Editor’s Choice

Above: (from left) Andrea Peña and Sawyer Garrity Photo by Eduardo Schneider It started with a voice memo last Feb. 17, three days after the deadliest high school shooting in United States history. The chords that Andrea Peña texted her classmate, Sawyer Garrity, seemed to be pouring out of her on that Saturday. Garrity knew

Rarely does a high school student’s excuse for missing a final exam come off sounding like Ivy League material. Then again, how many teenagers have to be in Washington, D.C., on a school night because the nonprofit organization they helped to create is being honored with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award? In the

When Samantha Novick remembers Jaime Guttenberg, she thinks of the way she interacted with others during programs run by The Friendship Journey, an organization that promotes fostering relationships with individuals with special needs and developing a more thoughtful understanding of that community. Jaime’s friends, Novick says, couldn’t wait to see her every week. “She had

Photography by Eduardo Schneider Manuel Oliver defines himself differently than he did a year ago. For one, he’s gone from artist to “artivist”—that is, he uses his art to create change. You can call him an activist, but he prefers his coined word instead. He’s also well-schooled in politics, something in which he had a

Photography by James Woodley As a child, Miami-born Michael Beltran was fascinated by the sense of pride he observed in his Cuban grandparents when they cooked for 20 or 30 people. He carried that feeling until college when he did a little bit of everything at an Applebee’s in order to learn as much as

The working title of Marlee Matlin’s February presentation during the Broward College Speaker Series borrows from a children’s book she co-wrote in 2007. But the idea that “Nobody’s Perfect” resonates throughout the causes connected to promoting inclusion for which the Academy Award-winning actress, who lost her hearing at 18 months old, continues to advocate. In

I was born without a physical ear, and no ear canal, on my left side. Over the years, I had surgeries meant to replicate the ear structure. They took cartilage out of my rib cage and sculpted it; then they wrapped it in a nice bow with skin grafts. It took eight surgeries—the first one

Jorge Ramos, executive chef at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach Paula DaSilva, executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale Edgar Beas, executive chef at Dune, Auberge Beach Residences & Spa, Fort Lauderdale Jorlian Rivera, executive chef at S3, Fort Lauderdale Alex Becker, executive chef at Kuro, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood   What’s the

For years, Coconut Creek staff has looked for a way to share current and upcoming projects with residents. They experimented with tables and online portals, but, says Sustainable Development Director Sheila Rose, they were never user-friendly. Recently, the city introduced a solution: a web application from ESRI, a digital mapping company whose software is used

Runners who live in Coconut Creek recognize North Creek Presbyterian Church as the site of the annual North Creek Explorer 5K (pictured above), a race that benefits the Coconut Creek Police Department Explorers. But the church, which has been a Creek staple for more than 20 years, also reaches out to the community through other

Photos by John Hartzell   Cristian Moreno ran both track and cross country at Monarch High School, and, every year, he and teammate Brandon Flagler would compete in Coconut Creek’s Butterfly Run. “We treated it as a competition race, and we practiced for it together,” he says. They started running together when Moreno was a

Pictured from left to right: Jorge Ramos, executive chef at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach Paula DaSilva, executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale Edgar Beas, executive chef at Dune, Auberge Beach Residences & Spa, Fort Lauderdale Jorlian Rivera, executive chef at S3, Fort Lauderdale Alex Becker, executive chef at Kuro, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel &