Dr. Mitchel Berger, 1970
Dr. Mitchel S. Berger is a nationally recognized expert in treating brain and spinal cord tumors as well as tumor-related epilepsy in adults in children. He is also a specialist in brain mapping techniques used to identify and preserve areas of motor, sensory, and language function during surgery. He developed a technique in the 1980-90s that allows surgeons to safely snip out tumors from the tangle of electrical pathways that give people the ability to speak and move. He recently stepped down as Chair of Neurological Surgery at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) to remain a full-time professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery. He is past president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and was recently appointed by President Biden to be on his three-member Presidential Cancer Panel that directly advises the President on all matters related to the National Cancer Plan.
Keith Davids, 1986
A native of Miami, Florida, Rear Admiral Keith Davids is a SEAL Officer, a 1986 graduate of Coral Gables High School, and a 1990 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He has a Master of Science in Manpower Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College. He currently leads the Navy’s Naval Special Warfare Command. His operational command tours include serving as the commanding officer of SEAL Team One where he deployed to Iraq to fight Al Qaida and, more recently, as the commander of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, Iraq, to fight ISIS and liberate Mosul. His most recent assignment was in Homestead where he served as the commander of Special Operations Command SOUTH. While serving in Homestead he was designated as the Joint Task Commander to lead military aide and rescue efforts in the wake of the most recent earthquake in Haiti. He has made numerous operational deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Pacific, and Europe. He served as the Military Aide to President Bush and later served as the Director of the White House Military Office overseeing military support to the Executive Office of the President. He grew up sailing on Biscayne Bay and was a youth national champion sailor. When he has time he still enjoys sailing and a few years ago even managed to win a Masters World Championship title in the one person Laser sailboat. He is married to Rear Admiral Yvette Davids who is a Surface Warfare Officer. Yvette and Keith are the only dual Admiral couple in the US Navy’s history. They have twin 13-year old boys, Kai and Kiernan.
Judge Paul C. Huck, 1958
A self boot-strapped success story, Paul Huck worked his way through college, and after graduating from the University of Florida School of Law with honors, Judge Huck practiced civil trial law with several prominent law firms in Miami. In 2000, he was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where he continues to serve as a senior judge. He has also sat by designation as a visiting judge on the Eleventh and the Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals each year for the last twenty years.
Judge Huck has dedicated much of his life to teaching and mentoring both students and lawyers. He has taught the Litigation Skills and Professional Responsibility classes at the University of Miami since 1981. In addition, he has been a faculty member of the Florida Bar Advanced Trial Advocacy Course since 2007, and of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and the National Advocacy Center. He has also developed mentoring and teaching programs for students ranging from elementary school to high school. His dedication to leading by example has been recognized through several awards, including the Florida Bar’s William M. Hoevler Judicial Professionalism Award, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the University of Florida School of Law’s Distinguished Service Award.
Alberta M. Jones (Non-Alumni)
Born and educated in the State of Georgia with a BA in English and an MA in French, Ms. Jones began working at Coral Gables Senior High School in December 1969 and retired in June 2003. During her tenure at Gables High, she served as Co-Department Chair of Language Arts, Sponsor of Anchor Service Club, Gables Teacher of the Year, Editor for Amsco Publishers, and taught TOEFL in the evenings. Working at Gables, for her, was like “interacting with the members of One Big Family,” of which she always felt like an integral part. The greatest joy was watching her students learn, grow, and mature, while serving as the Navigator during their journey to success. She is presently substituting at a local high school and on the verge of publishing her first book, which is a compilation of poems on the many phases of life experiences which touch every member of society.
Ted Leopold, 1976
Recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers in America,” Mr. Leopold litigates high-stakes, complex lawsuits on behalf of consumer safety issues, particularly as it relates to product defects, automobile safety, and managed care matters. In 2010, he obtained a $131 million jury verdict against the Ford Motor Company for faulty seatbelts – the ninth-largest verdict against an automobile company in U.S. history. In 2018, he was made the National Law Journal’s 2018 Energy and Environmental Trailblazers list after successfully consolidating and overseeing a series of putative environmental toxic tort class actions filed against E.I. DuPont de Nemours Company and The Chemours Company for knowingly discharging PFAS, such as GenX and other “forever chemicals” into the Cape Fear River, one of North Carolina’s principal drinking water sources. A partner at Cohen Milstein and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, he is also co-chair of the Complex Tort Litigation and Consumer Protection practice.
