Hall of Fame 2007 Inductees

Chief Judge David M. Gersten graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School in 1969. He attended the University of Florida, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1973 and his J.D. in 1975. Judge Gersten was in private practice from 1975 until 1980, when he was elected to the Dade County Court and later to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court. Judge Gersten has served on the Third District Court of Appeal since his appointment in 1989 and is currently serving a two-year term as chief judge of the Court.

Gersten has received numerous honors and awards: the Boy Scouts of America; "The Silver Beaver" Award (1995) and the Scouting District Award of Merit (1991); the Deed Club Cancer Clinic’s Award (1978-1984); Grand Founders’ Award (1988); the Benjamin Franklin Society’s Library Award (1987); and South Florida Magazine’s Best Judge Award (1987). In 1972, he was admitted to the Florida Blue Key Honor Society, University of Florida.

Judge Gersten has served as Associate Dean and faculty member of the Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies. He also serves on the faculty of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, where he currently sits on the Faculty Council. He has been an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami, Florida since 1994. Gersten also lectures nationally and writes for numerous publications. Recently, he has lectured on the pharmaceutical and biotech patent process, ethics, judicial wellness, domestic violence, and child custody issues.

Zelda Glazer - wife mother, teacher, educator of thousands was beautiful, poetic and funny. She loved her family, her friends, her students and colleagues and her world. She loved books and music, poetry, creating new and dynamic lessons for her students, liberal politics and the view of Biscayne Bay from her balcony. She was fair and good and possessed a wicked sense of humor which she used at every seminar she offered to teachers and administrators. Her smile was like the sun and if she loved you, and she always did, you were better for it.

Zelda Glazer was the embodiment of quality teaching. In the 1970's, Sol Lichter hired Zelda to teach at Miami Beach High School as Department Chair of English, where she flourished until she was made a vice-principal at Edison Senior. Finally, she became the director of language arts for the entire Miami-Dade school system where she left a permanent imprint in terms of curriculum and innovation.

In 1971, Zelda Glazer was voted "Teacher of the Year" in the state of Florida. The University of MIami created the Zelda Glazer Writing Institute in 1986, a program designed by Zelda and fellow colleague, Eveleen Lorton, that has enabled thousands of English teachers to attend a two week summer workshop providing seminars by the best and brightest educators across the country. This program continues today.

In addition. Zelda was an active member of ACLU and a contributor to many causes. She never hesitated to present workshops and seminars to schools and always gave freely of her time. Zelda Glazer was 81 when she was killed instantly by a woman running a red light. She was on her way to dinner with her husband of sixty years and her best friends. She was probably telling a story, a magical one. She was happy.

A 1951 Beach High graduate, Irving "Red" Heller began his career in law enforcement as a Police Officer in the Miami-Dade Police Dept., subsequently rising through the ranks to Assistant Director, the second highest office in the Police Department.

Assistant Director Heller holds a M.S. degree in Human Resources Management from St. Thomas University, where he has been an adjunct instructor in its Criminal Justice program. During his 43 years of distinguished and honorable service, the Miami-Dade Police Dept. became the largest police agency in southeastern U.S., and the most highly trained police department in the nation.

Widely respected and admired for his professionalism, organizational and leadership skills, Heller worked extensively with various citizen advisory committees and was instrumental in implementing many successful community-oriented programs that impacted the lives of young people. These programs included Police Explorers, Police Athletic League, Partners For Youth, and the widely acclaimed Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program.

In 1997, Heller co-founded the Chaplaincy Program within the Miami-Dade Police Department. Bound by confidentiality, assistance is available to police personnel for problems concerning spiritual guidance and well-being. Today, the program serves as a nationwide model for law enforcement agencies.

Heller has been hailed for his fund-raising endeavors that benefited numerous charities. His 10-year leadership of the police volunteer charity football game netted $900,000 for worthy charities.

Following his retirement in 2001, he served as Police Chief of North Bay Village for three years. In retirement, Assistant Director Heller remains committed to crime prevention, serving as president of Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County, and its Youth Crime Watch program, which is engaged in teaching students the principles of good citizenship, trustworthiness and crime prevention. Youth Crime Watch presented Assistant Director Heller with its Exemplary Achievement Award for 2000/2001.

Barry T. Katzen, M.D., class of ’63, graduated from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1970. His training included Residency in Radiology at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center, with a Fellowship at the University of Rome. Katzen is considered one of the pioneers of angioplasty to open blocked arteries, clot busters to dissolve blood clots, and performed numerous ‘firsts’ including the first renal angioplasty in the United States. He is credited with being the first to use ‘live patient demonstrations’ in the U.S. Dr. Katzen is the Founder and Medical Director of Baptist Cardiac and Vascular Institute and is Clinical Professor of Radiology at University of South Florida College of Medicine and the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Katzen has had a distinguished academic career and has authored four textbooks, numerous book chapters and over 160 peer reviewed publications. His research has focused on aneurysms, diseases of the vascular system, and developing new techniques for less invasive therapy. He founded Techniques in Vascular and Interventional Radiology. He has presented lectures, and treated patients throughout the world. He is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of IC Sciences, a Boston company utilizing the web to improve communication with, and education of patients.

