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Marla Garchik Founder, Peace Love Solve Backstory: Son Jack was a mid-life blessing for Marla and Steve Garchik; Marla was 42 when he was born; Steve was 50. But at an early age, Jack was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified, a condition that’s on the autism spectrum. Around that time, Marla was chairing

Mike Linder Owner/CEO, Silver Lining Inflight Catering Owner, Jet Runway Café and Yot Bar & Kitchen Backstory: The Florida State graduate was working at Bennigan’s in Tallahassee when the unthinkable happened on Christmas Day 2000. An infection that spread to his heart—with nary a symptom—created an embolism and life-threatening inflammation of his heart’s inner lining

Cindy Friezo Founder, Cindy & Robert Friezo Foundation Chief People Officer, Verity Partners Backstory: The native of the Dominican Republic moved with her family in 1992 to a challenged neighborhood on the outskirts of Boston. She soon found her benevolent voice as part of a youth council comprised primarily of high school students that advocated

It was raining hard the day that a future Los Angeles Lakers legend named Kobe Bryant arrived at ESPN studios in 1996 for his first sit-down with the sports network’s renowned interviewer, Roy Firestone. Suddenly, lightning hit the building and blew out the studio lights. Firestone explained that the repairs would take a few hours,

By gridiron standards in western Palm Beach County, theirs was a forbidden love. The star quarterback at Pahokee High School dating a member of the marching band at neighboring rival, Glades Central? In another era, it might have lit up social media along the shores of Lake Okeechobee. Then again, there’s something about the coal-black

Being in the hospitality industry has always been a passion for Joe Durkin, so when it comes to helping clients develop their own vodka brand or craft a distinctive rum flavor for a new liquor company, the entire process explains why he thrives in an industry that can produce sudden windfalls and hardships. Having spent

When he’s not busy re-imagining residential spaces in a more traditional sense for clients enthralled by his eye for contemporary simplicity and classical splendor, interior designer Victor A. Diaz, owner of Curated.Art in North Miami, loves transforming homes for the holidays. One of those transformations, a detail-rich project for a client in Coral Gables, has become an annual

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: A stand-up comic and a TV reporter climb into an SUV. He takes the wheel. She’s ready for a glass of Chardonnay. They’re bored silly from sheltering in through the COVID-19 pandemic and finally are cruising the surroundings near their new home in Boca Raton. Dave Siegel and

It’s been more than 26 years since Lisa Scott-Founds (pictured, below) stepped into her first board meeting as president and CEO of Winterfest. Though the boat parade and its surrounding festivities had become a staple of the holiday season in and around Broward County, the event didn’t seem to be making the kinds of waves

The Picassos are back, and so are the Warhols. This year, there’s even art by Bob Dylan coming to Miami. Art Basel Miami Beach (Dec. 2-4; with VIP days Nov. 30 and Dec. 1) makes its much-anticipated return after the cancellation of last year’s event due to COVID-19. Also, back in full swing is Miami

In the second part of Lifestyle’s November feature on Michael Schwartz, the renowned chef looks back on the beginnings of Michael’s Genuine, which launched in 2007. It came at a time, as he explains, when Schwartz was in restaurant limbo. The move to Miami: “I had landed back in New York after spending six months

Michael Schwartz had been working in restaurants since his high school years in Philadelphia, slowly building an impressive kitchen résumé that included time in California, New York and Tokyo—as well as a game-changing turn with Wolfgang Puck. But now it was the mid-2000s, and all of that momentum had come to a screeching halt. His