South Floridians Honored For Community Impact

Six individuals and one couple were honored by the Memorial and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundations at the 22nd Circle of Friends luncheon at the Signature Grand in Davie.

Kathleen Cannon, Timothy Curtin, Morris Engelberg, Pilar Gutierrez, Luis Raez, and Ari & Candice Sareli were named “Spirit of Healing” award winners for professional excellence, community service, and a commitment to Memorial Healthcare System. The contributions of Frank DiMino were recognized with the “Wasie Philanthropic Leadership” award for fundraising generosity and guidance.

“Our award winners are difference makers in the community,” said Memorial Healthcare System Senior Vice President Kevin Janser, president of the Memorial and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundations. “They have consistently dedicated their efforts to making South Florida a better place.”

Kathleen Cannon is the president and CEO of United Way of Broward County. Over the course of her career, she has assisted people with chronic mental illness, substance abusers, people living with HIV/AIDS, children with disabilities, the homeless, and many other vulnerable populations. Her enduring goal: to help nonprofits, community leaders, volunteers, and the private sector collaborate effectively to provide lifelines to those most in need.

Timothy Curtin is executive director of Community Services for Memorial Healthcare System, where he directs a staff of 200 and designs and implements nearly 40 programs that have helped more than 300,000 residents of Broward County. The programs – which have won more than 20 major awards from organizations like the American Hospital Association and the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association – address the important issues of maternal and child health, substance abuse, juvenile diversion, crime prevention, and kinship and foster care. Community Services also offers after-school initiatives, summer camps and senior programming throughout Broward County.

Morris Engelberg has represented Joe DiMaggio and his estate for 39 years, currently serving as the trustee for all DiMaggio holdings. A native of New York, he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brooklyn College and his juris doctorate from Brooklyn Law School. He co-founded the law firm Engelberg & Milgrim, P.A., in 1976, and served on the board of directors and board of trustees of the Bessemer Trust Company from 1978 to 1991. He also served as trust counsel for Palm Beach National Bank for more than 10 years. A father of two and grandfather of six, Mr. Engelberg was instrumental in convincing Mr. DiMaggio to lend his name to the children’s hospital that would ultimately become part of the Yankee Clipper’s enduring legacy.

Pilar Gutierrez, MD, earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology and her medical degree from the University of Miami, with a year at the Institut Catholique de Paris in between. She completed fellowships in Pediatric Infectious Disease at Children’s National Medical Center and University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. Since 1997, she has cared for thousands of young patients with infectious disease ranging from HIV to COVID at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital – where she embodies Memorial Healthcare System’s nationally recognized commitment to compassionate, empathetic care.

When Luis Raez, MD joined Memorial Healthcare System in 2011, his goal was clear: transform Memorial Cancer Institute (MCI) from a community center to a major academic cancer center. Today, MCI is not only one of the largest cancer centers in Florida, but also one of just five in the state that has earned recognition as a “Florida Cancer Center of Excellence” from the Florida Department of Health. Dr. Raez designs clinical trials and, with funding from the National Cancer Institute and pharmaceutical companies, conducts cutting-edge research with new lung cancer agents. He also savors his role as an educator. In addition to teaching oncology fellows in Memorial’s Graduate Medical Education program, he is clinical professor of medicine at Florida International University, research professor for Florida Atlantic University, and visiting professor at Cayetano Heredia University in Peru.

Aharon and Candice Sareli both joined Memorial Healthcare System more than 10 years ago. Aharon as an intensivist and Candice working under a contract to lead a Department of Defense grant that the system had been awarded. Aharon was then appointed Memorial’s chief of Adult Critical Care Services and ultimately promoted to chief physician executive of Memorial Physician Group, leading the healthcare system’s network of more than 350 employed doctors. After the contract work was completed, Dr. Stanley Marks hired Candice to start the Office of Human Research in 2011, and she has served as the chief medical research officer since then. During that time, she has grown the division to include more than 40 research employees conducting in excess of 150 open clinical trials in more than 30 subspecialties each year. She was promoted to vice president in 2020.

Frank DiMino has, through the DiMino Family Foundation, made gifts that rank among the largest Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation have ever received. Thanks to that generosity, children now receive emergency care at the Frank DiMino Emergency Department and obtain specialized medical services at the Frank DiMino Campus of the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Specialty Center in Wellington.

Memorial Foundation and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation raise funds philanthropically to assist patients, families, and to underwrite the cost of programs, facilities, and equipment within the Memorial Healthcare System. To learn more or make a donation, please call 954-265-3454.