Jill Lerner had been attending Pinecrest Village Council meetings for two years when a growing frustration shared by her and her fellow residents inspired her to run. Lerner felt residents were learning about major spending proposals too late to meaningfully weigh in and wanted a more thoughtful pla nning process that included their input. That was the moment she decided to run. “Residents want to be heard and have their positions on key items considered,” explained Lerner. “They want a meaningful voice before major decisions are made.” Lerner believes her years in hospitality have prepared her for that role. Listening, managing people, and making budgets work are already part of her professional life. At 43, Lerner has spent much of her professional life working in a business where listening matters, details matter, and people expect you to deliver. She began managing restaurant operations at 18 and earned her hospitality management degree from Florida International University in 2006. Her experience includes managing multimillion-dollar operations and teams of hundreds. For the past 14 years, she has worked in Food and Beverage Event Production with the South Beach Wine Food Festival. Think about what that takes. Budgets have to work. People have to work together. Problems need solutions. And somewhere in the middle of all that activity, the person standing in front of you needs to know you are paying attention. Lerner sees a connection between those responsibilities and the kind of council member she hopes to become. Her hospitality career, she explained, taught her how to listen, understand concerns, and build a connection with people. She wants residents to leave a conversation feeling their concerns were fully understood and taken seriously. Her restaurant experience also gave her a foundation in operations, leadership, and financial management. Those skills underpin her call for a more fiscally responsible Village government. When I asked whether that meant she believes the current council has fallen short on fiscal responsibility, she answered directly: “That is correct.” Her proposed approach includes more opportunities for residents to weigh in before major decisions, potentially through town halls and advisory committees. She wants communication early enough for public input to help shape an outcome. There is a family influence here, too. Jill Lerner grew up watching her mother, Cindy Lerner, devote decades to public service and Pinecrest politics. She remembers the passion, the work, and the satisfaction her mother found in helping the community. When I asked Jill how she wanted to put her personal stamp on the Council seat, the conversation kept returning to listening, respectful dialogue, and bringing neighbors together. She wants disagreements handled calmly and residents treated with respect, even when they are unhappy with Village decisions. Then she offered another way her professional experience could translate into community life: offer more family-themed events at our local parks, giving residents more reasons to gather. With so many new families moving in, it’s a great way for people to get to know each other. “For a family juggling school and work, those everyday connections can make a difference,” Lerner explained. “And that connection is personal.” A lifelong resident, she attended Pinecrest Elementary, Palmetto Middle, and Palmetto High. Today, she and her husband, Frederik, are raising three children, ages 9, 11, and 13, who attend local public schools. Her community involvement already reaches well beyond her own family. She founded and led a school safety committee that grew to more than 100 volunteers. She has served repeatedly as a room parent and on the Palmetto Elementary Performing Arts Board. As administrator of a local Facebook community with more than 14,000 members, she has also helped connect neighbors with opportunities to volunteer and give back. Her work on the Voices for Children Holiday Drive has helped provide thousands of gifts to foster children in Miami-Dade County. That record gives readers something concrete to consider alongside her campaign priorities. Those priorities include better communication, transparency, stronger support for our public schools, public safety, and improving the smooth flow of traffic by updating the Transportation Master Plan.  The question for voters is how her professional background and community involvement would translate. Her hospitality background offers relevant experience; serving on Council would put it to a different test. “This campaign for me is not about politics,” she said. “It really is about service.” Lerner wants residents to feel heard before decisions are made, and she believes her years in hospitality have prepared her to listen and act on her constituents’ behalf. She looks forward to your vote, and is ready to move Pinecrest forward. The post Jill Lerner: A Hospitality Approach to Public Service appeared first on Miami’s Community News. ...read more read less