NEWS RELEASE FROM SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DR. DOROTHY BENDROSS-MINDINGAL
At the School Board Meeting of May 13, 2026, School Board Member Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall proffered (Good Cause) Agenda Item B-5, recognizing Dr. Evalina W. Bestman for her outstanding contributions.
Evalina W. Bestman has devoted her life to advancing mental health care, education, cultural competency, and community empowerment through more than five decades of extraordinary leadership and service. Dr. Bestman is the Founding Chief Executive Officer of New Horizons Community Mental Health Center, Inc., formerly the University of Miami–Jackson Memorial Community Mental Health Center, serving continuously since 1975 and establishing a national model for culturally competent behavioral health services. Dr. Bestman made history as the first Black mental health professional appointed Executive Director of a Community Mental Health Center in the State of Florida, while leading the first Community Mental Health Center in Miami-Dade County and helping pioneer one of the first anthropological, culturally responsive mental health care models in the nation…