First elected in 2001 and re-elected to a second term in 2005, Manny Diaz has led Miami toward a renaissance of prosperity and opportunity. Mayor Diaz is now recognized as one of America’s most innovative mayors, chosen to lead the United States Conference of Mayors as its president beginning in the summer of 2008. He serves on the advisory board for the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Civic Innovation, the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research, the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, and was chosen as a judge for the Rudy Bruner Award for excellence in urban design. Born on November 5, 1954, in Havana, Cuba, Diaz immigrated to the United States with his mother, Elisa, in 1961. Growing up in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, Diaz attended Belen Jesuit Prep School, Miami-Dade College, Florida International University, and the University of Miami’s School of Law. Diaz is a partner in the law firm of Diaz & O’Naghten, L.L.P.