Coton, Carlos D.
Carlos D. Coton, Cuban-American educator and businessman was born on December 29th, 1950 in Almendares, a neighborhood of the City of Havana in Cuba. At the age of three, Onelio Jorge Cardozo one of the premier TV and movie producers of the time in the country, discovered Carlos and as a young actor was prolific in movies, theater, radio and television, despite his young age. He acted with luminaries of the then great Cuban show business and was featured in magazines and newspapers as a star in his own right. What was more interesting was that he could not read yet and learned all scripts by listening to his parents read the scripts to one another.
Coton came to the United States in 1960 with his parents, soon after Castro’s arrival. He went to public schools in the Miami area, learned the new language, and worked summers so that he could have a reduced tuition at La Salle High School, his school of choice. This was the beginning of a work life that has seen no end. He helped the then Diocese, Archdiocese now, convert a car dealership into a parish which is now St. John Bosco; clear the area where the Ermita de la Caridad, a Cuban religious mission, now resides and other chores to pay for the stipend of the school. He excelled in academics and extra-curricular activities playing football, basketball as well as running track and belonging to multiple clubs and associations. In addition, he was the drummer of a popular band which were in vougue at the time playing in high school dances and functions, imitating [The Beatles] as best as they could.
This work life positioned him as a tractor-trailer driver for a large department store chain running the Miami-Key West route on the old bridges that have since been condemned. This was how he paid his way through college since the partial scholarship was not enough and the financial aid programs at the time were truly restricted. This long route was only a couple of days a week allowing him to devote time to his studies.
He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Linguistics but went into the business management arena to work. During this academic term pursuing his bachelor's degree, he produced over 200 poems, several short stories, many vignettes and critical literary comments. He also produced write ups about learning English as a second language, a soon to be explosive field.
After graduation, the same company for which he drove the Overseas Highway, hired him as its Transportation Manager and later promoted him to Vice President of Operations of the nine store chain. He was later the Director of Operations of a furniture manufacturer and distributor with plants in Lake Wales, West Palm Beach and Miami with a diverse group of employees.
He has operated his own CDC Consultants firm since 1980 dealing with all facets of business: accounting, personnel management, marketing, taxation, credit repair. This consulting firm has as varied a portfolio of clients as topics concerned. These clients come from all across the hemisphere including Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Cayman Islands. Local businesses have also relied in his expertise and the Sister Cities programs for Miami-Cochabamba, Miami-Santiago have utilized his expertise in fostering liaisons.
Continuing his knack for converting, he has helped open two centers of the local community college in Miami and both centers have now turned into a full fledge Campus in their own right. From a former pizza parlor and a shoe store, both centers were physically and intellectually converted and now are pillars of the multi-campus college.
He managed a Center for Latino Education with a grant from the federal government at the local state university. This program helped in the education and settlement of the historical and massive Cuban Mariel boatlift and the Haitian immigration (to a lesser scale, but chronologically simultaneous with Mariel). These two populations had to be assimilated in the community that encompassed four counties in the state of Florida and were offered a wide range of social and educational services. Educational programs for both groups, in the two diverse languages, were drawn up and seventeen centers established under his guidance.
Serving God under various capacities, under the auspices of the Lutheran Church, he conducted another massive Mariel relocation and educational program which was based in the two local counties and served thousands in skills and language learning, transcript equivalence and other pertinent issues. The Haitian immigrant offered different challenges and had to be repositioned from the area of choice around Belle Glade, to other metropolitan areas. In addition, they had to be taught a vocation, per a mandate from the federal government. Programs, liaisons and other details were quickly drawn up and implemented.
Coton continues to be an adjunct professor at two local institutions. He continues to teach with a passion and his students know that they will not be left alone, regardless of the class time. He has a web site that includes over 18,000 test items, over 500 links to other educational sites, and a wealth of other information that he provides to his students for life. He produces multiple workbooks, booklets and computer presentations for his classes and students are free to continue using the materials long after the class is over and they are no longer his students.
After the immigration population experience, Coton later became the Financial and Business Director for the Latin American Division of a major player in the freight forwarding business that was the precursor of today’s DHL FedEx and UPS monsters. As such, he traveled extensively in the hemisphere. The division had two offices prior to his being enlisted and when he left, the company had representation in 56 offices in the South American continent and the Caribbean; an office in each capital city and offices in other important cities in each country. He was instrumental in finding agents, locations, contractual negotiations, banking relationships, treasury functions, and liaison between the individual offices and headquarters. Money repatriation and offshore investments were part of his daily concerns.
During his tenure with the company, he witnessed revolutions in Argentina, earthquakes in Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica, military coups in Ecuador, [...] plans in Colombia, and other incredible adventures. He dealt with as many currencies as there were countries and negotiated contracts in multiple languages.
He has been listed in seven of the Who’s Who publications continuously since 1986. He was listed in the 1988, 1992 and 1995 "5,000 Personalities of the World" and many of his other accomplishments and memberships are at the end of this write up.
Coton has been an American football and basketball official for over thirty years and was the coordinator of an officials association for twelve years. He has officiated at all levels and coordinated a large group of officials that covered the southern part of the state of Florida. He continues being active in this endeavor.
He is an avid bike rider and coordinates this hobby with charitable rides for foundations like the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Heart Association, The Kidney Foundation, the Diabetes Foundation where he rides for pledges on an annual basis. The Multiple Sclerosis ride is a 150 mile Miami-Key Largo-Miami event he has participated in for the past 15 years.
Coton is an ordained minister and has completed the canon of required courses and has earned his Doctorate in Divinity, Doctorate in Biblical Studies, and is has completed his Diplomate in Discipleship, Diplomate in Deaconate and Diplomate in Ministry. Coton has been married to Susana Muriel since 1992. He has three children, Alexandra who is married and lives in Gainesville, Florida, David and Sean who live with him and his wife, in Miami..
Memberships and affiliations: • American Management Associations • Academy of International Business • Society for Human Resource Management • National Society of Tax Professionals • American Institute of Professional Accountants • Who's Who in the South and Southwest (listed since 1986) • Who's Who in Finance (listed since 1988) • Who's Who in Finance and Industry (listed since 1989) • Who's Who in Finance and Business (listed since 2001) • Who's Who in America (listed since 1986) • Who's Who in the World (listed since 1989) • Who's Who Among America's Teachers (listed since 2000) • 5,000 Personalities of the World (listed 1989 and 1990) • Educators of the World (listed 1991-1997) • American Biographical Institute Research Board of Advisors • Brazilian Chamber of Commerce • Ecuadorian Inter-American Chamber of Commerce • Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce • Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce • Ciity of Miami Sister Cities Program - Santiago Chile; Cochabamba, Bolivia • STARS/HOPE mentor • Phi Delta Kappa • National Council of Teachers of English • GULF TESOL • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development • Ordained Minister - Reverend Dr. Carlos D. Coton - Universal Life Christian Church; Rose Ministries • Associate of Arts in English • Bachelor of Arts in English • Master of Science in Adult Education • Master of Science in Linguistics • Doctorate in International Business • Doctor of Divinity • Doctor in Biblical Studies • Diplomate in Discipleship • Diplomate in Deaconate • Diplomate in Ministry • Florida High School Activities Association - Registered Official • Greater Miami Athletic Conference Football Official • Greater Miami Athletic Conference Basketball Official • Greater Miami Athletic Conference Basketball Clinician/Observer • Miami-Dade Officials' Association - Coordinator of Officials