He is listed as one of the twenty most influential radiologists in the U.S., in addition to being listed in Best Doctors in America. He was entered into the Hall of Fame at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He is a past President of the Society of Interventional Radiology, and was awarded the Society’s Gold Medal for lifetime achievement. Dr. Katzen became the first American to be awarded the Gold Medal of the European Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology. Dr. Katzen is married to his high school sweetheart, Judith Steinbook Katzen, class of ’63, and has three daughters.

Guy Stofman, MD FACS, graduated Beach High in 1975, with the proud distinction of being the defensive captain of the most successful football team in Beach High history! He then attended Villanova University in Philadelphia and in 1979, he attended Jefferson Medical College, following in his late father’s footsteps.

Two residencies and Board Certifications followed: Otolaryngology at Jefferson, and Plastic Surgery at The University of Pittsburgh, where Stofman continued as a full time faculty member. At age 34, he became Chief of Plastic Surgery at a level one trauma center and burn unit at the Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh.

During the past 17 years, he has taught countless medical students, residents and fellows, has written numerous articles, received many teaching awards and has presented lectures worldwide. Some of this research culminated with a recent appearance on NBC’s "Today show".

Stofman is a proud member of The Association of Plastic Surgery and was elected by his peers to represent the top 5% of plastic surgeons in the country. He is a past president of the Pennsylvania Plastic Surgery Society. Stofman is rewarded by treating people suffering with severe deformities, loss of limb and life threatening illness, and has helped patients from all walks of life. He continues to serve the less fortunate homeless of Pittsburgh.

Stofman is fortunate to also have a very successful elective cosmetic practice and is grateful to be blessed with amazing friends and parents. All of the above is significant, yet everyday he is humbled by his love and admiration for his beautiful wife Lori and their children. They fill him with pride and joy and inspire him to be a better person.

Stanley F. Whitman is the owner/developer of Bal Harbour Shops. Forty-two years after its opening, the legendary Bal Harbour Shops remains South Florida’s top mall and is also ranked the number one most productive shopping center in the U.S. by Women’s Wear Daily.

Stanley attended Ida M. Fisher Elementary, graduated in 1936 from Ida M. Fisher High School, and attended Duke University. During World War II, Whitman served five years in the Navy commanding squadrons of sub chasers and gunboats and was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

In the 1950’s, Whitman realized the unparalleled potential of the ocean front community of Bal Harbour. He purchased a sixteen acre site to build the Shops. Few believed this sandy parcel of land would give rise to an idyllic version of Madison Avenue and become an attraction drawing tourists from around the world.

As an active contributor to the community, Whitman was one of the founders of the Bal Harbour Rotary and served as president, and received the Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International. Whitman chaired the Bal Harbour Resort Tax Committee from 1968 through 1983 and was on the first Board of Directors of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. He served five years on the Miami Dade Water and Sewer Authority, was chairman of the South Florida Highway Users Federation and was elected a trustee emeritus of Miami Country Day School. He was a founding director of the Community National Bank & Trust of Bal Harbour, which is now Sun Trust Inc. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Land Institute. For over 20 years Whitman served Miami Shores Presbyterian Church as an elder. He is a trustee of the National Conference of Christians & Jews.

Stanley and his wife, Dorothy have two children; son, Randy Whitman who is the managing partner for Bal Harbour Shops and daughter, Gwen. Her son, Matthew Whitman Lazenby, is the third generation member of the family-owned Bal Harbour Shops.

Debra Zane has loved actors and movies ever since her childhood in Miami Beach. From an early age, Zane paid close attention to the "casting by" credit. "That credit struck me. I knew what it meant, and I knew I could do it because I was aware of actors in different roles."

She is an award-winning casting director, based in Los Angeles, California, known for her work in film and television. Zane has worked with some of the most successful directors in the world such as Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, and Steven Soderbergh.

Born and raised in Miami Beach, she is a second generation MBHS graduate. Debra graduated Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. She was the president of her class and served as the alumni chairperson in Los Angeles for years.

Debra Zane Casting was created in 1996 after Debra worked for seven years with casting director David Rubin. Among the over 60 films Debra has cast are: The Hunger Games franchise Get Shorty, Men in Black, Wag the Dog, Pleasantville, American Beauty, Galaxy Quest, Traffic, Ocean’s 11, 12, & 13, Catch Me If You Can, Seabiscuit, Jarhead, War of the Worlds, Dreamgirls, and a new installment of the Indiana Jones franchise.

A member of the Casting Society of America, Debra has been nominated for their Artios® Award ten times and has won twice. In 2004, she was honored by the Hollywood Film Festival as Casting Director of the Year. Debra is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.