Admiral William “Bill” Studeman, 1958
William “Bill” Studeman is a retired admiral of the United States Navy and former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), with two extended periods as acting Director of Central Intelligence. He served in the administrations of both George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He is a 4-star Admiral, serving as Director of Naval Intelligence and as Director of the National Security Agency (NSA). As a young man he joined the Navy after college and went on numerous tours of Viet Nam. Admiral Studeman also had a leadership role in Operation Desert Storm. He was appointed to the Iraq Intelligence Commission, an independent panel tasked with investigating U.S. intelligence surrounding the United States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq. He currently serves on the National Advisory Board on Bio-Security and the Public Interest Declassification Board. He is also a member of the Defense Science Board as well as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Advisory Board, Defense Intelligence Agency Joint Military Intelligence, among other distinctions.
Dr. Michael Zinner, 1963
Dr. Zinner is the founding CEO and Executive Medical Director of Miami Cancer Institute established in 2017. As a Johns Hopkins trained cancer surgeon, he was previously the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at UCLA and then Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School. For the previous 22 years he was also the Clinical Director of the Dana Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center at Harvard. He has held the office of President of several national surgical organizations and was Chairman of the Board of Regents of the largest surgical organization in the country; the American College of Surgeons.
Jeff Oster, 1975
Mr. Oster has distinguished himself in the musical genres of New Age, Ambient, Funk, and Jazz. He has achieved a GRAMMY® nomination, has performed at Carnegie Hall, has released multiple albums worldwide of his own and has been a guest artist on over 60 recordings from multiple GRAMMY® winning and nominated artists. Having begun playing trumpet at 8 years old, Jeff developed a love and passion for music. He never gave up on his dreams of making music. Jeff worked for many years in the business world, but eventually realized his musical dreams. He continues to live this dream as he has developed into a premier musical artist. He has said many times that the motivation for his career came from his experiences in the Band of Distinction at Gables High through the inspiration of beloved music instructor, William “Uncle Willie” Bill Ledue.
Paul Steinhardt, 1970
Mr. Steinhardt is currently the Albert Einstein Professor in Science at Princeton University where he is on the faculty of both the Departments of Physics and of Astrophysical Sciences. He is best known for his development of new theories of the origin, evolution, and future of the universe, especially the proposal of a cyclic universe. He is also well known for his discovery of a new form of matter, known as quasicrystals. He predicted their existence and co-developed the fundamental theory to explain their unique physical properties. Years later, he was a co-discoverer of the first natural quasicrystals, an effort which culminated in his leading a geological expedition to the desolate tundra north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in far Eastern Russia. The expedition revealed quasicrystals embedded in fragments of meteorites dating to the beginning of the solar system. He has written two popular books on these topics. Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang (2007), co-authored with Neil Turok, which describes the early struggles in challenging the widely accepted big bang theory leading to ideas which are currently being explored and tested. The Second Kind of impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of matter describes the adventure in search of natural quasicrystals.
Dan Finora, (Non-Alumni) CGHS long-time employee. Retired in 1999
Mr. Finora has spent more years and time at 450 Bird Road than any other human on the planet – some 60+ years at CGHS. Beloved by students for decades, we honor his service to generations of Cavaliers.
Dr. Lillian Glass, 1970
Dr. Lillian Glass is a world-renowned communication and body language expert, best-selling author, and currently an award-winning filmmaker. She is also a media personality providing commentary on the body language of newsmakers. She also is an expert witness in behavioral analysis for state and federal cases Her best-selling books include “Toxic People” as well as “The Body Language of Liars.” As a film director and producer has made several award-winning films including “Reinventing Rosalee ” which won 57 awards worldwide.
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