Speakers

MINX BOREN, MCC.

For 35 years, Minx Boren MCC, (Master Certified Coach), has been exploring the ways positive thoughts and actions can lead to a more joyful and fulfilling life. Boren is founder of Coach Minx Inc. and co-founder/partner of Authentic Woman Enterprises LLC, which was designed to develop and facilitate groundbreaking programs for health and balance, reflection and achievement. She is highly dedicated to inspiring women to live outrageously, dynamic and passionate lives. She is trained in cutting edge technologies such as Appreciative Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence, Too Young to Retire, the Transformation Game and the Art of Convening. She is also trained in Authentic Happiness and can be found at Florida Atlantic University teaching as an adjunct professor at FAU Lifelong Learning Society.

Coach Minx Boren truly understands how important it is to live life to the fullest. She firmly believes that things will never come to us, unless we are quiet enough to hear them. Her conference seminar entitled, “From Time Management to Time Magic,” exposes the issue of an overworked and overstressed society, and steps toward a solution.

MELANIE DICKINSON

South Florida native Melanie Dickinson returned to the area as the publisher of the South Florida Business Journal in 2008. Her previous endeavors included positions at Philadelphia Business Journal, Birmingham Business Journal and Birmingham Business Journal in November of 2003.

Dickinson is active in numerous South Florida organizations including the board of directors for the Broward Alliance, Cystic Fibrosis, Junior Achievement and the Boca Chamber. She is also a chairman’s circle member of the Miami Chamber, a corporate council member of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, a member of the Broward Workshop, a heart circle member and is on the American Heart Association’s Heart Ball committee. She will be moderator of the conference’s business panel discussion, “2010: The New Business Paradigm for Women Leaders”. She will lead a panel of distinguished business leaders to enlighten all at the Vive Magazine Women’s Conference.

TORI GABRIEL

Tori Gabriel serves as the Director of Education and Prevention at the Florida Heart Research Institute. The institute is a non-profit organization, driven to stopping heart disease through research, education, and prevention. Tori received her MBA in Healthcare Administration from the University of Miami, since then she has worked in healthcare for over 20 years. Due to her position as Director of Education and Prevention, Gabriel lead a project to receive Florida legislative approval for the Stop Heart Disease license plate. With many community projects under her belt, she presently is the chair for the Worksite Wellness subcommittee of the Consortium for the Healthier Miami-Dade, co-chair of the Health Promotion/Disease Prevention subcommittee and she also sits on the Executive Board.

For her efforts to promote healthy lifestyles, Gabriel has been awarded the “Paths of Public Health Award” for health promotion/Disease Prevention in 2009 by Florida International University. As well as her community projects, Gabriel founded Florida Heart’s cardiovascular risk factor screening program, an offsite establishment that provides its services for free to the underserved. The program has reached 7,000 Florida residents per year, resulting in the “Best Non-Profit Program” granted by the South Florida Business Journal. She will be a part of Dr. Agatston’s panel.

EDWIGE GILBERT

Edwige Gilbert is a Wellness Coach, founder of New Life Directions® and author of The Fresh Start Promise: 28 days to total mind, body, and spirit transformation. A native of Cannes, France, she now lives in West Palm Beach and has brought her understanding of mind, body and spirit to a whole new group of people. Gilbert stresses the importance of comprehensive joy or joie de vivre. Having appeared in notable media outlets like Lifetime TV, national radio and magazines including Allure and American Health, Gilbert’s knowledge on stressors is unsurpassed and her expertise is highly regarded. Having taught at prominent health clubs, corporations, hospitals, substance abuse centers and industry events, her private clients have included business and media leaders, like Citigroup and MTV, as well as mothers-to-be and adolescents.

Edwige Gilbert’s methods have a transformational effect, generating unprecedented breakthroughs for her clients. Her session at the Vive Magazine Women’s Conference, “The Secret to Keeping Your Resolutions in 2010” will teach useful techniques to free people of unwanted stressors which in turn, will keep them confident and powerful enough to fulfill their resolutions.

