Miami, Florida (November 22, 2019) — Jewish Community Services of South Florida (JCS) today announced Miriam Singer as its next President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 6, 2020. Singer brings to the position 37 years of distinguished public service, including two decades of senior management experience. She currently serves as Chief Procurement Officer for the County of Santa Clara, California.
“As JCS celebrates its Centennial Anniversary, we are excited that Miriam has joined the JCS team to lead our ongoing efforts to strengthen the safety net of services provided to our vibrant South Florida community,” said Abe Rudman, Chair of the JCS Board of Directors. “She brings to our agency broad executive management, leadership and strategic transformation and innovation experience, with proven results. Miriam has the right combination of skills to lead us into our 2nd century of quality service to the community. 100 years of care, 100 years of compassion, 100 years of community: that’s JCS.”
Singer’s leadership includes 35 years of service to Miami-Dade County government, where she began her career as a social worker and steadily rose within its management ranks to become Director of the Procurement Department and Chief Procurement Officer. She has broad experience in direct delivery, management and operations for human and business services, and has developed and implemented justice and community-based programs serving dual diagnosis (mental health and drug dependent) clients, victims of domestic violence and gang involved youth.
As an executive leader in Miami-Dade County, Singer led and implemented the transformation of countywide contracting to a center-led procurement organization nationally recognized for providing best value contracting, excellent customer service and high-quality solutions through significant negotiations achievements, enhanced competition, transparency and inclusion. She has a successful track record as a coach and mentor, and a positive community reputation for building consensus and developing effective stakeholder partnerships to ensure the highest quality services for the benefit of the community.
In January 2018, Singer joined the County of Santa Clara as its first Chief Procurement Officer, where she has been responsible for an enterprise-wide transformation of its procurement and contracting functions. The County has an $8 billion budget, mostly dedicated to human, health and social services contracting, and operations programming in support of 70 agencies. During her tenure, the County acquired two hospitals and a medical center that resulted in over 1,000 licensed hospital beds and 20 community clinics to support its public health safety net. Singer also led contracting efforts to transition the newly acquired operations into the existing health care system, entailing the negotiation and establishment of 573 contracts valued at $288 million. She also led her teams in securing $72 million in negotiated savings and increasing competition by 18%, and the vendor base by 89%. Structural changes and strategic investments in professional development, coaching and mentoring have resulted in a stronger talent bench, organizational structure, enhanced morale and staff skill strengths.
Miriam also has extensive ties and knowledge to the South Florida community. Her governance experience in the State of Florida includes service as Chair of the Supreme Court of Florida’s Commission on Fairness; President of the Coalition of Hispanic American Women; Governing Board Member of the South Florida Water Management District; and member of the Health and Human Services and Miami Mental Health Center Boards.
A native of the Dominican Republic and South Florida resident for 47 years, Singer attended the Hebrew Academy of Greater Miami, Miami Beach Senior High and the University of Miami where she earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Administration Degrees.
“It is a great privilege to join the fine team of Jewish Community Services,” Singer said. “I have a personal and professional passion for service and for our vibrant, diverse South Florida community. Working with the community, funders and stakeholders, as well as with our dedicated JCS Board and professional and support staff, I look forward to building a stronger safety net of high quality, culturally competent services and to lead our agency with compassion, transparency and inclusion. Together, we will build a solid bridge to the next 100 years in service to our vibrant, diverse community.”
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Media Contact:
Abe Rudman, Board Chair
Phone: 305-754-3255, ext. 237
Email: arudman@sportailor.com
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ABOUT JEWISH COMMUNITY SERVICES OF SOUTH FLORIDA (JCS)
The mission of JCS is to improve the quality of life and self-sufficiency of the Jewish and broader communities throughout South Florida in accordance with Jewish values. The agency is celebrating its 100th year of service to our South Florida community. JCS serves tens of thousands of clients across more than 50 programs, representing nine core pillars from behavioral health, services to support the needs of Holocaust survivors and victims of domestic violence, 211 Miami helpline, homebound meals delivery, kosher food bank, school-based services, disaster relief, and senior services. JCS assists clients in every zip code within Miami-Dade County and provides a single standard of excellent care and access to services regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin or sexual orientation.