Board Officers
Larry Roth
Board Chair of City of Homestead Councilman, Keyes CompanyCouncilman Roth grew up in what was once called Perrine and is now known as Palmetto Bay. He first came to Homestead in 1990 when he worked as a store manager at Spec’s Music. Going through Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Councilman Roth saw Homestead’s community spirit and fell in love. Since then, he has been serving Homestead’s residents as a private citizen and now as a Councilman. In 1993 he reopened a local landmark restaurant, and in 1999 he started working as a local real estate agent with the Keyes Company where he still works today. Councilman Roth is also a co-founder of This Is For The Kids, Inc.—a fundraising charity which supports other children’s charities in the area. Larry has supported PATCHES in several capacities since 2008 and has been an integral part of PATCHES growth alongside Founder, Kyle Smith.
Pam Rodriguez
Board Secretary and Co-Owner of Driftwood Capital, Heartbeats for PATCHES Vice PresidentPamela S. Rodriguez is a co-owner of Driftwood Capital, a hotel-industry focused financial services group, where she worked in asset management, HR, and corporate treasury until her retirement in 2021. Pam has always enjoyed supporting Miami nonprofits, including the Baptist Health Foundation Giving Society, Jackson Memorial’s Golden Angels, The Everglades Foundation, and Women of Tomorrow. She is now fully dedicated to raising money for PATCHES PPEC as a Heartbeats for PATCHES board member, and is very excited about helping to turn the vision of a permanent campus for PATCHES into a reality.
Board Members
Maria Luisa Gonzalez, MHA
Corporate Director Government & Community Relations of Baptist HealthMaria Luisa Gonzalez has developed relationships with the community, city and municipal government representatives. She is involved with local Chambers and economic development organizations. She has served on over 10 nonprofit boards. Has worked with PATCHES and supports the mission. “I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve on over 10 non for profit boards. The reason why I have joined these boards, has been to help improve the organization, influence change, improve the quality of health and life of my community and because I believe in the mission of the organization. On every board where I have served, I have learned new career skills, diplomacy, how to navigate delicate situations, increase network of people and adapt to change.”
Seth Diamond
Attorney & Founder of Sloto & Diamond FirmSeth S. Diamond is an accomplished trusts, estates, and fiduciary litigator. Seth represents trustees, personal representatives, beneficiaries, and other interested persons in complex trust and adversary probate and guardianship proceedings. His cases often involve complicated multi-state and international components. Seth resides with his wife and three young sons in Pinecrest, Florida. He is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Bet Shira Congregation of Pinecrest, Florida, is the immediate past president and member of the Board of Directors of the Coral Gables-South Dade Estate Planning Council, and is a former Co-Chair of the Anti-Defamation League’s Miami-Dade County Glass Leadership Institute. An avid runner, Seth cherishes the relationships that have developed through his client representations, community activities, and morning running groups.
Beatrice Leupold
CEO of BEA Interior BrandingFounder of BEA Interior: Blurring the boundaries between sculpture and functional design, Bea Pernia is known for her ability to push the limits of materials in unique and thought-provoking ways while developing organic forms. Her purpose is to transmit a harmonious and positive environment. Interior Design and Consulting agency, who specializes in Sensory Interior Design for Residential and Commercial projects. “Beatrice Leupold is a designer with the mission to put human needs and desires at the center of all that she does.”
Jen Resnick
Founder and President of Heartbeats for PATCHESJennifer was born in South Africa and emigrated to the United States in 1978. She graduated from University of Cape Town with a Bachelors in Fine Arts and graduated from the University of Miami School of Communications with a MFA in screenwriting, in 1993.
In 2000 Jennifer wrote and produced the documentary “Liberation of the Spirit” a film about Magda Watts, a Hungarian child survivor of the Holocaust, which played annually on NPR from 2000-2005. Recently this beautiful film was shown by the Bavarian Memorial Foundation in Nuremberg, in an exhibition to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust who perished in the camps at Nuremberg and Flossenberg. In 2011 she wrote and edited and published Magda Watts’ memoir “Dafka a memoir”. In 2001 -2008 she taught courses of screenwriting, film analysis and editing at Gulliver Prep.
