Carlos A. Migoya has served as CEO of Jackson Health System since May 2011, overseeing one of the nation’s largest and most respected public healthcare networks. Jackson has the distinction of bringing world-class medical care – including the medical school faculty and students from the University of Miami and Florida International University – to a taxpayer-owned system that guarantees a single high standard of care for all residents of Miami-Dade County. The system is anchored by Jackson Memorial Hospital, one of the most respected hospitals in Florida. The system also includes three neighborhood community hospitals, Holtz Children’s Hospital/The Women’s Hospital at Jackson Memorial, Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital, the Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial, two nursing homes and a network of urgent care centers, physician practices, and clinics.

In his first year at Jackson, Mr. Migoya led a transformation that reversed years of massive losses, including an $82 million loss in the prior year, and produced a surplus of more than $8 million. It was the first time Jackson produced a surplus since 2006, and the system has earned an annual surplus every year since. At the same time, key indicators of healthcare quality and patient satisfaction improved, proving that public hospital systems need not choose between medical excellence and operational sustainability.

Mariandl Hufford is the first female head of school at Miami Country Day School, one of the top schools in the USA. Mariandl is the seventh head of the school, which is located in Northeast Miami-Dade near Miami Shores. The private, co-educational school has about 1,250 students from preschool to 12th grade. Previously, Hufford served as the assistant head of school and director of the Center for the Advancement of Girls at the Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. Hufford grew up in Suriname and Belgium before attending Bryn Mawr College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in classical studies. She holds three master’s degrees in teaching and curriculum, educational leadership and psychological services, from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively. She succeeded James Connor, the interim head of school during the previous school year. Dr. John Davies retired in 2018 after 32 years, including the last 18 years as head of school. Miami Country Day was founded in 1938.

Dr. Nownes is an internationally renowned scholar on American Politics. His research focuses upon interest group politics in the United States. His book, Total Lobbying: What Lobbyists Want (and How They Try to Get It) was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006. He is currently working on a number of projects, including one that examines the role of lobbyists in the government procurement process.