Much to my father’s dismay, I have never been a feminist.  Of course I believe that women should earn the same salary that men do for the same job, but I just never saw the point in burning a bra.  Especially one from Victoria’s Secret.  (OMG!  Those cost a fortune and are worth every penny, if you ask me!)  As a proud member in good standing of The Sisterhood, I totally love being a girl.

My ultra-feminist dad was adamant that men and women were equals.  He constantly exclaimed that a woman could do anything just as well as a man could, if not better.  While I agreed with him to some extent, the truth is I’m one of those women who really appreciate the fact that men and women are not the same.  Vive la différence!  As much as I like sports, for example, I prefer watching men play football than be out there on the field competing with them.  Oh, yeah!  I do like watching men play football!

But the playing field is most definitely leveled when it comes the boardroom.  As a reader recently brought to my attention, the City of North Miami Beach is chock full of positions that are filled by people of the Double X persuasion.  I thought that this was an interesting enough bit of trivia to devote a column to the Women of NMB.

The most powerful position in North Miami Beach is the City Manager.  As you all should know by now, that person is Ana Garcia (who happened to replace another female CM – Roslyn Weisblum).  She is a no-nonsense leader, who has seamlessly stepped into the job and commanded the respect of the employees, council and residents.  Ana has taken full ownership as the head of the city and is putting forth “a thousand percent” (as Phyllis would say) of her efforts to turn North Miami Beach into a progressive city of the future.  From what I’ve seen so far, she has what it takes to accomplish this mission.

Our City Attorney (a/k/a “my new BFF”) is none other than Darcee Siegel.  As many of you know, Darcee and I have had our share of disagreements in the past, but she had me at “I loved being called Lawyer Barbie.”  I was impressed that Darcee not only had brains, but possessed a killer sense of humor (and the rare ability to turn an insult into a compliment).  That she could also withstand my criticism without losing her cool, made me realize that Darcee was definitely someone worthy of my respect.  I’ve also come to really, really like her, too.  That in itself is an accomplishment, right?  I tip my hat to Darcee Siegel and I’m proud to include her in The Sisterhood.  OMG!  I almost forgot to mention that Darcee also gets bonus points for hiring the Unbelievably Amazing and Incredibly Talented Assistant Attorney Dotie Joseph, who deserves a spot on the NMB ladies’ roster.  Dotie was a great find, Darcee!

Two more “Ladies in Charge” are City Clerk Pamela Latimore and her totally awesome assistant, Adrian Thomas.  They run that department like nobody’s business.

Major Kathy Katerman is the once and current Interim Chief of the North Miami Beach Police Department.  She has already proven and continues to prove that she can rise to the occasion.  Do not mess with the Major!

The Director of Public Services is Shari Kamali, who is one of the most intelligent, principled and driven people I have ever met.  She puts her all into her job and I have no doubt that her department is in excellent hands.

I’ve known Paulette Murphy, the Leisure Services Director, for as long as I’ve lived in North Miami Beach.  Paulette not only runs the department, but also organizes and runs the NoMiBe summer camp programs.  I’ve also had the pleasure of working directly with Paulette in my former capacity as president of the North Miami Beach Little League, and she smoothed the way for us to operate season after season.  No one can do parks and rec like Paulette Murphy.

The other women in charge of North Miami Beach’s various departments are:

Rose Amberson, Human Resources Director
Janette Smith, Finance Director/Recipient of the NMB Veterans Day Medal of Honor
Gale Young, Customer Service Manager
Rasha Cameau, CRA Coordinator
Susan Sandness, Library Manager
Susan Ritter, Payroll
Esther Martinez, Risk Manager

Last but most definitely not least, no column about the Women of NMB would be complete without noting that four members out of seven on the City Council are also members of The Sisterhood!  Mayor George Vallejo, Councilman Tony DeFillipo and Councilman Frantz Pierre are way outnumbered by (and let’s give a great big shout out to):

Vice Mayor Phyllis Smith
Councilwoman Barbara Kramer
Councilwoman Beth Spiegel
Councilwoman Marlen Martell

Yes, I do love the men, but you ladies TOTALLY ROCK!  Give yourselves a round of applause!

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”