Jennifer has devoted many years fundraising and friendraising and successfully writing grants for the programs at PATCHES. In 2018 she became the founding member of Heartbeats for PATCHES, devoted to raising funds and friends to support the mission of PATCHES.
Eric Salzer
Founder of Silver Spoon HospitalityAs the Owner of Silver Spoon Consulting in Miami, FL, Eric has successfully designed, built, and overseen new and remodeled restaurants, hotels, and resorts, while increasing operational success in existing businesses through analysis, strategic planning, and execution. He has also been responsible for overseeing construction, staff training, and creating systems and procedures for restaurant operating groups. In his role as Director of Operations, he has had overall operational responsibility for businesses generating over $100 million in sales.
In addition to his work in the hospitality industry, Eric is also an active member of the community, serving as a Board Member of Patches PPEC and Board Member of Comic Kids. His involvement in these organizations demonstrates his commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of children and families in South Florida.
Throughout his career, Eric has held key positions in various companies, including Director of Operations, Vice President of Operations, and Director of Operations/Concept Leader. He has been directly involved in all food and beverage decisions, menu development, project management, and capital fundraising efforts for multiple locations.
Azona “Kyle” Smith, RN, BSN
Co-Founder and CEO of PATCHESAzona Kyle Smith has dedicated her life to nursing and caring for medically complex children in the community. Kyle started her nursing career over 40 years ago in her home town of Glens Falls NY. In 1992 her husband Jerry, Kyle and their children moved to Homestead right before Hurricane Andrew. After ‘camping’ for four months in the aftermath of the hurricane, Kyle returned to school at Miami Dade and then on to the University of Miami’s RN to BSN transitional nursing program. While at the University of Miami she took part in a community needs assessment in Homestead. That study identified gaps in access to health care in the Homestead/Florida City area. Kyle says “When you identify a problem you have to do something about it or you become part of the problem”. She approached 4 of her friends- who like Kyle believed they could positively impact the lives of the littlest, weakest and sickest children of South Dade. They took on the challenge and in 2000, PATCHES became a reality.
Kyle and her friends put on their tool belts and their hard hats and worked weekends for over a year, in between their regular full time jobs, to make PATCHES happen. In 2005 they opened PATCHES for medically complex children in Homestead. Soon after we outgrew its walls and in 2008 a larger center was opened in Florida City, as well as a second center in Fort Pierce, Florida.
PATCHES is a place where miracles happen everyday thanks to the vision and strength of Azona Kyle Smith, RN, BSN, CEO, Co-FOUNDER of PATCHES.
Ann Elizabeth Lyons
Treasurer for Heartbeats for PATCHESOriginally from England, in 1967 I moved to New York City where I lived for four years, eventually working for a boutique advertising agency producing television commercials. In 1971 I moved to Jamaica and volunteered with various organizations mainly supporting underprivileged children. Finally, I moved to Miami in 1977 and worked for six years with an immigration law firm, Walters & Costanzo, eventually working as personal assistant to Ambassador David Walters, former US Ambassador to the Vatican under President Carter.
Ambassador Walters, whose granddaughter had died of leukemia in 1970 at Variety Children’s Hospital, resigned his post to the Vatican and became chairman of the hospital and committed to building a new hospital in Miami so that children would not have to leave to get the best of care. He decided to change the name to Miami Children’s Hospital, and to protect a large seven figure gift to the Hospital, Ambassador Walters created the Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation. In 1983 I joined him and for the next 31 years I worked for the Foundation. Truly a labor of love, I worked with volunteer groups, hosted breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, Galas, Telethons, worked on three Capital Campaigns, established relationships with the doctors and staff of the hospital, cultivated corporate donors, and toured celebrities and prospective donors around the hospital.
I retired in 2014 intending to travel and spend time relaxing in my garden! Well, I still do that but a chance meeting with Jen Resnick led to a visit to PATCHES and I was hooked! It’s impossible to walk away and not feel a big tug to help make life easier for Kyle, the children and the incredible staff. It has been a pleasure to help Jen create Heartbeats and an amazing team of volunteers, knowing that we can make a difference and to showcase this unique center for the medically fragile children of the area.