Beba Mann

Maria “Beba” Sardiña-Mann, was born in Habana, Cuba, in 1959, to a family steeped in both politics and business. She came to the United States in 1961 with her mother and brothers.  Watching her mother raise four children in a new country while working full time showed Beba first hand how hard work, honesty and integrity could overcome all obstacles.     

         Beba has lived most of her life in Miami, nearly 40 years of that time in the District 3 house she grew up in and which she bought from her mother as an adult. Beba attended Coral Way Elementary, Shenandoah Middle and graduated from Coral Gables Senior High.  She also attended Miami-Dade Community College.

         For 15 years, she rose through the ranks to become administrative assistant/office manager at the prestigious law firm of Floyd Pearson Richman Greer.   Later, she joined the firms of Gunster Yoakley Valdes-Fauli & Stewart and Steel Hector & Davis (which became Squire Sanders) as an executive legal assistant.  It was during those years that she first became involved in the community.

       Determined to make a difference in her community, Beba became active in her homeowners’ association, Silver Bluff, fighting zoning changes and incompatible development in her neighborhood.  When Silver Bluff and other homeowner associations joined forces to create Miami Neighborhoods United, Beba was an integral part of the new organization; helping Miami homeowners organize more effectively to protect their quality of life.

     Beba has long been involved in local civic affairs.  She was part of the team that organized Relay for Life and other activities to bring together the community. She was appointed (by Commissioner Tomás Regalado) to the City of Miami Planning Advisory Board in January 2006, and served as its Vice Chair.  Beba also serves as a board member of the Urban Environment League of Miami, an organization whose mission is to support environmentally responsible development, including protection of the waterfront, public places and historic and natural areas in urban Miami-Dade County.  Previously, she was a member of the Public Affairs Committee of the Junior League of Miami. During her tenure at JLM, she was part of the group that successfully lobbied for the enactment of the bicycle helmet law.

      Coming from a political family that includes a two-term Cuban President (great grandfather Mario Garcia-Menocal), a Mayor (Raul Garcia-Menocal) and several business leaders as well as spiritual leaders (uncle Fr. Jorge Sardiña-Garcia Menocal, a highly regarded Jesuit priest who taught at Miami's Belén Jesuit Preparatory School), she has good political instincts, coupled with the sense of integrity and honesty that were instilled in her as a small child.     

     Beba’s greatest pride is her children: Miguel and Sofia, who were raised in the Silver Bluff community. Miguel is a successful business professional and father of two beautiful girls, Olga Sofia and Mariana.   Sofia is currently studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.