Nichole is the mother of three children and serves on their school’s two boards, is a member of her church’s Stewardship Council and volunteers for several non-profit organizations. She joined Beth Simonton in founding ICU baby after the loss of her second baby. Because of her traumatic experience in the NICU, she wants to help other families navigate their journeys in the hospital. Specifically, Nichole wants to enable families to overcome any hurdles in visiting their babies and to make those visits more meaningful.

Ruby enjoys spending time with her children, husband and five dogs and is currently working on the launch of her women’s clothing line and retail store in Miami.

Prior to motherhood, Ruby worked in New York as a Fashion Director for women’s Fashion Designer, Richie Rich. Ruby attended Institiuto Marangoni in Paris and graduated from Miami International University of Art and Design.

Ana’s work in the non-profit world allows her a unique perspective as a participant on the Board of Directors of ICU baby. It is her professional experience as a funder, and her personal experience as a mother that inspires her to want to support families with children in the NICU. She believes strongly in family centered care for all, and leaving no family unsupported in this most challenging journey.

Ana is the proud mother of her son, Cash, who had an extended NICU stay at South Miami Hospital. She and her husband experienced first-hand what ICU baby offers during a difficult time. She is honored to join the ICB baby Board of Directors and is excited to help other NICU families overcome the hardships and battles that naturally arise during hospital stays.

She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia with a major in Industrial Engineering and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School.

Carolina is the proud mother of two boys. She has been a strong supporter of ICU baby and as a board member, she brings her wealth of experience to advise ICU baby on operations and expansion in order to reach more South Florida NICU families.

That is one of the reasons Jorge joined the ICU baby board. He wants to support ICU baby’s mission through his lifetime of healthcare experience. Dr. Mendia is one of the founders of the Key Biscayne Community Foundation whose goal is to empower individuals, like ICU baby founders Beth Simonton and Nichole Aldrich, to achieve their philanthropic goals. He is also involved with the Village of Key Biscayne having served on the Village Council for eight years, four of those years as Vice Mayor.

Dr. Mendia has an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a medical degree from the University of Miami. He is married to Cristi Mendia and has three children and two grandchildren.

Elizabeth serves on the 2020-2021 Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative Committee, was named a 2019 Miami Leader by the Miami Foundation and is a graduate of Radical Partners’ Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp’s Cohort 6. Elizabeth is also a member of Leadership Miami’s Cohort 42 and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

The wellbeing of a family experiencing a hardship has always been Elizabeth’s critical concern, but became more so after she saw other families’ NICU struggles. Elizabeth believes that every parent should have the opportunity to be at their baby’s hospital bedside and she is passionate about removing barriers for NICU parents to be able to accomplish that.

Gloria is a proud mother of two children and resides in the Coconut Grove area with her husband, City of Miami Mayor, Francis Suarez.

Drew graduated from the University of Virginia Medical School and completed his residency in pediatrics at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he was also selected to serve as Chief Resident.

Since residency, he has been involved in the care of babies in the NICU and has a deep understanding of the medical complexities faced by these special patients, as well as the emotional and personal challenges faced by their families. He first learned about ICU baby and the organization’s amazing programs from the positive experiences many of his own patients had with the organization. Believing that helping NICU patients also requires assisting their families, he became an ardent supporter of ICU baby and a board member after discovering that co-founder Beth Simonton and her children are long-time members of the Gables Pediatrics family.

He graduated from the University of South Carolina with majors in Economics and Finance.

Rafael has three children, but it was his oldest daughter Ila who had a NICU experience which connected Rafael to ICU baby. He and his family are grateful for Ila’s health and recovery and have a commitment to help NICU families. Rafael’s personal NICU experience and his extensive financial background are assets to ICU baby and it’s board of directors.