Merrett R. Stierheim
Encyclopedia
Merrett R. Stierheim was a public administrator in the public sector in Miami-Dade County, Florida
, USA, from 1959 to 2004.
and earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Finance from Bucknell University, where, upon graduation, he was awarded the Outstanding Student Achievement Award from the Wall Street Journal.
and Metromover
. He also dealt with a number of events with national repercussions when the community assimilated more than 160,000 refugees from Cuba
(the Mariel Exodus
) and Haiti
. In 1980, he helped restore law and order after severe civil disturbances and joined community leaders to address the social inequities that sparked the disturbances. Many of those programs are still in place today.
, which included Chris Evert
, Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver
and other tennis professionals. As CEO, Stierheim is credited with making women's professional tennis more international in its scope, doubling prize money, expanding the tiered feeder system of professional tournaments and establishing a player's pension plan.
Stierheim worked with Butch Buchholz
to move the Lipton International Players Championships
tennis tournament to Key Biscayne
in 1987.
During the boycott of the visitor industry by the African-American community, he established the Visitor Industry Human Resource Development Council (VIC), a private, not-for-profit organization working to increase the economic participation of African-Americans at management and professional levels in the local visitor industry through hospitality scholarships. Today, the VIC has awarded over 100 college scholarships and raised well over $1 million from the visitor industry.
Stierheim's efforts led to Miami-Dade experiencing its best tourism years ever in 1995, 1996, and 1997. For his work, he was awarded the 1996 Tourism Professional of the Year by the local visitor industry, and in 1997 he completed the required courses from Purdue and Calgary universities to become a Certified Destination Management Executive.
, the Port of Miami
, transportation, water and sewer, health and human services, police and fire.
, son of the former US Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black
.
in Miami, Florida. Stierheim is the recipient of numerous local, national and international awards. He has been involved in or has been a principal founder of major Miami-Dade civic and municipal institutions including, the Beacon Council, the GMCVB, and Metro Miami Action Plan (MMAP). He has served on the board of directors of more than 30 local, state and national organizations including Barnett Bank
, SunBank, Travel Industry of America (TIA), International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (IACVB), United States National Tourism Organization (NTO 10) and the United Way of Miami-Dade County. Currently, he is a member of the Orange Bowl Committee and serves on the following Boards: YMCA, Zoological Society, Collins Center for Public Trust, The Beacon Council, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, GMCVB, and Mellon National Bank. He is a lifetime member of the International City and County Management Association and is the Chair and lectures at the Academy for Strategic Management at FIU. He also holds a Florida Real Estate license and is certified by the American Arbitration Association
to serve on the Complex Arbitration Panel.
In 2003, Stierheim was a National Public Service Award winner. The awards are presented jointly by The American Society for Public Administration
and The National Academy of Public Administration to recognize outstanding practitioners who have spent most of their careers in public service.
Stierheim is married to Judy Cannon and has four daughters, Laurey, Cathy, Mia and Paula.
There is a Merrett R. Stierheim Urban Affairs Department at the Miami-Dade Public Library System.
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
, USA, from 1959 to 2004.
Schooling
Stierheim was an Air Force cadet graduate and served as a First Lieutenant Navigator from 1953 to 1957. He graduated third in his class with a Master's Degree in Governmental Administration from the Wharton School of the University of PennsylvaniaWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
and earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Finance from Bucknell University, where, upon graduation, he was awarded the Outstanding Student Achievement Award from the Wall Street Journal.
Early career 1959-1976
Stierheim interned and later served as Assistant City Manager in Miami from 1959 to 1967; as Clearwater City Manager from 1967 to 1973; and Pinellas County Administrator from 1973 to 1976.County Manager of Miami-Dade County 1976-1986
Stierheim first served as County Manager from 1976 to 1986 and successfully supervised a $5 billion countywide infrastructure expansion including the construction of Miami Metro Zoo, the downtown library and cultural complex, the Government Center, several regional parks, libraries, water, sewer and solid waste facilities, and the county's mass transit system - MetrorailMetrorail (Miami)
The Miami Metrorail, officially Metrorail and commonly called the Metro, is the heavy rail rapid transit system of Miami, Florida, United States, serving the Miami metropolitan area. The Metro is operated by Miami-Dade Transit, a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County...
and Metromover
Metromover
The Miami Metromover, officially Metromover, is a free rapid transit automated people mover train system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves Downtown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Omni neighborhoods. Metromover connects directly with Metrorail at...
. He also dealt with a number of events with national repercussions when the community assimilated more than 160,000 refugees from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
(the Mariel Exodus
Mariel boatlift
The Mariel boatlift was a mass emigration of Cubans who departed from Cuba's Mariel Harbor for the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980....
) and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. In 1980, he helped restore law and order after severe civil disturbances and joined community leaders to address the social inequities that sparked the disturbances. Many of those programs are still in place today.
CEO of the Women's Tennis Association 1986-1989
After nearly ten years as County Manager, Stierheim was recruited as President/CEO of the Women's Tennis AssociationWomen's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
, which included Chris Evert
Chris Evert
Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...
, Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver
Pam Shriver
Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...
and other tennis professionals. As CEO, Stierheim is credited with making women's professional tennis more international in its scope, doubling prize money, expanding the tiered feeder system of professional tournaments and establishing a player's pension plan.
