Officers
President:
| Susana Fernandez Director of Human Resources Loews Miami Beach Hotel 1601 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 604-5424 Fax: (305) 604-5423 |
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Susana Fernandez is the Director of Human Resources Services for Loews
Miami Beach Hotel. She is responsible for overseeing the recruitment
(national & international), benefits, employee relations, compensation
and education & development in the management of the 1000+ Team Members
at Miami Beach property. Susana has been with Loews since 1998.
Susana began her career in Hospitality in Food & Beverage. Having worked
for Hilton Hotels, Four Seasons, and China Grille Management in various
food & beverage management positions she brings a strong operations
background to her HR Role.
Susana studied at Florida International University School of Hospitality
Management. She is also fluent in both English and Spanish. She is an
accomplished leader, with over 16 years of experience in hotel
management.
In addition to her role at Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Susana is the
President of the South Florida Hospitality Human Resources Association
and is an Advisory Board Member for the Visitor Industry Council and the
Academy of Hospitality & Tourism. Community Service is very important to
Susana and she has been an active volunteer in many organizations
including Leadership Miami, Junior League and Hands on Miami. Susana is
part of a close knit family and she spends most of her free time with
friends and family.
Vice-President:
Barbara A. Ibarra
(305) 400-7205
Barbara “Bobbie” Ibarra is Vice President of Jungle
Island, Miami’s newest, major entertainment and tourist venue featuring
a tropical theme park home to many exotic plants and wildlife as well as
a 1000 plus banquet facility catering many of Miami Dade County’s social
and corporate events. Bobbie served as General Manager when the world
famous bird sanctuary, wildlife habitat and botanical garden relocated
from its original1936 home to downtown Miami. The new Jungle Island is a
$50 million public-private partnership with Miami-Dade County and the
City of Miami. Bobbie also is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology /
Student Life Skills and Human Resources courses at Miami Dade College.
Bobbie also served as the Executive Director of the Independent Living
Initiative, an auxiliary program under Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe,
Inc. This initiative led a community-wide collaborative effort to
develop and implement a best practice system of care design for
transitioning foster youth. Prior to taking on this effort, Bobbie
served as founding President of Our Kids, the community based care lead
agency responsible for the management and oversight of 5,000 dependent
care children and their families living in two South Florida
communities.
Bobbie also served as Vice President for Human Resources for Mayor’s
Jewelers and Senior Vice President for Citibank. Before transitioning to
the private sector, Bobbie spent over fifteen years in government
working with Miami Dade County ( she served as Director of Personnel),
the Urban Mass Transportation Administration in Washington, DC and
Atlanta, Georgia and with the City of Philadelphia.
Bobbie has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare and a Masters degree in
Counseling Psychology/Education from Temple University. Some of Bobbie’s
community involvements have included her serving six years on the
Miami-Dade Community College Board of Trustees being first appointed by
Governor Chiles in 1994. She has been an active member of the Greater
Miami Chamber of Commerce where she has chaired several committees
during her twenty year tenure. .She is a 2005 graduate of Leadership
Florida and has also served as Secretary to the Board of Directors of
the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center and the Board of Trustees of the
Palmer Trinity School. Always staying in touch with her cultural
community she recently served on the Board of Directors of PROFESA-
Puerto Rican Professional Association. She is also member of the Coral
Gables Congregational Church where she has served as Chair of the
Personnel Committee.
Bobbie has received numerous community awards, including the Coalition
of Hispanic American Women (CHAW) Woman of the Year Award in 1992 and
the Woman of Impact Award in 1994. She was featured (Sept. 21, 2002) in
the Miami Herald profile article “Faithful Among Us” and in the March
2003 issue of the Hispanic magazine Vanidades. She has also been
featured in December 1999 by the Miami Today as one of Miami’s Achievers
and listed in the May 1988 article on “One Hundred Women to Watch” in
the Miami Metro Magazine.
Bobbie has been a resident of Miami-Dade County since January 1983. She
is married to Charles Scurr and they have an 23-year-old son named
Daniel who in May, 2008 graduated from Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, TN. He is now studying at Vanderbilt’s Peabody School of
Education to earn a Masters degree.
Membership Coordinator:
Frank Kasunic
(305) 679-3203
Treasurer:
Viviana Santisteban
(305) 913-8357
Viviana Acevedo- Santisteban, Director of Human
Resources
Ms. Viviana Santisteban is the Regional Director of Human Resources for
Mandarin Oriental Hotels– Southern Region
Ms. Santisteban is responsible for all aspects of staff recruitment and
retention, benefits and compensation, learning and development, and
employee relations for Mandarin Oriental, Miami as well as is
responsible for overseeing the HR and learning and development functions
for Mandarin Oriental, Riviera Maya.
Prior to joining Mandarin Oriental, Miami, Ms. Santisteban had worked at
the Sonesta Beach Resort on Key Biscayne as Director of Human Resources.
Her 25 years of experience in human resources has been primarily in the
hospitality industry at such upscale properties as the Biltmore Hotel in
Coral Gables, the Grand Bay in Coconut Gove and Omni Hotels in Miami.
Ms. Santisteban graduated from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. She
is a member of SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) and sits on
the Board of Directors of the South Florida Hospitality Human Resources
Association where she has served as President and Treasurer for the last
10 years.
Ms. Santisteban was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and has
lived in South Florida for the last 25 years.
Secretary:
Freyda Hyman
(305) 932-9034
Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Freyda is a graduate of Brooklyn College where she met her husband of 40 years. She moved to South Florida shortly after getting married. Freyda has been the Secretary for the South Florida Hospitality Human Resources Association since 1989. When the Hospitality Human Resources Association of Broward County was being formed, she acted as a consultant and advisor to get the organization started on the right foot. She is now their Treasurer. Freyda is also very active in the International Association of Workforce Professionals, having served locally, as State President, as District Rep. for Florida and Georgia, and on the International Executive Board. She has been the Florida Chapter Executive Director for the last 4 years. Freyda worked for the State of Florida for 35 years. Many of those years were spent recruiting staff for new hotel properties as they opened, and as liaison with the hospitality industry. Her last assignment was the Supervisor of the Business Services Hub of WorkForce One in Ft. Lauderdale. She is now retired and volunteering at The Humane Society of Greater Miami and at Hispanic Unity of Florida. She thinks of herself as a "Professional Volunteer."