Cheryl Mizell has worked in media, arts and entertainment for more than 30 years. She recently joined the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust (MDEAT) as the department’s Media and Public Relations Officer and has taken the lead in ushering black-owned arts businesses into the agency’s economic development network. Her department’s mission is to ensure the equitable participation of Blacks in Miami-Dade County's economic growth through advocacy and monitoring of economic conditions and economic development initiatives in Miami-Dade County.

While serving in the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs (2016 – 2019) as Marketing and Communications Manager of the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center (AHCAC), Mizell secured $145,000 in combined cash donations, in-kind services and added value partnerships. She also designed a campaign that placed a national spotlight on the role the AHCAC played in the success of the Academy Award-winning movie Moonlight.

Early on, Mizell recognized the significance of the generosity offered by Tarell Alvin McCraney (AHCAC alumnus) and Barry Jenkins, the Moonlight co-creators who received Oscars for the screenplay. She conceived and led the planning of the watch parties for the Oscars, Golden Globes and NAACP Image Awards that heightened awareness of the AHCAC’s role in Moonlight and created greater support for its awards nominations.

The charitable donations that McCraney and Jenkins gave, along with the movie credits they listed naming the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center and multiple staff members for the assistance rendered in onsite filming and casting, allowed Mizell to build on the goodwill that the two personally brought to the AHCAC. The watch parties she initiated contributed to the Center’s growing recognition as the local home of Moonlight, ultimately landing the AHCAC the designation of sole venue for the official Moonlight celebration. This also yielded unprecedented local, national and international onsite news coverage including CBS Sunday Morning and the London Observer and Moonlight Way, the street named in the movie’s honor. Mizell also assisted AHCAC Director, Marshall Davis, in leading the team that planned and hosted the official Moonlight celebration. They engaged the cast and crew of Moonlight, A24, U.S. Congress, Miami-Dade Office of the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, Knight Foundation, Miami Foundation, Miami Herald, Cox Media Group Miami, WPLG and a host of community and cultural organizations.

Mizell has a unique voice. It has been used to address issues in the public interest and as an expressive instrument in the creative arts. She is a well-known former on-air radio personality who hosted music and public affairs shows for 25+ years. Mizell gained experience through her various roles at WEDR, WHQT, WPYM, WKIS, WQAM, WRBD, WHUR and WHBC. As a voiceover artist, she has recorded numerous radio and TV commercials, documentaries, corporate presentations and other productions for clients around the world ranging from BMW to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. As an emcee, Mizell has rendered her services to numerous local and national companies and organizations including American Airlines, Black Enterprise, Burger King Corporation and others.

Mizell grew up in her immediate family’s local businesses. Mizell Kiddie Kampus and Mizell Records is where she sharpened her skills in marketing and communications. There she learned to coordinate pre-school productions to national showcases while playing host to guests such as Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Boys II Men, Nancy Wilson and many others. Mizell also wrote a bi-weekly column, “In-store Play,” covering sales of retail records in Jack the Rapper, a popular black radio and records trade magazine. Mizell Records became a nationally recognized independent black retailer and Billboard Reporter before closing in 1994.

The arts continue to be a central theme today in Mizell’s immediate and extended family. Her internationally celebrated cousins Fonce Mizell, Larry Mizell, Don Mizell and Cindy Mizelle worked with global music artists Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Luther Van Dross, Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan, Donald Byrd and many more. Her brother, Milton Mizell, designed the first official tourism poster and the current police cars for the city of Miami; however he has transitioned into a professional woodworker since retirement with recently published designs in Fine Woodworking, a magazine that focuses on the very best of woodworking techniques at the highest level of skill. As a member of the South Florida community, Cheryl Mizell is very proud of her family roots that connect back to civil rights and political leaders who pioneered South Florida. Dewey Knight, Jr. was Miami-Dade County's first black deputy county manager and assistant county manager while Dr. Von D. Mizell was the first black surgeon in Broward County and co-founder of Provident Hospital for Blacks.

Cheryl Mizell is a native Floridian residing in Miami. She has also lived in Washington, D.C. where she attended Howard University, received a B.A. in Sociology/Radio and worked in private industry.