The World Cup in Miami holds the promise of generating as much\u00a0as $1.3\u00a0billion\u00a0in\u00a0economic impact for\u00a0South Florida, growing\u00a0the region\u2019s\u00a0profile as a global sports and entertainment destination and bringing untold joy and excitement to the masses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Helping to ensure all that comes\u00a0true:\u00a033-year-old\u00a0Tomas Alcala, who has ridden\u00a0a\u00a0bachelor\u2019s degree\u00a0from FIU, formative experiences during his undergraduate career and innate\u00a0talent\u00a0and affability to serve\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0right hand\u00a0for the mayor of Miami-Dade County.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And by all accounts, he\u2019s\u00a0crushing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomas has done an outstanding job helping lead our preparations for the FIFA World Cup,\u201d says Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava of her deputy chief of staff.\u00a0\u201cAn event of this scale demands constant coordination across agencies, partners and stakeholders. Through it all, he has been a steady presence, helping keep the work on track and focused on delivering a successful tournament for our community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I appreciate most about Tomas is that he is thoughtful, hardworking and deeply committed to this community. He doesn’t seek recognition or attention, but he has earned the respect of colleagues and partners across Miami-Dade because of the way he approaches his work and treats people. I’m grateful to have him on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
24\/7 responsibilities<\/p>\n
The 2015\u00a0alumnus, who has spent time on election campaigns\u00a0and as a legislative aide\u00a0in Tallahassee,\u00a0describes himself as something of a homebody.\u00a0When not playing\u00a0the rare game of\u00a0golf or pickup basketball, he prefers evenings with his\u00a0fianc\u00e9e,\u00a0family and friends over the privileges that come with working for the most powerful woman in South Florida.<\/p>\n
One\u00a0shocking\u00a0example makes that\u00a0crystal clear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In April, Alcala opted\u00a0not\u00a0to join his boss on a Sunday night to meet soccer superstar Lionel Messi before an InterMiami match at which she presented a proclamation in honor of the club\u2019s brand-new stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had the opportunity to go with her,\u201d he recalls of a vaunted invitation that he turned down after a full schedule of work activities, \u201cbut I had such a long day that I said, \u2018I just can\u2019t.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcala\u2019s \u201cregular\u201d job has him \u201cdealing with 34 municipalities, the state government and even the federal government on issues of mutual concern and interest\u201d on behalf of the county.<\/p>\n
He also takes on special projects, the largest of which has him managing public service and infrastructure aspects around the biggest event ever hosted by Miami-Dade: seven planned international FIFA soccer matches that many have likened to putting on seven NFL Super Bowls in the span of just over a month.<\/p>\n
Choosing a football metaphor over a\u00a0f\u00fatbol one,\u00a0Alcala calls himself \u201ckind of the quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n
He leads biweekly meetings that gather the heads of every department as well as collaborating organizations with a role in the massive undertaking \u2013 among them the sheriff\u2019s office, fire rescue, transportation, management and budget, the\u00a0local host committee and the Greater\u00a0Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau \u2013 to confirm that all is moving at pace and identify challenges as they arise. The group discusses potential solutions and next steps, but the big issues, particularly ones involving funding, are routed to the top.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is my charge to present the mayor with information and offer recommendations,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd more often than not, I find myself grateful that she tends to agree with the recommendations that I set forth.\u201d<\/p>\n
A solid\u00a0foundation\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alcala\u00a0arrived in the mayor\u2019s office\u00a0well-equipped\u00a0by\u00a0the university.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have such a big place in my heart for FIU,\u201d he says. \u201cIt shaped who I am today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to a strong group of friends, he\u00a0remembers\u00a0\u201cthe\u00a0faculty who just poured so much into their students\u201d and\u00a0the\u00a0mentors\u00a0who opened his eyes to possibilities that proved transformational.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The one-time communications major who minored in political science thanks\u00a0now-retired\u00a0Vice President of Student Affairs\u00a0Larry Lunsford for encouraging his involvement\u00a0in\u00a0student government, where\u00a0Alcala\u00a0rose to president of the senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And he credits an internship-turned-full-time job at FIU\u2019s office in Washington, D.C.,\u00a0for preparing him for his current role. In the nation\u2019s\u00a0capital, he advocated for the university\u2019s research priorities to elected officials and agency heads and\u00a0learned to \u201ccommunicate very complex information before our federal government and basically being able to communicate that in layman\u2019s terms.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michelle Palacio, FIU\u2019s senior vice president for marketing and strategic communications and the university\u2019s chief marketing and communication officer, remembers Alcala well from her days overseeing government relations.<\/p>\n
\u201cTommy was one of the best interns we ever had,\u201d she recalls of someone who likewise remains highly regarded by several other FIU administrators. \u201cHard working, smart, curious, a problem solver. He has a very high EQ.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcala\u00a0now\u00a0brings the same energy and dedication to\u00a0championing the\u00a0interests\u00a0of\u00a02.8\u00a0million residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As yet\u00a0unsure if he will\u00a0attend\u00a0any of the\u00a0local World Cup\u00a0matches,\u00a0he\u00a0explains\u00a0that such a benefit would pale in comparison to what he values\u00a0most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, the biggest thing is the caliber of people that you get exposed to by virtue of being side by side with our Madam Mayor,\u201d he says\u00a0of\u00a0a leader he calls\u00a0\u201cas principled and\u00a0diligent\u00a0as\u00a0they come.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest perk for me is the rooms that you’re able to enter.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which has everyone else\u00a0asking:\u00a0If\u00a0Argentina makes it to the knockout round and ends up playing\u00a0in\u00a0Miami,\u00a0would you then be willing to\u00a0get yourself to the stadium to finally meet\u00a0Messi?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The World Cup in Miami holds the promise of generating as much\u00a0as $1.3\u00a0billion\u00a0in\u00a0economic impact for\u00a0South Florida, growing\u00a0the region\u2019s\u00a0profile…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-304084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}