UM Law alumnus Max Holtzman, JD '95, has been appointed as Senior Advisor to the Office of the Secretary for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Holtzman has been an attorney for more than 14 years, practicing as a principal of the Holtzman Group in Coral Gables, Florida, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage and advisory firm, where he specialized in acquisition analysis of multi-type real estate investment properties. In addition, he has advised many political campaigns over the years, serving as one of the original members of President Barack Obama's campaign National Finance Committee and Florida Executive Committee; Florida finance chair of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's presidential campaign; co-chair of the Lawton Chiles for Governor re-election campaign in Miami-Dade County; and a senior Florida staff member for U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey's presidential campaign in 1991-1992.

Adding to those roles, Holtzman is founding chairman of Adopt-A-Classroom, a not-for-profit organization that partners businesses and individuals with underserved classrooms and teachers throughout the United States. He started his career in government with the Florida Department of Agriculture in Tallahassee as an assistant in the Bureau of License and Bond. He went on to become a city attorney with the cities of Miami Beach and North Miami, and was later appointed special counsel to the City of North Miami and other local municipalities. He has represented a variety of companies and individuals in the areas of healthcare, transportation and real estate. Before coming to UM Law, he attended the University of Florida, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics.

posted 02-April-2009