Jean Monestime is the first Haitian-American elected County Commissioner and former Chairman of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. He is running for Mayor of Miami-Dade County to set this vibrant and diverse community in a bold, new direction.
Throughout his more than 30 years as a resident of Miami-Dade County, Commissioner Monestime strongly believes that there is no greater gift than the gift of service to others. Mr. Monestime was elected to serve the residents of District 2 on the Board of County Commissioners in 2010 and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2014. That same year, he was unanimously chosen by his colleagues to serve as Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. In early 2015, while serving as Chairman, he was selected unanimously to preside over the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Governing Board.
Earlier in his public service career, he served as Councilman and Vice Mayor for the City of North Miami, as well as educating and guiding our community’s youth by serving as a Miami-Dade County Public School Teacher. Among his extensive civic engagement and community involvement, Commissioner Monestime has served as a member of the NAACP, the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Board Member of the Turner Tech High School Academy of Finance, the Society of Haitian-American Professionals and Entrepreneurs, and The Florida Governor’s Haiti Advisory Group, among many others.
Commissioner Monestime is a proud small business owner. He holds an MBA from the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Florida International University (FIU). Mr. Monestime is also a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program from the illustrious Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Commissioner Monestime and his family have been active members of the Eden SDA Church since 1981, where he’s served as Head Elder and former Choir Director. Commissioner Monestime is married to Kettia Monestime and has two adult sons.