Adrienne Arsht

Adrienne Arsht is the Chairman Emerita of TotalBank, a Miami-based full-service commercial bank with 14 locations and assets in excess of $1.4 billion. Under her leadership, the bank has grown rapidly both internally and through acquisitions. It has earned a solid reputation for highly personal service geared to small and mid-sized owner-operated businesses.

Arsht graduated from Mount Holyoke College and Villanova Law School. She is a member of the Delaware Bar and practiced law there. Arsht is married to Myer Feldman, former counsel to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and founding partner of the law firm of Ginsberg, Feldman and Bress, Washington, D.C.

Arsht has taken a leading role in cultural, business and civic organizations, promoting the growth and development of the arts, commerce, and civic pride. She is on the Board of Directors at the Concert Association of Florida; the Board of Trustees at Switchboard of Miami; the Executive Committee and Secretary/Treasurer of the Miami Business Forum; a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; Chairman of the Executive Advisory Board of the Cuban American CPA Association; the Board of Governors at Sunshine Harvest; the Board of Governors and Treasurer of the Performing Arts Center Foundation; a Lifetime Trustee of Viscaya; and Board Member of Amigos For Kids.

The Florida Council on Economic Education recently inducted Adrienne into the South Florida Business Hall of Fame in 2005. She was awarded the Essie Silva Community Builder Award-2005 by the United Way, Dade Partners Exemplary Business Leader Award- 2005 by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Shining Star Award 2005 by the Arts & Business Council of Miami, Woman Banker of the Year- 2004 by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Angel of Mercy Award-2004 by the Mercy Hospital Foundation, and the Community Excellence in Real Estate Financing Award-2004 by The South Florida Business Journal and the March of Dimes.

Her commitment to higher standards in public education has led her, in 2004-5, to adopt all classrooms (through the Adopt-A-Classroom organization) at the West Little River Elementary School, Miami-one of 39 low performance schools. Also, she holds an advisory position with Rudy Crew, Superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools, and is partnering with him and Miami-Dade Public Schools in the creation of the Parent Academy. She is Chairman of the Team that will raise the necessary funds.

Arsht's dedication to philanthropic causes has an impressive legacy. Her parents were pillars of the community and major donors for Delaware causes. Adrienne has taken over their baton and is running with it! She continues to generously fund organizations here and in Delaware. Through the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) in Delaware, Adrienne, beginning in 2005, will annually fund five four-year college scholarships. In 2005, she endowed the Roxana Cannon Arsht Center for Ethics and Leadership at Goucher College, her Mother's Alma Mater. In 2004, Adrienne joined the Million Dollar Roundtable of the United Way and is generously donating funds to a number of arts and community organizations in Southern Florida.