John W. Kozyak
Foundation Founder and Managing Director
Founding Partner of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, LLP
John W. Kozyak is a founding partner of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton and co-chairs the firm’s bankruptcy practice. John regularly plays a major role in bankruptcy courts across the nation, representing business owners, lenders, creditors’ committees, and major creditors, and he has been appointed a trustee and receiver in major cases. John grew up in southern Illinois outside of St. Louis and moved to Miami in 1977. His wife, Barbara Silverman, is also a lawyer and Director of the foundation. In 2015, John received the Tobias Simon Award from the Florida Bar in recognition of his diversity and mentoring work with the Foundation.
Detra Shaw-Wilder
Foundation Managing Director
Partner, Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, LLP
Detra Shaw-Wilder is a litigation partner at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton. She concentrates her practice in business law, complex commercial litigation, and borrowers in matters related to commercial financing transactions. Ms. Shaw-Wilder represents a diverse range of clients in matters brought in state and federal courts, including contract disputes, commercial foreclosures, and employment law disputes.
Cesar L. Alvarez
Director
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Greenberg Traurig
Cesar has been recognized nationally and in his community for his professional, business and charitable leadership. As the only Hispanic head of an American Lawyer 100 Top 20 firm, Cesar uniquely understands both the critical need to diversify the legal profession and the challenges that businesses face in attempting to foster a new generation of minority leaders. Cesar’s personal, hands-on approach to overcoming diversity hurdles within the profession has produced results. Cesar’s efforts to promote a more racially and ethnically diverse legal community have been recognized by several groups, including the American Bar Association, The National Law Journal and The Florida Bar.
Cesar believes that education provided him with the tools he has used to succeed in the business world. In order to help others achieve their American dream through education, Cesar has accepted leadership positions with numerous educational institutions. His current and recent positions include: Trustee, Florida International University; Trustee, University of Florida Levin College of Law; Chair, Florida International University College of Law, Advisory Board; Director, Take Stock in Children; Trustee, Miami-Dade College, 2005-2007; Board of Directors, Florida International University Foundation, 1998-2008; and Trustee, Manhattanville College, New York, 2002-2007.
Erica Bartimmo
Director
Member of Jabil’s Global litigation team
Erica is a creative problem solver, legal strategist, and committed advocate. She provides high quality legal advice and litigation support to a leading provider of worldwide manufacturing services and solutions currently ranked No. 140 on the Fortune 500® with 200,000+ employees in 29 countries. She handles a wide variety of commercial cases internationally and in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Her litigation practice includes class actions, products liability, contract disputes, administrative proceedings, bankruptcy and other complex litigation. Ms. Bartimmo also serves as an adjunct professor at Florida State University School of law, teaching two legal courses.
Previously, Ms. Bartimmo was a member of Holland & Knight’s Litigation Section, where she practiced complex business litigation. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Bartimmo served as a federal law clerk to the Honorable Mary S. Scriven, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida. In this position, Ms. Bartimmo managed a high-volume of civil and criminal cases from filing to judgment, drafted dispositive orders, and assisted the judge with numerous trials and hearings.
In the community, Ms. Bartimmo teaches law students discovery at Florida State University School of Law and serves as a board member of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and previously served as a board member of the South Tampa Y.M.C.A. In 2017, she was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Florida Super Lawyers Magazine and “Up & Comer” by Florida Trend Magazine. Ms. Bartimmo received her Bachelor of Arts from University of Miami with honors and her Juris Doctor from University of Miami School of Law with honors.
Erica has been involved in the KMMF mentoring program since law school.
Marcy Cox
Director
Assistant Dean of Career Development, University of Miami School of Law
Marcy Cox is the Assistant Dean of Career Development at the University of Miami School of Law and has been a member of the law school community for 14 years. Prior to joining UM, Marcy practiced law in both Los Angeles and Miami. She is active in the legal career professionals’ network and has held numerous leadership positions within the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). Marcy is a former President of NALP and will serve in this capacity until April, 2012. As a longtime member of NALP, she has served as Treasurer; Chair of the Audit, Investment and Nominating Committees; Chair of the Diversity Section; Vice Chair of the Conference Planning Team; member of the Commission on Legal Recruiting in the Profession; and Liaison to the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession.
Marlon Hill
Director
Of Counsel, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, P.L.
Marlon A. Hill is of counsel with the law firm of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman practicing in the areas of general corporate, intellectual property, government, and immigration transactions representing the interests of entrepreneurs, corporations, and non-profit organizations. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Marlon is a graduate of the Florida State University Colleges of Business & Law. Marlon is an Inaugural Fellow of the Miami Foundation’s Miami Fellows Initiative leadership program and has served as a past president of the Caribbean Bar Association (2001-2003). He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for the Miami Parking Authority and a past board member of The Miami Foundation, he is an active member of the Orange Bowl Committee. Marlon is currently the advisor/mentor to the Florida Caribbean Students Association. Marlon is a weekly civic commentator, “The Peoples Politics”, on Caribbean Riddims, WNMA 1210AM, every Saturday at 4pm covering issues of civic interest, legal concern, and social or cultural impact, a guest opinion pages columnist with The Miami Herald, and a Roundtable Contributor on WPLG Local 10 news program, “This Week in South Florida.”
Bernice C. Lee
Director
Past President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida
Partner, Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, LLP
Bernice Lee focuses her practice on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and commercial matters. She works closely with clients to assess their options and manage expectations when considering insolvency as debtors, or pursuing their rights as creditors, equity holders or other parties in interest. She has successfully addressed numerous complex issues involving financially distressed companies and individuals, including chapter 11 reorganizations, claim allowance, debtor-in-possession financing, bankruptcy sales, appeals, and fraudulent and preference transfers. Bernice is a Past President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida, and a committee member of the Coalition of Florida Asian and Pacific Islander American Affiliates. She is also a member of the 2019 Class of the National Pacific American Bar Association Leadership Advancement Program, 2016 NextGeneration Class of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, and Class IV of the Florida Bar, Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Leadership Academy.
