Black Dresses & Blueprints – Celebrating Stephanie Rodriguez
To make a donation in honor of Stephanie, DONATE HERE!
As Regional Senior Vice President for the state of Florida at Duke Realty, Stephanie is responsible for leading and directing the leasing, property management and marketing of its growing industrial portfolios in Central and South Florida as well as new development opportunities.
In her previous role as Vice President of Leasing and Development, Stephanie was responsible for leasing 8.5 million square feet of industrial properties in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, and identifying new development opportunities.
Prior to working in leasing, Stephanie spent three years as Vice President of Asset Management and Customer Service, responsible for the overall operation of the company’s entire South Florida portfolio.
Stephanie serves on the board of directors and 2020 President of NAIOP South Florida, president of the board directors and co-chair of the Toby Awards Committee of BOMA Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beaches Chapter, and is a Trustee at the Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce.
*Excerpts from an article on 3/16/2014 by Audra D.S. Burch and Carol Marbin Miller
A Caring Grandmother
Cindy Bizier fretted incessantly about her grandson’s care, worried the boy would chase his yellow dump truck into the street or wander too close to the canal while his mother, Autumn, who struggled with drugs, wasn’t watching.
So the anguished grandmother did something extraordinary: She called child welfare authorities on her own daughter. More than once.
And when a child-abuse investigator visited the Sunrise home where the three generations lived, Bizier stepped outside and quietly pleaded with him to take Aidan into foster care.
It was the only way, she believed, to protect the boy she lovingly called Charlie Brown.
Five calls to the Department of Children & Family’s hotline prompted five investigations that resulted in parenting classes and failed drug treatment for Autumn Bizier.
Vincent ‘Aidan’ Bizier
On the morning of March 13, 2009, Cindy Bizier received a panicked phone call from Autumn. The grandmother rushed home. As she got closer, she saw a helicopter hovering overhead. She knew.
The flames left an eerie, heart-shaped scorch mark on the wall of the garage, precisely where Aidan was found, alone except for Missy, the faithful pet who died beside him.
Haunted by the loss of her grandson, Cindy Bizier couldn’t bring herself to paint it over.
Rebuilding Begins
After ten years of never losing hope, Cindy now has a group of people willing to see the project through to completion. We need your help to make it a reality.
In the picture, Cindy Bizier holds one of her grandson Aidan’s favorite toys. It is part of a small collection of keepsakes she has in his memory. He died in her house when fire erupted while she was at work and his mother was sleeping. Aidan was found next to the heart-shaped scorch mark in the background.
The next step is to begin the repairs to restore her home, and her heart.
Current Partners
A special thank you to the many partners that have begun the journey with us to Rebuild Cindy’s home.
Additional partners include:
AIT Electric
City of Sunrise
College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving
Florida Palm Construction
Service Master by Reed
Make an impact in your community today!
Rebuilding Together Broward County works to bring volunteers and communities together to improve the lives of low-income homeowners and neighborhoods in need. However, we can only achieve this goal by partnering with key stakeholders to make a collective impact. Whether you are a corporation that wants to make an difference, a nonprofit/church that wants to partner or a volunteer that would like to invest knowledge and skills to impact the lives of low income homeowners; we are the avenue to help you bring about real change. Make a difference Today!
