues to be an influential leader both in her church and the Allapattah community.
|
| |
 | | Co-Chair: Education Committee
Hervé Bony serves as co-chair of PACT’s Education Committee. He has been involved with PACT since 2000, via his volunteer work as a parent leader in the Norland feeder pattern of the Miami-Dade Public Schools. Hervé worked diligently to win a campaign to improve education quality at Norland Middle and Parkway Elementary Schools. His children continue to attend public school. Hervé runs his own accounting firm, Bon Accounting, located in North Miami.
|
| |
| | Co-Chair: Healthcare Committee
Willie Mae Gibson became involved with PACT in 2006. She is a member of Ebenezer United Methodist Church where she serves on the usher board, stewardess board, and is the United Methodist Women treasurer. Willie Mae is a former small business owner and retiree, married and involved in the lives of her children and grandchildren.
|
| |
 | | Co-Chair: Immigration Committee
Originally from Haiti, Rev. Préval Floréal came to the United States in the 1970s for his education and was then called into ministry. Rev. Floréal moved to Miami 14 years ago and became involved with PACT 6 years ago to address the issues of drugs, crime, prostitution, and immigration in his community. He previously served as PACT president for 3 years, and now works as the pastor at Miami’s Grace Haitian United Methodist Church.
|