By Lauern Roderrick
On Wednesday, March 8 the Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce hosted their monthly membership luncheon. Hosted at the Miami Lakes Hotel, over 50 guests attended, eager to hear guest speaker Dr. Marisol Capellan on International Women’s Day. Chamber members, business professionals, and other guests gathered in the lobby, did some networking, and got to chat with the guest speaker while waiting for the luncheon to begin. Dr. Marisol Capellan was eager and enthusiastic from the moment she arrived, introducing herself to everyone in the lobby, talking to them one-on-one, and taking some pictures as well. At 12 p.m. the ballroom doors were opened, inviting everyone to enter. As attendees found themselves to their seats and got settled in, Chamber President Fred Senra began the luncheon. As always, the meeting commenced with a short prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, led by a few veterans from the Miami Lakes community. The Miami Lakes Hotel provided a delicious full course meal to all attendees. As lunch was being served and enjoyed, everyone had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the room and share a little bit about their business.
As the introductions wrapped up, President Senra gave a brief biography on the guest speaker, Dr. Marisol Capellan. Dr. Capellan is an internationally recognized educator, executive coach, and corporate trainer. She is the Founder of The Capellan Institute, a leadership, coaching, and corporate training company specializing in workplace culture, diversity, equity & inclusion, and soft skills development. Dr. Capellan is a former lecturer at the University of Miami, Miami Herbert Business School lecturer where she taught management and organizational behavior classes and served as the associate director of their Master’s in Leadership program. She holds a doctoral degree in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Miami. She is currently publishing her book: Leadership is a Responsibility, about her career journey experience as a Black Hispanic woman in Academia, the stories of Black women in the workplace, and the need for responsible leaders to create a more equitable society where minorities can belong and thrive.
Her presentation focused on her personal story and how she got to where she is today. There could not have been a better speaker for this special lunch on International Women’s Day. She gave an inspiring presentation that showed the importance of having strong women in leadership roles. Dr. Capellan provided insight on the struggles that women face daily in the workplace and shared how to overcome these struggles. Overall, it was a wonderful presentation and Dr. Capellan made an impact on many of the individuals in attendance. The Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce will be hosting their next membership luncheon on Wednesday, April 12 at the Miami Lakes Hotel with guest speaker Brian Latell.
