People Profiles

Simon Kornberg remembers his first encounter with a small, light- and dark-colored Jack Russell terrier like it was yesterday. The 10-year-old dog was paralyzed from the neck down. After an extensive evaluation, the veterinary neurologist discovered the problem. Testing revealed a large benign tumor that was compressing the terrier’s spinal cord. Kornberg’s suggested treatment to

Though Robert C. Mattes majored in outdoor recreation and psychology at Plymouth State University, it took becoming the recreation director for the city of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, to see that working in parks and recreation could be, to use his word, “wonderful.” “It really wasn’t until I started that career that I realized this isn’t

Jarvis Landry’s inaugural event to benefit cystic fibrosis research—Jarvis’ Jam—holds deeper meaning for the Dolphins’ star receiver According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, more than 30,000 U.S. residents are living with the progressive, genetic disease that limits the ability to breathe because of a consistent buildup of mucus in the lungs. A half-century ago, the

On the telephone from her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, Leigh Anne Tuohy says she’s more than ready to come to sunny Fort Lauderdale after a rough winter. She just helped move her youngest son, S.J., to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he’s taken a job as an assistant to football coach Chad Morris at the University of

About 3½ years ago, Lillian Vilchez took a leap of faith and moved to Miami to be closer to her family and start a career as a real estate agent. Shortly afterward, Vilchez took an even bigger leap by taking the ultimate chance on love and getting married—to a complete stranger. It started when her

Though David Hochfeld worked a variety of jobs over the years, including 10 years in the restaurant industry, a part of him was always stifled. “I was always an actor at heart,” Hochfeld says. “I was in every play in school.” Hochfeld didn’t find an outlet for his talent until he attended the Renaissance Festival

The Martin File ? Martin founded Optime Consulting 1998 to help companies elevate and recognize their employees with strategies that will increase productivity and quality of life. ? The firm is located in Weston (2400 N. Commerce Parkway, Suite 302), with offices in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Spain. Optime has some 130 employees. ? Leading

Creek’s Eduardo Souza shares some long-distance insights on the eve of the butterfly run Eduardo Souza isn’t one to let himself fall behind. When his mother, then in her early 60s, started running and placed in a local church race, he realized that nothing was stopping him from winning races as well. He started small

Some people need to find their talent before they translate it into a calling. Not Shelly Berg. The dean of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music could play piano with two hands before he even started attending Cleveland Institute of Music at age 6. “If you had asked me when I was 6

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” writes Eliot Weisman in his recently released book, The Way It Was, “that my life and the FBI’s perception of my life would have been very different if I had been in that picture.” It’s a picture that was worth a thousand words to the feds and, ultimately, 10

Coconut Creek resident Irene Feldman had no idea that a trip to the cardiologist would lead to 10 years of generosity. Every holiday season since that visit a decade ago, Feldman has donated toys to needy children through the Fort Lauderdale-based Children’s Aid Club. “There was a sign on the door [from the Children’s Aid

If some people are born natural dancers, then Britt certainly is one of them. The Miami Dolphins cheerleader started dancing tap, jazz and ballet at age 3 and didn’t stop, becoming a ballroom dancer at 12 and learning rumba, salsa, jive and cha cha. Britt (the team doesn’t share its cheerleaders’ last names for privacy