Nikki Lewis Simon
Director
Shareholder and Chief Diversity Officer, Greenberg Traurig
As part of her current role with Greenberg Traurig, Nikki works to strategically align the firm’s diversity and inclusion initiatives with client needs as part of an integral component of the firm’s global business development efforts. At the same time, she works to expand the firm’s diversity initiatives and programming in collaboration with cross-firm stakeholders. Simon, who practiced litigation at the firm for more than a decade, is involved in various diversity and women-focused initiatives at the firm and in the community, including serving as a member of the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association board.
James Calvin Moon
Director
Former President of the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida
Partner at Meland Russin & Budwick, P.A
James (“Jim”) Moon focuses his practice on commercial litigation, creditors’ rights, workouts, commercial loan transactions and corporate bankruptcy representations. James handles a broad variety of international, complex civil litigation and commercial disputes, representing trustees, receivers, official committees and individual creditors and corporate debtors in complex Chapter 11 proceedings, adversary proceedings in bankruptcy courts and out-of-court restructurings.
James is Vice Chair of a A WIDER BRIDGE, an organization dedicated to the advancement of equality for the LGBTQ community within Israel and equality for Israel on the world stage. James is also a board member of SAVE, an organization dedicated to protecting members of the LGBTQ community from discrimination. James has also served on the board of the Outshine Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and chaired the Inclusion Mentoring and Fellowship Committee of the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar, which is tasked with diversity outreach to and for the Florida legal community.
Prior to his legal career, James served for approximately 10 years in the United States Navy aboard both ballistic missile and fast attack submarines as a communications and cryptographic specialist and is a Gulf War veteran.
Adam Rabin
Director
Founding partner of McCabe Rabin, PA
Adam Rabin is Florida Bar Board Certified in Business Litigation and focuses his practice on business litigation, securities arbitration, and whistleblower actions. He practices with McCabe Rabin, P.A. in West Palm Beach. Mr. Rabin is the Immediate Past President of the Palm Beach County Bar Association (“PBCBA”) and co-founded and co-chaired PBCBA’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion (“CDI”) when it was reformed in 2009. Since then, Mr. Rabin has collaborated with a great team to make PBCBA’s programs for diversity and inclusion some of the most innovative and progressive in Florida.
Barbara A. Silverman
Director
Former Shareholder, Colson Hicks Eidson
Barbara Silverman is a retired attorney who handled appeals in both state and federal court, as well as providing assistance to trial counsel with numerous complex legal issues arising during the course of pretrial, trial and post-trial proceedings. Those matters involve a wide range of areas of practice, including personal injury and wrongful death, products liability, commercial litigation, medical, legal and accounting malpractice, fraud, insurance, employment discrimination and admiralty.
H.T. Smith
Director
Trial Advocacy Program Director, FIU College of Law
H.T.’s passion for a cause and effective advocacy skills were evidenced early on when he persuaded the University of Miami School of Law to admit him before even taking the Law School Admission Test. His argument: that it was unfair to punish him for not being able to take a test that was not administered in the jungles of Vietnam, while he fought for his country.
His legal career blazed new trails from the start — as Miami-Dade County’s first African American assistant public defender, and then as the County’s first African American assistant county attorney.
H.T. has practiced law in the private sector as a trial lawyer, specializing in criminal defense, civil rights and personal injury. In 2017, the Dade County Bar Association voted him the Top Trial Lawyer of the year. He has been inducted into the “Legal Legends” of Miami-Dade County and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. The National Law Journal recognized him as one of America’s top 10 trial lawyers of the year.
In 2003, H.T. was tapped to become the inaugural Director of FIU College of Law’s Trial Advocacy Program, and FIU has honored him with the prestigious “Top Scholar Award”.
H.T. currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami and has served as its Vice Chairman.
Khurrum Wahid
Director
Partner, Wahid Vizcaino LLP
Khurrum Wahid has litigated hundreds of state and federal criminal and civil matters in numerous jurisdictions. He has focused his practice on defending those accused of white collar crimes including national security related matters. Khurrum is currently actively licensed in Florida and New York State as well as four federal District Courts and two federal appellate courts and holds a top secret (TS) security clearance. Khurrum is also a partner at Barreiro, Geller and Wahid, which provides lobbying and strategic advice to clients while incorporating social media and graphic design solutions. Khurrum is also founder and CEO of Inov8r LLC, working to increase public-private partnerships in the area of innovation research with a focus on aligning university graduate programs with government needs.
Khurrum has been a leader in educating the public about the details of the domestic and foreign policy that infringes on the rights of the individual. He has commented on policies that have damaged America’s ability to combat terrorism under the guise of national security. Khurrum has testified on civil rights issues several times before various government organizations, including twice before the United States Commission on Civil Rights. He frequently is invited to speak at conferences, community meetings, and professional forums. He has appeared as a guest commentator on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, National Public Radio, and various other television and radio shows across the nation.
Khurrum is a founding member and current national Co-Chair of EMERGE USA, a national non-profit civic engagement organization with chapters in five states. He also serves as Past President of the Florida Muslim Bar Association; sits on the board of the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews, MCCJ; is a board member and past Vice Chair of the Florida Bar Committee on Diversity and Inclusion; sits on the Supreme Court Standing Committee on Fairness and Diversity; and is a member of the ADL Civil Rights Committee for Miami.