There are mornings that fill your calendar.
And there are mornings that fill your spirit.
The 24th Annual United Way Women United Breakfast in Miami was one of the latter.
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There’s a particular kind of energy that fills a ballroom when 500 women show up with purpose. Not to promote themselves, but to uplift each other. To support their communities. To make space for the next generation.
Legacy Leadership Begins at the Table
I was seated at Gladys Reed’s table.
Gladys and I met years ago at a chamber event, and something about her energy stayed with me. Over the years, she spoke about United Way not like it was an organization, but like it was a calling.
Long before she became Chief Philanthropy Officer of United Way Miami, she was already doing the work. Hosting events at her office. Inviting me to the annual breakfast and other United Way events. Always making sure I knew there was a seat at the table.
That’s not networking. That’s legacy-building, one meaningful connection at a time.
There’s a certain kind of woman who makes rooms bloom, not just with flowers, but with possibility. Gladys Reed is one of them.
Just like the thoughtful floral centerpiece at her table, vibrant, grounded, and full of life, Gladys brings together people, ideas, and purpose. She cultivates community.
From the way she welcomes you in, to the way she remembers your story, her leadership is personal. If you’ve ever been invited to the table, chances are, she made sure there was a seat with your name on it.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava: When Leadership Becomes Personal
It was fitting that Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava opened the morning. She didn’t speak as a politician. She spoke as a woman who’s carried the weight of representation in rooms not designed for her. As a grandmother, she shared the joy of picking up her 16-month-old granddaughter from United Way’s Center for Excellence in Early Education. You could feel it, this wasn’t politics. It was personal.
Breaking Barriers Isn’t a Slogan. It’s a Structure.
Symeria Hudson, President and CEO of United Way Miami, reminded us that “breaking barriers” isn’t just a slogan – it’s a structure we must build together.
Carrying the Torch: Leslie Miller Saiontz and the Legacy of Sue Miller
Leslie Miller Saiontz, the morning’s gracious host, continues the luminous legacy of her late mother, Sue Miller, the founder of this breakfast. The spark Sue lit decades ago has become a torch carried by generations of women who lead with love and live with purpose.
Christina Meredith: Resilience in Real Time
Leslie’s fireside chat with Keynote Speaker Christina Meredith was one of the most moving conversations I’ve witnessed all year.
From abuse and abandonment to sleeping in cars and being dropped off at school by a mother who never came back, Christina’s life reads like a list of reasons to give up. And yet, she didn’t.
Instead, she became a beauty pageant winner, bestselling author, military intelligence officer, and foster care reform activist.
“You don’t realize the humanity you’re robbed of when you can’t shower.”
One day, muddy from a shift as a barn hand, Christina walked into a Whole Foods in Los Angeles. A stranger approached her and suggested she enter a beauty pageant. She laughed because at the time, she was barely surviving. But something inside her stirred. A whisper of possibility.
After aging out of foster care Christina had endured bouts of homelessness. “When you’re homeless, you don’t realize the humanity you’re robbed of when you can’t shower,” she said. That sentence held more than pain. It held purpose. Because it wasn’t just about hygiene, it was about dignity. It was about the invisibility people face when society decides they’re too broken to see.
Christina didn’t enter that pageant to win a crown. She entered it to reclaim a voice. To make sure that no other girl in the system ever had to believe her circumstances defined her capacity. And when she won Miss. California, it didn’t just give her the victory of a title. It gave her a platform – for reform, for representation, for every foster youth still waiting to be seen.
She won the chance to speak for every child who never got picked, every girl who never got a dress that fit, every foster youth who needed to know: your circumstances do not define your capacity.
We Are the Infrastructure
That moment reminded us all:
We are the infrastructure. We are the mentors, the donors, the policy shapers, the parents, the community-builders. And when we show up for each other, we move the world forward.
The Children Are the Mission
If you’ve read this far, maybe you’re feeling what we all felt that morning: this work matters.
In a city known for luxury towers and bold investments, maybe the most meaningful ROI comes from snack time, story circles, and giving working parents the peace of mind that their children are safe, loved, and thriving.
The Center for Excellence in Early Education has reached over 60,000 children since opening 18 years ago. With small class sizes, extended hours for working parents, and developmentally rich environments, this is what dignity looks like in practice.
The United Way Women United Breakfast reminded us that real change is cumulative. Built from small, deliberate acts. Done in community. Done with heart.
You don’t need a microphone. Or a platform.
You just need a decision: to care.
So What Comes Next?
The breakfast ended, but the work continues.
If you felt a spark reading this, that’s purpose calling. And there are so many ways to answer.
Join United Way. Show up. Speak out.
- Donate to United Way Miami – $100 can change a child’s week. That money can be formula for a month, diapers for 10 days, therapy for a child, or snacks for 135 children.
- Volunteer – Your time, your voice, your presence matters.
- Mentor – Share what you have learned. Someone is waiting to hear it.
- Join Women United – And be part of a movement grounded in compassion.
Because when women lead, the whole world rises.
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