Stierheim worked with Butch Buchholz
Butch Buchholz
Earl "Butch" Buchholz, Jr., is a former professional tennis player from the United States who was one of the game's top players in the late-1950s and early-1960s....
to move the Lipton International Players Championships
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
tennis tournament to Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami...
in 1987.
CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau 1990-1996
In 1990, Stierheim was appointed President and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, a marketing, not-for-profit organization with 1,100 corporate members whose mission is to promote Miami-Dade County as a convention, business and leisure destination. Working with government and industry leaders, Stierheim established the Bureau's first dedicated advertising fund with a value exceeding $5 million. When crimes against tourists in 1993 threatened the community's number one industry, Stierheim lobbied for more tourist signs, law enforcement programs and community awareness of the importance of the visitor industry.During the boycott of the visitor industry by the African-American community, he established the Visitor Industry Human Resource Development Council (VIC), a private, not-for-profit organization working to increase the economic participation of African-Americans at management and professional levels in the local visitor industry through hospitality scholarships. Today, the VIC has awarded over 100 college scholarships and raised well over $1 million from the visitor industry.
Stierheim's efforts led to Miami-Dade experiencing its best tourism years ever in 1995, 1996, and 1997. For his work, he was awarded the 1996 Tourism Professional of the Year by the local visitor industry, and in 1997 he completed the required courses from Purdue and Calgary universities to become a Certified Destination Management Executive.
City Manager of the City of Miami 1996-1996
After top Miami officials were indicted in a kickback scheme at City Hall in 1996 Stierheim was brought in in September and served pro bono as interim City Manager of the City of Miami where he uncovered a $68 million shortfall in a once approved bogus city budget. He then led a recovery effort, enlisting over forty pro bono private and public sector executives in thirteen task forces and presented a financial recovery plan to the City that is still being followed. The previous city manager, Cesar Odio, was later convicted of bribery and went to prison. More recently, Stierheim completed a similar pro bono financial review at the request of the Homestead Mayor and Council.County Manager of Miami-Dade County 1998-2001
In March 1998, he was asked to return to Miami-Dade County to manage a scandal-ridden, demoralized county government with a $4.5 billion budget, 28,000 employees, and 42 departments, including Miami International AirportMiami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
, the Port of Miami
Port of Miami
The Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami is a seaport located in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida, United States. It is connected to Downtown Miami by Port Boulevard, a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. The port is located on Dodge Island, which is the combination of three historic islands that have...
, transportation, water and sewer, health and human services, police and fire.
Town Manager Miami Lakes 2001
He served as the first interim Town Manager of the newly formed Town of Miami Lakes for two months. While conducting a national search for a permanent Manager, he led the Council through a strategic planning process and prepared the Town's first two budgets.Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools 2001-2004
Stierheim was named Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools in October 2001. He served until June 30, 2004.Mediator 2004-present
In 2004, Stierheim joined Wetherington, Klein and Hubbart as a mediator. He shares office space with attorney Hugo Black, Jr.Hugo Black, Jr.
Hugo Lafayette Black, II is a prominent attorney and legal author.Mr. Black is the son of Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Hugo Lafayette Black and Josephine Foster. He was married to Bessie Graham Hobson and they had three children, Elizabeth, Margaret and Hugo L. Black, III.Mr....
, son of the former US Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black
Hugo Black
Hugo Lafayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to the Supreme...
.
Miscellaneous
In 1998, Stierheim received an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Barry UniversityBarry University
Barry University is a private, Catholic university, which was founded in 1940 in Miami Shores, Florida, a suburb north of Downtown Miami. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami....
in Miami, Florida. Stierheim is the recipient of numerous local, national and international awards. He has been involved in or has been a principal founder of major Miami-Dade civic and municipal institutions including, the Beacon Council, the GMCVB, and Metro Miami Action Plan (MMAP). He has served on the board of directors of more than 30 local, state and national organizations including Barnett Bank
Barnett Bank
Barnett Bank, founded in 1877, eventually became the largest commercial bank in Florida with over 600 offices and $41.2 billion in deposits. The purchase by NationsBank was announced August 29, 1997, but even before signs on Barnett's branches were changed, NationsBank merged with BankAmerica in...
, SunBank, Travel Industry of America (TIA), International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (IACVB), United States National Tourism Organization (NTO 10) and the United Way of Miami-Dade County. Currently, he is a member of the Orange Bowl Committee and serves on the following Boards: YMCA, Zoological Society, Collins Center for Public Trust, The Beacon Council, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, GMCVB, and Mellon National Bank. He is a lifetime member of the International City and County Management Association and is the Chair and lectures at the Academy for Strategic Management at FIU. He also holds a Florida Real Estate license and is certified by the American Arbitration Association
American Arbitration Association
The American Arbitration Association is a private enterprise in the business of arbitration, and one of several arbitration organizations that administers arbitration proceedings. The AAA also administers mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. It is headquartered in New York...
to serve on the Complex Arbitration Panel.
In 2003, Stierheim was a National Public Service Award winner. The awards are presented jointly by The American Society for Public Administration
American Society for Public Administration
The American Society for Public Administration is a membership association in the United States sponsoring conferences and providing professional services primarily to those who study the implementation of government policy, public administration, and, to a lesser degree, programs of civil society...
and The National Academy of Public Administration to recognize outstanding practitioners who have spent most of their careers in public service.
Stierheim is married to Judy Cannon and has four daughters, Laurey, Cathy, Mia and Paula.
There is a Merrett R. Stierheim Urban Affairs Department at the Miami-Dade Public Library System.