LTC 374-2021 Appointment of Director of Marketing & CommunicationsMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 374-2021 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
Honorable Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
Alina T. Hudak, City Manag�
DATE: Sept.8,2021 1/1''.
SUBJECT: Appointment of Director of Marketing & Communications
I am delighted in this L TC to announce the selection of Melissa Berthier as our new Marketing &
Communications Director. Melissa has been with the City of Miami Beach for eight years,
serving as Assistant Director for three years and Interim Director since June. She is well
respected among the local and national media as well as by everyone who has had the pleasure
of working with her, including myself.
I continue to be impressed by Melissa's dedication and passion for the City as well as her work
ethic. Melissa's professional skills and institutional knowledge of Miami Beach operations are
quite robust. Since joining the City in 2013, she has worked through some of our most daunting
challenges -from the Zika crisis to hurricanes, complex police investigations, legal quagmires,
the global pandemic and most recently the Surfside building collapse.
In addition to liaising with the media daily, she closely participates in the important work of our
Neighborhood Affairs Division -which takes the pulse of Miami Beach residents -and serves
as Editor-in-Chief of MB magazine, our quarterly bilingual magazine that consistently ranks as
the number one source of information for Miami Beach residents. She oversees the operations
of the MBTV team, which creates original video content in addition to broadcasting Miami Beach
City Commission and Committee meetings. She oversees hundreds of graphic design pieces
and dozens of marketing campaigns to promote various city initiatives.
A native of South Florida and a proud Miami Beach resident, Melissa has more than 17 years of
experience in the communications field spanning nonprofits, magazines and transit. She began
her career in 2004 as a founding staff member of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership
Institute - a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit started by U.S. House and Senate members
along with Fortune 500 corporations. She proved to be an aggressive fundraiser and
spearheaded many congressional briefings on Capitol Hill on various topics ranging from
immigration reform to health care.
Following her work at the Institute, Melissa became the Corporate Affairs Manager at Editorial
Televisa. There she planned, promoted and executed many high-profile media events -from
an economic symposium with Alan Greenspan to an environmental forum headlined by former
U.S. Vice President Al Gore. She was later tapped by the corporate world as Marketing
Specialist for Bluemercury, an apothecary and spa retail chain with more than 160 locations
based in Washington, D.C.
Before moving back to South Florida, Melissa made one final stop at the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority as Special Projects Officer. There she promoted the capital
city 's world-class transit system to residents and visitors for five years. She played a key role in
the preparation and execution of Metro's plans for President Barack Obama 's first Inauguration
Day and served on the crisis team in the aftermath of the tragic Red Line derailment.
She manages her many responsibilities while raising two young girls with her husband in what
she considers to be the greatest city in the world. Melissa holds a bachelor's degree in
International Affairs with a Public Health Concentration from George Washington University,
graduating cum laude .
While I recognize there has been much discussion about the need to revitalize the Miami Beach
brand, I believe we need a new approach. I am hopeful the collaboration with the Greater Miami
Convention & Visitors Bureau and the new focus on Miami Beach destination marketing will
bring to the forefront all of the wonderful assets found in our community. I intend to ask Melissa
with a combination of others in my administration for leadership in this effort.
Please join me in congratulating Melissa on her new role. Thank you for your support.
ATH