President of Miami-Dade League of Cities

Cindy organized local city leaders to address the real threat from sea level rise, flooding and the increasingly extreme weather patterns in Miami-Dade County. In recognition of her work on the issue of sea level rise and other threats from climate change, in 2016 Cindy was invited to present at the 2nd United States – China Climate Leaders’ Summit in Beijing. For the past several years, Cindy has worked closely with State Legislators on addressing critical issues we face at both local and state levels like sea level rise. 

Effective change requires collaboration

When women’s health care services were threatened, Cindy built and led a coalition of community advocates, concerned women, and doctors to defeat the merger of hospitals that would have denied women access to important health care services. When funding for our public libraries was threatened, Cindy lent her strong voice to the coalition fighting to protect and restore that funding. As Vice Chair of the 21st Century Schools Bond Advisory Committee, Cindy worked with other community leaders and professionals to assure the financial investments made in renovating our public schools were fiscally sound and met the needs of each school community.

Our children deserve our protection

Mother, Attorney, Child Advocate

Cindy & Dr. Irv Lerner, DVM have been life-long residents of Miami-Dade County. Cindy graduated from Palmetto Senior High and Irv graduated from Coral Gables Senior High. They own a veterinary clinic in Kendall. Cindy & Irv have three adult children and three grandchildren. While raising their children, Cindy worked as lead attorney for the Florida Guardian Ad Litem program representing the best interests of thousands of abused and neglected children. For sixteen years, Cindy trained and supervised hundreds of volunteer attorneys helping our most vulnerable children—those in the foster care system. She now serves on the Board of Pace Center for Girls helping at-risk high school girls overcome their challenges and change their lives.