April 2, 2025 Trustee Luncheon, A History Built on Care: Advancing Pediatric Healthcare for 75 Years

Dr. Marcos Mestre serves as Senior VP and Chief Clinical Operations Officer for
Nicklaus Children’s Health System and Nicklaus Children's Hospital, a nationally recognized nonprofit pediatric specialty hospital based in Miami, Florida, and the flagship campus of the region’s only healthcare system exclusively for children.

In his role, Dr. Mestre oversees the medical affairs and operations of the 307-bed Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and its network of pediatric outpatient centers situated in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, and Palm Beach counties. He serves as a collaborative dyad leader, along with the hospital’s chief nursing officer (CNO), responsible for ensuring patients receive high-quality, coordinated care throughout their health journey. As a board-certified practicing physician in general pediatrics and pediatric hospital medicine, Dr. Mestre supports the well-being of Nicklaus Children’s patients in both administrative and clinical roles.

Dr. Mestre has over 20 years of clinical practice and medical staff leadership experience. Most recently, he served as the chief medical officer at Nicklaus Children's Hospital. Dr. Mestre is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and a clinical assistant professor at the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.

Dr. Mestre is a graduate of the University of Miami, where he earned a bachelor's degree with honors in Biology and Psychology and an executive master's degree in Business Administration in Health Sector Management and Policy. He earned his medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

Katharine Button serves as the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Nicklaus Children's Pediatric Specialists, the physician-directed, multi-specialty pediatric group with a regional, national, and international presence in providing high-quality care through a collaborative team approach, part of Nicklaus Children's Health System, the region's only healthcare system exclusively for children.

Dr. Button is responsible for the strategic vision and oversight of our multi-specialty medical group. As Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Button utilizes her medical expertise to serve as the physician leader of our medical group, ensuring alignment with the health system's overall clinical strategies, strengthening the medical group's quality program, and improving its patient and physician experience.

Dr. Button received her bachelor's degree in French and German from Colby College. She later received a bachelor's and master's degree in Nursing from Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania respectively. She attended medical school at Sidney Kimmel Medical College and completed her residency in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Boston Children's Hospital.

Matthew A. Love serves as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nicklaus Children's Health System, the region's only healthcare system exclusively for children and the parent organization of Nicklaus Children's Hospital, South Florida's only top-ranked children's hospital.

In this role, Mr. Love oversees the 307-bed, acute care Nicklaus Children's Hospital and its network of pediatric outpatient centers, specialty offices, and inpatient services situated in Miami-Dade, Broward, Collier, Martin, and Palm Beach counties, along with other health system entities including Nicklaus Children's Pediatric Specialist (a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary), an ambulatory surgery center, and Nicklaus Children's Hospital Foundation (the organization's 501c3 fundraising arm). Nicklaus Children's is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession's most prestigious institutional honor.

Mr. Love has over 25 years of experience in financial and operational leadership serving in executive roles within healthcare organizations around the nation. He is a graduate of Ohio State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering, has a master's degree in Business Administration from Cleveland State University, and is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Jose E. Perdomo, Esq., serves as Senior Vice President for Nicklaus Children's Health System, the region's only healthcare system exclusively for children and the parent organization of Nicklaus Children's Hospital, a nationally recognized nonprofit pediatric specialty hospital based in Miami, Florida.

In this role, Mr. Perdomo leads the health system's efforts through the implementation of projects aimed at supporting strategic and initiatives that increase growth as well as improve operations. He also leads the design and construction department within the health system and oversaw the Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower construction project, completed in September 2024. The Griffin Surgical Tower is a five-story, 131,000-square-foot building with state-of-the-art, expansive operating rooms, spacious pre- and post-surgical spaces, and much more.

He is a graduate of Miami-Dade College, where he earned his associate's degree in nursing, and the University of Miami, where he earned a bachelor's degree in nursing. Mr. Perdomo also holds a master's degree in healthcare administration from Barry University, a master's degree in disaster management from Florida International University and also obtained his Juris Doctorate from Florida International University.