People Profiles

On the days when she dons her traditional white chef’s coat, it can be said that Paula DaSilva wears her heart under her sleeves instead of on them. That’s because the Coconut Creek resident and new chef de cuisine at Burlock Coast on Fort Lauderdale Beach has three (visible) tattoos on her arms that give

Canes in hand, Phil and Orianne Collins take their places on the Faena Theater stage, undeterred. Each in physical recovery—the Grammy Award-winning musician from a foot injury, and his significant other, a philanthropist and jewelry designer, from paralysis after neck surgery—they move forward, embracing the mission they set for the Little Dreams Foundation: Never give

Thanksgiving has been on Mark Adler’s mind since September. He had just a few months to secure the 350 volunteers needed for Meals on Wheels South Florida to tackle the time-honored holiday. “Thanksgiving is a huge undertaking, but it’s super-fun, actually,” says Adler, the organization’s executive director. “There’s a lot going on that day.” For

Developer Jorge Perez, credited for creating Miami’s skyline, has a vision for South Florida in the next decade. He sees one connective region, from Miami all the way to Palm Beach—with Fort Lauderdale as the center of this universe. Perez’s Fort Lauderdale urban center would be a downtown, where people worked, lived and played. Walking,

In this era of iPhone cameras and social media, imagine being the only person on the planet to film a defining moment in history. How long would it take such a priceless piece of footage to reach the masses? Twelve seconds? Twelve minutes? What if it weren’t shown to the rest of the world for

On a typical day, Mia Moore can be seen strutting her stuff down the streets of South Florida, rocking her latest outfit or volunteering at Broward Health North and cheering up child patients. Earlier this year, however, she traveled to California for an appearance on the NBC show “America’s Got Talent,” where Mia debuted her

When James McDonald was elected to the Pinecrest village council, he already was a familiar face in the community. He was president of the Downtown Miami Business Association and the chairman of Pinecrest’s Transportation Advisory Committee. McDonald, a Pinecrest resident since 1976, partly credits his service-emphasized Jesuit education at Fairfield University for his involvement with

Twenty-two years. That’s almost half of 41-year-old Roben Farzad’s life. More than two decades ago, he beganhis research for a book, but the spark ignited even before that while he was a senior at North Miami Beach Senior High School. Farzad, who arrived as an immigrant by way of Iran, was selling frozen lemonade on the

We have a yoga teacher coming to the office this week. I always try to find innovative ways to get my team moving. My thing has always been education. I love to educate, and there’s nothing more important to me than to educate someone on how to take care of themselves the best way they

I’m not short enough to be cute, not tall enough to be an actual man … Women don’t find me adorable, but I still can’t reach things. (From his stand-up routine.) My grandfather and father had a family business, and they didn’t get along. So my father took his family and moved us to Boca.

Long before she worked for the city of Coral Springs as its chief economic development officer, Ana Barbosa realized an early aspiration by serving her country. It began with a TV commercial about how the military would pay for education. “I always was kind of a big dreamer,” says Barbosa, who joined the U.S. Air

Bruno Kuzuhara rises through the tennis ranks—at age 13 Marcello and Patricia Kuzuhara moved to the United States from Brazil, when their son, Bruno, was only 1. They made the move to take advantage of opportunities that they wouldn’t have had in Sao Paulo. But, early on, Bruno had other priorities in mind. “My mom