By Daniel Casciato

For Dr. Julie Kantor, M.D., FAAP, becoming the incoming 2026 president of the Miami-Dade County Medical Association is both a professional milestone and a deeply personal homecoming.

A lifelong Miamian, Dr. Kantor has built a career that reflects excellence in pediatric emergency medicine, medical education, physician advocacy, and community service. Her upcoming presidency brings together the many threads of that work: caring for children and families, preparing the next generation of physicians, and helping strengthen organized medicine in the community that shaped her.

“Going to medical school in Miami was so important to me because I wanted to be able to give back to the community that raised me,” Dr. Kantor says. “Being president of the Miami-Dade County Medical Association feels like the summit of all of that for me.”

The Miami-Dade County Medical Association has served as a trusted voice for physicians and patients in South Florida since 1903. Representing a diverse network of physicians, residents, and medical students, MDCMA is committed to advancing healthcare through advocacy, education, leadership, physician wellness, and community service. The association champions the interests of the medical profession while addressing the evolving healthcare needs of Miami-Dade County’s multicultural communities. Through collaboration, innovation, and public engagement, it continues to shape the future of medicine in South Florida and protect the integrity of the physician-patient relationship.

Dr. Kantor’s path to leadership reflects that mission. She began her academic journey at Miami-Dade Community College, graduating summa cum laude, and continued at Florida International University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, also summa cum laude. She then received her medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1999 and completed her pediatric residency at Miami Children’s Hospital, now Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.

Her academic success was supported by scholarship opportunities at multiple stages of her education, and today she credits the community around her for helping make her career possible.

“Miami has allowed me to build a meaningful life here,” she says. “This community shaped the person that I am.”

Since 2003, Dr. Kantor has served as an attending pediatric emergency physician at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children. Over more than two decades in pediatric emergency medicine, she has cared for children and families during some of their most vulnerable moments while also contributing to quality improvement, patient safety and hospital leadership initiatives.

“As a pediatrician, it’s not just about the patient,” Dr. Kantor says. “My job is to medically take care of the child, but I also have to earn the trust of the parents and make sure they understand and feel comfortable with the plan of care.”

That commitment to clear communication, empathy, and teamwork has defined her clinical work. While Dr. Kantor began her professional life as a ballerina, she says the discipline, preparation, and composure she developed in dance ultimately strengthened her approach to medicine. In the emergency department, those qualities help her lead in high-pressure environments, work closely with multidisciplinary teams, and remain focused on the needs of patients and families.

Just as significant as her clinical career is her impact as an educator. Dr. Kantor currently serves as Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, where she is also Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Pediatrics and Associate Clerkship Director for the Pediatric Clerkship. Since 2016, she has provided intensive instruction to every graduating class of third-year medical students rotating through pediatrics, mentoring more than 1,200 students through hands-on clinical training.

“Mentoring medical students is one of the most rewarding parts of my career,” she says. “It’s a two-way street. I give to them, but some of my best days are when my students bring me a fresh perspective, and I learn something from them.”

Her teaching emphasizes not only clinical skills, but also confidence, critical thinking, professionalism, and resilience. In both inpatient and emergency medicine settings, she helps students learn how to obtain pediatric histories, perform examinations, build differential diagnoses, interpret labs, communicate with families, and develop sound plans of care.

“I try to prepare my medical students to honor this profession the way I was taught to honor it,” Dr. Kantor says. “Medicine is not just a job. It is a calling.”

Her dedication to education has earned notable recognition, including the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine 2024 Excellence in Clinical Teaching in Pediatrics Teaching Award and the 2020 Excellence in Teaching Award for Clerkship Direction. She also received a Service Award from the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Medical Executive Committee in 2022 and completed the Dade County Medical Association Physician Leadership Academy in 2021.

Dr. Kantor’s leadership extends well beyond the classroom and emergency department. Within MDCMA, she has served on the Board of Directors, as Secretary/Treasurer, and now as President-Elect. She is a member of the association’s Continuing Medical Education Committee and the Residents and Medical Students Research Competition Planning Committee. She also serves on the MDCMA delegation to the Florida Medical Association and has participated in advocacy efforts in Tallahassee focused on issues affecting physicians, patients, and healthcare delivery.

“I want to make sure that the Miami-Dade County Medical Association remains a strong, relevant voice for the patients and physicians in our community,” she says. “We need to advocate on issues like administrative burden, access to care, prior authorization, and the changing healthcare policy landscape.”

As the eighth female president in MDCMA history, Dr. Kantor also hopes her leadership will encourage more women physicians to pursue roles in organized medicine.

“I want other women to know that they can be involved,” she says. “They can start small, work their way up, and find a place where they can contribute.”

Her presidential inauguration will take place on Saturday, June 13, 2026, during MDCMA’s “Living the Dream in Miami” celebration at the JW Marriott Brickell. The event will formally install Dr. Kantor as president and honor the leadership of outgoing president Dr. Adriana Bonansea-Frances. More information is available on the MDCMA event page (miamimed.com/event/gala26).

For Dr. Kantor, “Living the Dream in Miami” is not a phrase about prestige or personal achievement. It is about service, gratitude, and responsibility.

“It’s about being brought up in a community, understanding the community in which I live, serving that community, and being so honored to now lead this organization,” she says. “If I can leave the Miami-Dade County Medical Association a little stronger, then that work will extend far beyond my presidency.”

For more information, visit miamimed.com.