Andrea Navedo is an actress, speaker and published author who was born and raised in The Bronx. You may recognize her from the Golden Globe nominated TV show “Jane the Virgin,” in which she starred as Xiomara, Jane’s mother. She has an extensive acting resume which includes playing opposite Will Smith in the Netflix film “Bright”, Luis Guzman’s girlfriend in HBO’s “How to Make it in America” and the role of Valerie in ABC’s “A Million Little Things”.
Navedo graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx before going on to SUNY Old Westbury College where she graduated with a BA in Theatre Arts. Because of the success of “Jane the Virgin”, she was invited to give the commencement speech to the class of 2019. There she shared some of her lessons learned growing up in the Bronx. Inspired by the rave response that she received from the students at Clinton she decided to continue sharing the messages from her speech in a book she penned “Our Otherness is Our Strength: Wisdom from the Boogie Down Bronx,” which was released in July 2023. Additionally, she further shared those messages in a TEDx talk that she delivered in April 2024 at the University of the Pacific.
Navedo is involved in various charities including A Place Called Home, which helps children in Los Angeles stay in school, go to college and take ownership of their lives. She is also involved in the Fresh Air Fund that sends NYC kids to summer camp. Inspired by the great experience she had as a Fresh Air camper herself, she continues to support the organization and give back in many ways one of them being as the Host of their 2023 Spring fundraising gala.
Dr. Antwan Thompson, Ph.D. — better known to his fans as Amadeus — is a multi-platinum music producer, music director, musician and CEO of Platinum Boy Music. He has worked with more than 100 major recording artists, including Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, Trey Songz, Chris Brown, and 50 Cent. He is also author of the book, “The Story of Amadeus: And The Beat Goes On.”
Amadeus grew up on East 169th St. Washington Ave, and discovered his musical talents while he was in the fourth grade at Saint Augustine School of the Arts. He specifically loved hip hop and playing the drums. He grew up in a strict, religious household of his parents Ruth and Silas Thompson, which he now feels truly paid off for him and his career. He went to Cardinal Hayes, a Catholic High School, and he credits the school with shaping his love of music, along with playing drums in church. He was in a church band at the young age of 13 at The Cathedral of Greater Faith under the leadership of the late Bishop and Pastor Michel White.
Ozzie Virgil Sr. was the first Dominican baseball player to play in the Major League. He was born in the Dominic Republic in 1932, but left 1947 and spent the rest of his childhood in The Bronx. He went to DeWitt Clinton High School and ironically, did not earn a spot on the school’s baseball team. Despite his new home base being in The Bronx, he was not a Yankees fan — his love for the Brooklyn Dodgers began after he saw them play against the Yankees in the 1947 World Series.
After high school, Virgil served in the Marines where he played baseball Virgil was scouted to play for the New York Giants baseball team. He went on to play for the Detroit Tigers, the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Athletics, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the San Francisco Giants. Throughout his career, he played almost every position, but was most well-known as a third baseman.
In 1969, after 13 years of playing in the Major Leagues, Virgil retired and became a coach for the San Francisco Giants, the Montreal Expos, the San Diego Padres, and the Seattle Mariners as well as an honorary coach for one game with the New York Mets. He had five children, including Ozzie Virgil Jr., who had an 11-year career in the Major Leagues.
Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Urban Health Plan (UHP), a network of community health centers located in the South Bronx, Central Harlem, and Northwestern Queens. Born and raised in The Bronx, Ms. Izquierdo-Hernandez is a champion for accessible, quality healthcare.
Through her leadership and vision, Ms. Izquierdo-Hernandez has built Urban Health Plan from a one-site local community health center into an award-winning, first-class health care organization as well as one of the largest community health centers in New York State. She also shepherded the expansion of Urban Health Plan to become a network of federally qualified community health centers that includes twelve sites in the Bronx, Central Harlem, and Queens; twelve school-based health programs; two mental health facilities; two part-time facilities for at-risk populations; women, infants and children (WIC) programs throughout the network; and multiple grant-funded programs. Today, Urban Health Plan serves a volume of close to 400,000 patient visits annually. Ms. Izquierdo-Hernandez has been recognized nationally for the continuous quality improvement work she spearheads at UHP.
Ms. Izquierdo-Hernandez sits on numerous health boards, including the Dr. Richard Izquierdo Charter School for Health and Sciences — named for her father, who was also a medical professional. Further, she is well respected by her staff for the contagious passion that she has for her organization and its nearly one thousand employees, including 150 providers, most of whom she knows by name. She sets the example that at UHP, people come first. She is a role model for her employees and a true example of consistent and outstanding leadership.
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