Annual Tocqueville Grand Reception to host Miami’s top philanthropists

Darlene Boytell-Pérez and Jorge M. Pérez will receive United Way of Miami-Dade’s Tocqueville Award for Outstanding Philanthropy during the Tocqueville Grand Reception at the home of Jayne and Leonard Abess on Feb. 16. The event brings together 400 of Miami’s most generous givers who contribute $10,000 or more annually to build a stronger Miami with United Way. The reception is underwritten by Van Cleef and Arpels and Ed Ansin.

“While excelling in their respective professions of real estate and healthcare, Jorge and Darlene have never wavered in their commitment to make Miami a world-class city through their extraordinary support of the arts, education and health initiatives,” Harve A. Mogul, president and CEO, United Way of Miami-Dade, said. “We are lucky to call them friends of United Way, and it is a privilege for us to recognize their lifelong work.”

Pérez was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Cuban parents. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of The Related Group, Florida’s top multi-family developer and the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States. Pérez is deeply involved in supporting Miami’s ongoing cultural renaissance, sponsoring programs like the Miami International Film Festival’s Emerging Cuban Independent Film/Video Artists Program and The National Young Arts Foundation’s Residency in Visual Arts. Most notably, Pérez donated $40 million to the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Pérez Art Museum Miami or PAMM. Pérez has also signed on to The Giving Pledge, a campaign founded by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, to which he will donate 50 percent of his wealth for philanthropic purposes. He and Darlene joined the United Way Million Dollar Roundtable in 2003 and the Five Million Dollar Roundtable in 2011.

Pérez is a member of the University of Miami’s Board of Trustees, chairs the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council and is a director of the Miami International Film Festival. In 2005, Time Magazine named Pérez one of the top 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States, and he has appeared on the cover of Forbes twice. He has received numerous awards for his professional and philanthropic achievements, including Sand in My Shoes Award from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce for his commitment to the South Florida community.

Darlene Boytell-Pérez is a Miami native. She received her nursing and nurse practitioner degrees from Florida International University FIU. She is an advanced registered nurse practitioner and clinical researcher with more than 20 years of experience specializing in gastroenterology and the Hepatitis C virus.

She has received numerous awards for her contribution to the profession. Outside of private practice with Gastro Health, Boytell-Pérez speaks for pharmaceutical companies regarding advancements in virological treatments for the Hepatitis C Virus and is an adjunct clinical preceptor for the Nurse Practitioner Graduate Program at FIU.

Boytell-Pérez is active in a variety of civic and cultural organizations, including serving on the boards of Gulliver Schools and The United Cerebral Palsy. She previously served on United Way’s board and is now a member of the Advisory Council. She is also an advisor of the FIU Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and is a founding ambassador of PAMM.

The 768-member Tocqueville Society contributed nearly $18 million in support of United Way of Miami-Dade’s work in education, financial stability and health, representing 40 percent of the overall annual campaign. The society was named after a French historian who recognized, celebrated and immortalized the voluntary spirit he witnessed in America during the 1800s. Years later, United Way of Miami Dade’s Tocqueville Society continues to honor those individuals who demonstrate an extraordinary sense of philanthropy with remarkably high levels of giving.