Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Alumni Hall of Fame
2022
Miami Jackson Senior High
(Class of 1976 Valedictorian)
Chairman of Avnet, Inc.
President of 3RAM Group LLC
First African American Senior Vice President of IBM
Raised from humble beginnings, his father was a custodian within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and his mother a nurse, Rodney Adkins was valedictorian of Miami Jackson Senior. With degrees in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech and a bachelor’s with an emphasis in physics from Rollins College, he was a leading innovator during his 30 years working at IBM. Their first African American corporate officer, his major contributions included helping to develop the Personal Computer industry, launching the IBM ThinkPad mobile PC, leading IBM's POWER business to become the dominant player in the UNIX market, and helping to pioneer what became IBM's portfolio of Smarter Planet solutions. Now a consultant, he also serves on the boards of UPS and PayPal, to name a few as well as the Adrienne Arsht Center Trust.
Michelle Bernstein
North Miami Senior High
(Class of 1986)
James Beard Foundation Award-Winning Chef
Host of “Check, Please! South Florida” WPBT/Channel 2 and “SoFlo Taste” on WPLG/Channel 10
National Board Member of Common Threads
This award-winning James Beard Foundation chef, Michelle “Michy” Bernstein, graduated from North Miami Senior, and is a fixture in the culinary world — both in restaurant kitchens and the media spotlight. She currently hosts two television shows: Check, Please! on South Florida PBS and the Emmy-award-winning SoFlo Taste on Channel 10. Along with her husband and business partner, Bernstein opened Café La Trova on Calle Ocho in 2019, instantly landing it on the most coveted Best New Restaurant and Bar lists of GQ and Esquire magazines. Bernstein also devotes time to causes like Common Threads, a national program that she brought to South Florida for underprivileged children to learn about cooking and eating healthy.
Dr. Vivek Murthy
Miami Palmetto Senior High
(Class of 1994 Valedictorian)
Graduate of Harvard University and Yale University
19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States
Founder, Doctors for America
Dr. Murthy’s commitment to health began watching his parents treat patients like family in his father’s medical clinic in Miami. After graduating valedictorian from Miami Palmetto Senior, Dr. Murthy received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard and his M.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Yale. In his first term as the 19th Surgeon General of the U.S., Dr. Murthy tackled our most urgent public health issues; recognizing addiction as a chronic illness and not a moral failing as well as bringing focus the profound effects that chronic stress and isolation have on our health, productivity, and happiness. In addition to his current role as America’s Doctor, he co-founded, Doctors for America, a nonprofit with more than 18,000 physician and medical student members from all 50 states dedicated to creating a high quality, affordable health care system for all.
George Christian Pedersen
South Dade Senior High
(Class of 1958)
CEO and President of Kimre Clean Air Technology Graduate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Creator of the PurePerformance Mask
A graduate of South Dade Senior, George Christian Pedersen is the son of a Danish immigrant who farmed vegetables and instilled the values of hard work and determination which he credits for his success: including the Dean’s list and chemical engineering degrees at MIT. With no clients, a factory or any money, he founded Kimre, Inc. in 1974 with only an idea for a solution to air pollution control, and has established it as a global leader with product presence in countries around the world. During the pandemic, his entrepreneurial spirit and ability to evaluate risk led him to develop the PurePerformance Mask; continuing his commitment to protecting our environment and creating a better world for future generations.
Armando Christian Perez
Miami Coral Park Senior High
(Class of 1999)
American Rapper, Singer, Songwriter and Record Producer Grammy Award Winner and has sold over 100 million Records Worldwide
Released New Single during COVID-19, “I Believe that We Will Win”
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Armando Christian Pérez, known professionally by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper and singer. A graduate of Miami Coral Park Senior, Pérez began his career in the early 2000s, recording reggaeton, Latin hip hop inspired by the sounds of Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino. In 2004, he released his debut album M.I.A.M.I., and has won 35 Billboard Latin Music Awards. A first-generation American, his family encouraged him to "take advantage" of the privilege of living in America. He learned English by watching Sesame Street as a child, and determined to help the Latino community in his hometown, Pitbull's social impact focus for the last decade has been closing the poverty gap through educational initiatives.
Maribel Perez Wadsworth
Coral Gables Senior High
(Class of 1990)
President USA TODAY Network & Publisher USA TODAY 2019 News Leader Association Winner of Robert G. McGruder Award
for Leadership Diversity
Board of Directors, News Media Association and News Media Alliance
Dedicated change agent. Digital media executive. And Veteran journalist all describe Maribel Perez Wadsworth. A graduate of Coral Gables Senior and the University of Miami, she spent 15 years at community newspapers — from reporter to managing editor before joining Gannett Media in 2009. Under her leadership, Wadsworth runs the news division, overseeing 5,000 journalists across 260 local news organizations, and is the publisher of USA TODAY. Named Gannett's first-ever Chief Strategy Officer, she implemented their subscription model; local editions and a digital relaunch of USA TODAY. The 2019 News Leader Association winner of the Robert G. McGruder Award for Leadership Diversity, she has not only championed diversity in hiring and promotion but built a business case and made Gannett an industry-leading model.
Dr. Robert Sackstein
Southwest Miami Senior High
(Class of 1973)
World-renowned Bone Marrow Transplant Physician and Biomedical Researcher Graduate and Professor Harvard Medical School
Senior Vice President, Global Medical Affairs and Professor Florida International University
A world-renowned bone marrow transplant physician and biomedical researcher, Dr. Robert Sackstein emigrated from Cuba to Miami where he graduated from Southwest Miami Senior. With degrees from Harvard College and Medical School; receiving the James Tolbert Shipley Prize for outstanding research. He has committed his life to not only caring for the individual patient but unlocking the secrets behind disease to offer cure. He is widely recognized for developing a platform technology known as "Glycosyltransferase-Programmed Stereosubstitution" (GPS) that steers the trafficking of intravenously administered cells directly to sites of tissue injury or cancer. He now serves as the Senior Vice President for Global Medical Affairs, and Professor in the Department of Translational Medicine at FIU.