NANCE GUILMARTIN

Nance Guilmartin is a regional Emmy Award winning journalist, executive advisor, educator, and an organizational consultant with a background in media, politics and the corporate world. Nance worked as the press secretary for the late U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas, who occupied a Senate seat in Massachusetts, before entering television. Her listening skills earned her several awards for being a syndicated producer and news writer at CBS Newsradio in Boston. She has launched several national initiatives including the Designated Driver Program, For Kid’s Sake and Time to Care. She is also a Fellow of Florida International University’s Center for Leadership, along with being an adjunct faculty member for the College of Business and Administration. As a leadership educator, she also gives profound insight in the shape of counsel, workshops, and one-on-one executive mentoring. Guilmartin is a trustee for the American Association for Cancer Research, and has served on various boards for City Year, a youth service organization and PE4Life, a national organization centered on children’s fitness. Guilmartin has written extensively and is the author of the soon to be released “The Power of Pause” as well as “Healing Conversations: What To Say When You Don’t Know What To Say”.  Her breakout session at the conference featuring her debut book, “The Power of Pause…in Action: How to lead in a high-speed high-stress world of change, uncertainty and opportunity” will be discussed and presented at length.

DR. GLORIA HAKKARAINEN, MD.

In the medical world, Dr. Gloria Hakkarainen is a “triple threat.” Board certified in three fields, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Bariatrics, she provides a wealth of knowledge to her clients. Graduating with honors from Wellesley college with a degree in biochemistry and psychobiology, Hakkarainen worked as a research biochemist at Harvard Medical School and went on to receive her M.D. degree from Albany Medical College. Hakkarainen has an active and successful Obstetrics and Gynecology practice in West Palm Beach.

Her interest in the field of Bariatrics led her to pass the board examinations of the American Board of Bariatric Medicine in 2004 and ultimately, open her second practice, Palm Beach Weight & Wellness. Palm Beach Weight and Wellness provides a completely new way of helping women get fit, healthy and reduce the use of many prescription medications. She expanded her knowledge base in 2006, when she became board-certified in Anti-Aging Medicine. Hormones are the ever-present interest of her work and the concentration of her breakout session at the conference, which will educate women on the importance of maintaining good hormonal health. She strongly believes that balancing one’s hormones leads to improved health and helps the entire body function better. Hakkarainen’s expertise is widely coveted and she has appeared in many media outlets. She contributes to Vive Magazine with her “Medicine & Miracles” and has appeared on Lifetime Television and ABC News.

DEBRA B. LUFTMAN, MD

Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Debra Luftman has always felt that there is an important link between overall health, skin health and emotional well being. Her mission is offering cutting-edge medical care while retaining the art of medicine. Dr. Luftman began developing her interest in science and aesthetics while an undergraduate at the University of California San Diego, where she majored in biology and minored in art history. She attended and graduated medical school at Tufts University and completed her residency in internal medicine and dermatology at UCLA. She has been board certified in Dermatology since 1996. Dr. Luftman’s professional memberships include the American Board of Dermatology, American Academy of Dermatology, American Board of Medical Specialties and the Skin Cancer Foundation.

As co-authored with Eva Ritvo MD of “The Beauty Prescription: The Complete Formula for Looking and Feeling Beautiful” she presents a ground breaking concept that redefines beauty. Her breakout session at the conference with Dr. Ritvo based, “The Beauty-Brain Loop” is a revealing, candid look at the science and spirit of beauty. According to Drs. Ritvo and Luftman, true beauty is comprised of four interdependent “stages”—Inner Beauty, Health, Outer Beauty and Environment—each of which activates, affects and reinforces all the others in our unique beauty brain loop. Drs. Ritvo and Luftman have redefined beauty beyond the surface and give women of all ages a prescription for mastering the Beauty-Brain Loop. Their lecture will reveal that every woman can be beautiful by activating their beauty brain loop in a positive.

