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I moved to Boca Raton to attend Florida Atlantic University as a Faculty Scholar, Biology, then an MBA. I worked in healthcare from 1980 until my retirement in 2019. I spent my final 15 years at the University of Miami Medical School as an executive/ vice chairman of various clinical and educational missions. I spend seven years building and opening new facilities, such as the nation's top ranked eye hospital, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Palm Beach,Naples and Plantation, Florida, as well as Abu Dhabi.
The most gratifying aspect of the past 20 years has been working in disaster medicine capacities.
I led the University's response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, attached to the 101st Airborne and National Guard, providing eyecare to over 1000 victims of the storms. It was an unbelievable experience, spending 30 days in filth and chaos.
I was on the ground about 30 hours after the Great Haitian Earthquake and spent the next 2 months in Haiti and Miami as the Chief Administrative Officer, coordinating logistics, comm and ops for the University of Miami Hospital Haiti and Project Medishare. We continue to operate the only trauma, burn, ICU and neonatal ICU in Haiti. I serve on the board of project Medishare currently.
I also coordinated the university response to the Great eastern Japanese earthquake. We shipped a 40 foot mobile clinic on an Anatov 124, and were the first flight into Sendai after the tsunami. Until my retirement, I was co-director of humanitarian response for the medical school.
In 2014, I was awarded the Iron Arrow of the University of Miami and became a honorary member of the Miccosukee tribe of the Seminole Nation. In 2019, by warrant of her HM Queen Elizabeth II, I became a member of the Order of St. John, a royal order of chivalry founded in 1113, devoted to voluntary charity and giving aid to anyone in need, regardless of race or creed.
I returned to University of Miami in 2020 as part of the incident command team for COVID-19. I have since re-retired and am part of the command and general staff of Team Rubicon, an international volunteer disaster recovery organization.
