When Milly Garcia Chica was not yet four years old, she left Cuba as part of the mass exodus known as the Mariel Boatlift.
The trip to America was a relief for her parents, sister and elderly grandmother. The family endured protests in front of their home in the Camaguey Province and accusations of being traitors before they left the island to stay with an uncle in the Westchester section of Miami.
“I’ve never gone back,” Garcia Chica, 46, said.
She earned degrees from Florida International University, including a Master of Science in Taxation, and is a certified public accountant.
Professionally she has traveled between the public and private sectors. First as a staff accountant at Bustamante, Nunez & Company, C.P.A.’s and then was an accounting manager at Finser Corporation.
She returned to her alma mater and advanced to associate controller, and then for 12 years was at the Florida International University Foundation, most recently as assistant vice president.
“FIU was good discipline and training for me,” she said.
That’s where she met foundation board officer Andre Teixeira, who is also executive vice president and chief financial officer of the corporate division of The Graham Companies.
Garcia Chica joined the company in May as the vice president of accounting, treasurer. She replaces Treasurer and Controller Russell Thomas, who is retiring in July after 23 years with the firm.
“This is an opportunity to learn more about a real business, which has a lot of history in South Florida,” Garcia Chica said. “I didn’t know that their businesses were so diverse.”
The Graham Companies is a privately-held, family-run firm that built the Town of Miami Lakes from a dairy farm. It has 50 entities that include real estate development, property management; hospitality and agriculture, in Florida and Georgia.
“The decision-making will be more streamlined,” Garcia Chica said of how the company functions compared to her past professional experiences. “I’m happy to be here, and to make a contribution.”
Garcia Chica is married to Albert Chica, owner of a sustainable plant business. They live in the West Kendall neighborhood of Miami-Dade County with their son Bryce, 8.