RUBE J. PARDO MD, PhD

Dr. Pardo is the medical director of Coral Gables Dermatology and Laser Center. He earned a PhD and MD from the University of Florida, receiving a doctorate in anatomy and cell biology. He completed his dermatology post-graduate training at the University of Miami with honors, where he also teaches and holds the title of Clinical Professor of Dermatology. He is involved in teaching and research in the use of dermatologic lasers and has authored numerous publications. His primary clinical interests are in the field of skin laser surgery, skin rejuvenation with lasers and IPL devices and correction of acne scars. Dr. Pardo offers cosmetic treatment of environmentally damaged skin with lasers, peels, Botox® and FDA aproved wrinkle fillers. Dr. Pardo is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery and the American Society of Lasers in Medicine and Surgery. He has over 20 years of dermatology expertise, as well as being involved in resident education while maintaining a private practice in Coral Gables. His timely discussion on “Cutting Edge Rejuvenation Techniques” will inform and educate the women at the Vive Magazine Women’s Conference on the safest and easiest ways to look their best.

EVA CAROLINA RITVO, MD

Dr. Ritvo is a board-certified psychiatrist and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. She also has a secondary appointment in the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the American College of Psychiatry. Dr. Ritvo has lectured extensively in the US and internationally to dermatologists, plastic and cosmetic surgeons as well as psychiatrists on the “Science and Meaning of Beauty.” She has written book chapters and articles on topics that include body dysmorphic disorder, and managing patient expectations. She makes frequent public speaking and TV appearances on local news channels and has appeared on the TODAY show and a special segment on EXTRA called “Beauty and the Brain.”  She had a long running TV segment called “Real Relationship.” She is often quoted in the Miami Herald, and has also been quoted in the New York Times, New York Times magazine, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, WebMD, SELF magazine, and others.

Her book co-authored with Debra Luftman MD, “The Beauty Prescription: The Complete Formula for Looking and Feeling Beautiful” presents their ground breaking concept that redefines beauty. Their breakout session at the conference, “The Beauty Brain Loop” is a revealing, candid look at the science and spirit of beauty.

DR. LILLIAN RIVERA

As the Administrator of the Miami-Dade County Health Department, Dr. Lillian Rivera is responsible for the management and oversight of public health programs throughout the entire county. Over 800 employees are placed under her supervision, along with managing a $70 million budget. Previously, Dr. Rivera was appointed by the State Surgeon General as the Deputy State Health Officer in the Florida Department of Health, located in Tallahassee. Among her responsibilities was the overseeing of 67 county health departments as well as backing the use of the performance excellence model within the Department of Health.                                         As the recipient of many accolades of praise, the most humbling to her is the University of South Florida College of Public Health naming her “Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health for 2008”. Dr. Rivera is also a member of various organizations such as American Nurses Association, Florida Association of Public Health Nurses, Florida Nurses Association, Florida Public Health Association, and the honorary member of the Alpha Omega Chapter of the Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society. Dr. Rivera earned her BSN and MSN degrees from the University of Puerto Rico, holding a PhD in Health Administration from Warren National University. She is also certified as a Health care Risk Manager and is a graduate of the Executive Institute for Community Health Nurses, along with being a fellow of the Nurse Executive Program/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Public Health Leadership Institute 2003.

DR. JACKIE YEE

With her specialization in aesthetic and cosmetic surgery of the face and body, Dr. Jackie Yee is skilled in performing facelifts, eyelid lifts, skin rejuvenation, resurfacing techniques, a range of breast surgeries and numerous body contouring and sculpting procedures. Located in South Miami, she is board certified in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. In a plastic surgery textbook, Dr. Yee authored a chapter called “Adjunctive Procedures to Improve the Results in Facial Aesthetic Surgery”, as well as publishing other articles in her expertise. Dr. Yee graduated Cum Laude from the University of California, Irvine and obtained her medical degree from the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine in Denver. She completed her residency in Integrated Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. While a resident, Dr. Yee completed her Cosmetic Surgery Fellowship. As a doctor, Dr. Yee prides herself as a women’s surgeon, making the concerns, needs and complaints of her patients a priority. She will speak with Dr. Pardo on “Cutting Edge Rejuvenation Techniques”.