Bio
José has a strong network of contacts and over 40 years of experience working in government and politics. He is a government relations professional who represents public and private sector clients in environmental, public safety, infrastructure, health care, engineering, construction, food services and water resources.
Clients include the City of Miami, City of Homestead, Village of Pinecrest, City of South Miami, Village of Virginia Gardens, City of North Miami Beach, City of Sweetwater, City of Miami Springs and Town of Medley. In the private sector, he represents Brown & Caldwell, Sound Thinking, NV2A, Aetna CVS, Motorola Solutions, Moffatt & Nichol, TYLin Group, Yunex, American Transportation, T-Mobile, ProKel Mobility, Tetra Tech, Introba and Mitsubishi.
His extensive lobbying experience at the highest level of local, county and state has helped him contribute to the passage of numerous legislation. He has also secured funding for the municipalities he represents through the allocation of major infrastructure projects funding. During his time as director of the South Florida Water Management District, Regional Office, Mr. Fuentes was instrumental in securing funds for key water projects in Miami-Dade County.
He has successfully worked with his clients on various Procurement/Business/Community pursuits:
- Automated Traffic Management System for 2,900 Intersections in Miami-Dade County for Siemens (valued at over $150 million)
- Public service communication (APX Radios) Motorola Solutions (valued at over $133.4 million)
- Annexation approval of an area in west Miami-Dade County for City of Sweetwater
- Secured more than $10 million for a senior citizen housing grant
- General Aeronautical Service contract at Miami Airport for Grupo Eulen
- Successfully helped guide the process to build and operate a Charter School in a local government
- Successfully lobbied for the Medley Annexation thru the Miami-Dade County Board
- Successfully represented Sound Thinking Gun shot detection
- Brought Ozinga Concrete & Aggregates to Port Palm Beach
- NV2A Group $93M contract under a bid waiver for the design-build (The Underline)
- Lobbied for Asian American Pacific Islander History Legislation for K-12 in Florida schools
- Assisted in bringing over $500 million for stormwater drainage to mitigate flooding in SW Miami-Dade County
RECOGNITION
Recently Jose was honored the “Effective Leadership Award” from the Latino Center on Aging. In his career, he has received numerous other awards such as, LABA (Latin American Business Association) as Lobbyist of Year. Additionally, International Governmental Relations Award by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, selected Novo Award Finalist by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Diabetes Association with the “Valor Award” for community service and the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with the “Annual Sunshine Award” as Public Official of the Year. He is included in Who’s Who of Asian Americans and has been featured on numerous occasions in The Miami Herald for his devotion to community service.
Mr. Fuentes’ family background is distinctly unique, he is of Cuban and Japanese descent. His mother and grandparents were interned in the Gila River Camps and his Grandfather was interned at Crystal City in Texas during WWII, a topic which he speaks to.
Mr. Fuentes is an avid marathoner, having participated in over 37 marathons, 39 half marathons and many other races. He has run all 21 Miami Marathons since its inception.
He is an alumnus of St. Thomas University in Miami (Coca Cola Scholarship recipient) and attended Miami Dade College. Mr. Fuentes is the proud father of Christina Fuentes Duarte and a resident of Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood.
PROFESSIONAL / COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Mr. Fuentes is committed to public service as proven through his community, civic and volunteer work. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Miami-Dade, Board Member of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of United HomeCare Services. He has served on the Board of Trustees and was elected Vice Chair of Miami Dade College, the largest and most diverse college in the nation. He has served on the executive board of the Chamber of Commerce and has served as Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Group where he played a key role in engaging the Chamber to support the High-Speed Rail and Port Miami’s Tunnel Project and numerous other legislative issues that impact South Florida.
He is a member of the City of Miami’s Mayor’s International Council and has served on the Executive Committee of the Miami-Dade County Republican Party. Mr. Fuentes is a serving member and previous Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Asian-American Advisory Board. Mr. Fuentes has been very involved in activities enhancing the relationship between Japan and Miami. He was recognized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) with a commendation for his work in helping to strengthen the relationship between the U.S., Florida, Japan and Latin America. He has served as Southeast Regional Chair for the U.S. Japan Council’s Engagement Committee. He also serves as Chairman of the City of Miami Kagoshima Sister Cities Committee and was invited by the Japanese MOFA to participate as a member of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation (JALD) in 2006. He also has served as an advisor to the Japanese MOFA along with fourteen other Japanese Americans from across the United States. He has led numerous delegations to Kagoshima, Japan and for the first time in 25 years, the group was accompanied by the City’s Mayor. To further build on this relationship, Mr. Fuentes assisted in the coordination of a trip in which the Miami Marlins visited Kagoshima. Recently, Mr. Fuentes helped coordinate a mission to Tokyo in cooperation with Miami-Dade County’s Office of International Relations. The trip was a first, which included the County Mayor, Commissioners and Miami-Dade Department Directors. Most recently, he also helped coordinate a transportation trip on Japanese technologies for the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) in conjunction with USJC Tokyo office. He was freshly appointed by the Council General of Japan in Florida to serve as the Co-Chair of the Greater Miami Japan American Society.
Boards:
- Japan American Society Miami South Florida
- United Way of Miami-Dade
- Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
- Juvenile Diabetes Board Southern Florida
- Miami Dade County Asian American Advisory Board
- United HomeCare Services
- Miami Dade College Trustee* (Past Vice Chairman)
- Miami’s Mayor’s Int’l Council **
- Miami-Dade County GOP Executive Cmt*
Nationally & Internationally:
- Honored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- SE Regional Chair U.S. Japan Council Engagement Cmt
- Chairman, City of Miami Kagoshima Sister Cities Committee
- Board, Make Us Visible
- Japanese American Leadership Delegation (2006)
- Worked with Canadian Consulate