Jeannett Black Slesnick (July 28, 1947 – August 3, 2023) was an American philanthropist, entrepreneur, community advocate, publisher, public official, and cultural patron. Slesnick had served in several leadership positions in South Florida boards and foundations as well as in elected office in the City of Coral Gables where she resided until her death. She published the widely circulated local news magazine Jeannett's Journal and founded the prominent South Florida real estate firm Slesnick and Jochem, which remains active under the direction of her business partner, Ginger Jochem.
Early life
Jeannett Frances Black was born on July 28, 1947, in St. Louis, Missouri to Roy and Cecilia Black. Her family owned a citrus grove in Vero Beach, Florida, where they would relocate for the rest of Jeannett's upbringing. She graduated from Vero Beach High School in 1965, after which she first attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, then transferred to the University of Florida in Gainesville. There she met her future husband, Don Slesnick, a fellow student, in 1967 at the age of 20. He proposed on Valentine's Day of 1969 and the couple wed on May 3, 1969, as Don prepared to report to active duty as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s Artillery Officers Basic Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
The couple spent three months living in Lawton, Oklahoma for Don's training as an artillery officer, followed by two years living abroad in Germany while Don served as an atomic warhead advisor with NATO. In 1971, Jeannett was nominated for Military Wife of the Year by the 5th U.S. Army Artillery Group (USAAG), located in Büren, Westphalia. During that posting, she served as the education advisor sponsored by the University of Maryland.
Upon returning to the United States, the Slesnicks were briefly stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia, until Don Slesnick went to serve in the Vietnam War, during which Jeannett would complete her bachelor's degree at the University of Florida, graduating in 1972. That same year, upon the completion of Don's tour of duty, the Slesnicks moved to Coral Gables, bought their first home, and Jeannett gave birth to their first child, Kathleen.
Professional career
Professionally, Slesnick developed a successful practice as a leading South Florida realtor. Slesnick specialized in the Coral Gables market, a historic planned community known for its Mediterranean architecture and affluent neighborhoods, and for being the most valuable real estate market in the United States after surpassing Beverly Hills and New York City in 2025. She began her career in 1975 working with Kerdyk Real Estate for nine years where she secured her realtor's license. She then went to work for EWM (Esslinger Wooten Maxwell) Realtors where she remained for over 25 years and became the firm's top producer in their Coral Gables office and further established herself in the field regionally.
By the mid-1990s, Slesnick was ranked among the top one percent of realtors in the United States and had surpassed $100 million in career sales. In 2003, while at EWM, Slesnick met fellow realtor Ginger Jochem who would become a close friend and key collaborator in Slesnick's various career pursuits and projects, including publishing and public policy advocacy. In 2006 Slesnick launched her own firm, Slesnick and Associates, with Jochem after they had each achieved real estate broker status. The primary impetus for creating her own firm was a desire to deepen her philanthropic work, which required more financial resources as well as more flexibility in her schedule.
The firm proved successful early on, quickly securing their first sale with a value of $2.2 million ($3.5 million in 2025, adjusted for inflation). Later renamed Slesnick and Jochem in 2011, as the firm became more successful it would locate its offices on the grounds of the Biltmore Hotel, a prominent National Historic Landmark. The firm expanded its specialization and offerings in several primary South Florida real estate markets including Coral Gables, Brickell/Downtown Miami, Coconut Grove, and Key Biscayne. Within a decade Slesnick and Jochem would become the top listing brokerage in Coral Gables.
By 2017, she ranked in the top one-half percent of realtors nationally. Slesnick held the distinction of being the top listing agent on MLS in Coral Gables for over 30 years in terms of the number of homes listed and sold. In media interviews, Slesnick partly credited her success to her cumulative experience and deep knowledge of Coral Gables building and zoning codes.
Journalism and publishing
Among her community and entrepreneurial ventures, Slesnick had a 15-year career in journalism and publishing. Her first involvement in journalism came after joining the Junior League of Miami, where she helped create its monthly magazine. This would inform her initial experiences in reporting on community-related news. Then, in 2008, while Slesnick served as Chair of the Coral Gables Community Foundation, Slesnick advocated for pursuing a grant from the Knight Foundation to begin an online magazine for Coral Gables residents, which the Foundation was successful in securing. In April 2015, Slesnick again served as an active mediator and pipeline of community information and resources when, as a Coral Gables Commissioner, she directed her office to publish a monthly online newsletter relating to Coral Gables issues and news.
In August 2017 Slesnick launched her best-known work, Jeannett's Journal, to report in-depth news in the Coral Gables community. It would cover notable stories, events, and issues in the area until her death in 2023. Running in a quarterly publication format, the magazine grew to a circulation reaching approximately 16,000 recipients electronically and another 18,000 physical copies mailed primarily to single family households, making it one of the most popular publications dedicated to coverage of Coral Gables and surrounding communities. Part of the publication's success stemmed from a scarcity in media reporting following the Miami Herald'''s closing of much of its coverage of the Coral Gables area. Additionally, the magazine was also focused on reporting cultural, non-profit, and social news often overlooked by other media outlets. In its operations, