RE LOG - Spring 2017

58 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 1999 Oliver Bernstein writes, “Hi from Austin, Texas, where I am the Communications Director for the Center for Public Policy Priorities. CPPP is a non-profit, indepen- dent policy research organization working to build a Texas where everyone is healthy, well-educated and financially secure. My wife, Corrie, is a journalist. We have two energetic kids that keep us busy and inspired. Let me know if you’re ever in Austin.” Class Notes Ben Brodsky formed his own law firm Brodsky Fotiu-Wojtowicz, PLLC, in January 2017. The firm focuses on complex business litigation and catastrophic personal injury matters. Prior to forming the firm, Ben spent eight years with a litigation firm in Coconut Grove, where he was a partner, and clerked for the Honorable Joan A. Lenard in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Christina Chartouni de Calle and Connie Collarte de Bezsonoff organized a Young Alumni Networking event this past fall at building.co. They brought together alums involved in the Miami tech-world. (See page 44) Michelle Kanter Cohen writes that she is “a voting rights attorney in Washington, DC. For almost five years, I have worked for a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization called Project Vote (www.projectvote.org ), whose mission is to make sure that the electorate is representative of the diversity of our country. We fight to ensure that every eligible citizen can register, vote and cast a ballot than counts. My work focuses on advocacy and litigation around voter registration and other voting issues. For example, I worked on a case in Florida where our organization and others worked together to stop an illegal election-eve purge of the voter rolls in 2012, in order to make sure that all eligible voters had the ability to have their voice heard. I am passionate about this work because voting rights is foundational to our ability to make our society what we want it to be. Fernando Tamayo and his wife, Michelle, gave birth to Bianca Tamayo on September 16, 2016. 2000 Larry Bassuk and Justin C. Leto, Level Insurance co-founders, recently exhibited at the Florida Justice Association Masters of Justice event in Orlando, Fla., where they met with FJA members to discuss the benefits that Litigation Cost Protection can provide their practices. Scott Fuhrman and his wife, Lindsay, welcomed their second child into the world. Amelia “Mia” Halley Fuhrman was born on Nov. 24, 2016. Ericka Gragg was selected to participate in the Beaux Arts Festival of Art in Coral Gables in January. Ericka and her family reside in Glendale, CA. Ryan Holtzman “Over the past 3½ years Luke and Gabrielle have filled our lives with so much laughter and love; however, even on our best days, we always remember how lucky we are to wake up every morning to our precious Munchkins. At just 24 weeks, and both 1 lb. 6 ounces, we never forget how hard Luke and Gabrielle fought for their lives during their 121-day journey in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at South Miami Hospital. On September 25, 2016, I par- ticipated in my first sprint-triathlon to raise awareness and funds for ICU BABY (www. icubaby.org) , a non-profit organization that provides support and resources for families in the NICU at South Miami and Jackson Hospitals. We raised over $10,000. My wife Sofia spends the majority of her time volunteering at South Miami Hospital, visit- ing families that have babies in the NICU. See in the photo Sander Fort ’00 , who also participated in the triathlon. Lindsey Parker writes, “My husband and I just welcomed our son, Emerson Parker, into the world on May 10, 2016. As you may remember, we are very close friends with RE math teacher Karen Key and Pancho Cabrera ’17 and we thought the at- tached photo would be a fun submission for the alumni section of the RE Log. Luis R. de la Vega has helped grow his family’s 43-year-old Coral Gables-based translation company ProTranslating into a $20-million-per-year business with more than 300 full-time employees and 5,000 contractors worldwide providing services in more than 200 languages, the Miami Herald reported on Sept. 16. Read more at http://hrld.us/2faLoPb. After his graduation from RE, de la Vega earned his bachelor’s in finance and international business from Georgetown, and MBA from the University of Miami. In 2005, he joined the company his father founded in 1973, eventually becoming chief executive officer. His father, Luis A. de la Vega, who is fluent in nine languages, started his career as a simultaneous translator in the state court system. “This is a very complicated busi- ness,” Luis R. de la Vega told the Herald. “You’re dealing with grammar, syntax, flow, tone and voice, as well as different cultures and dialects.”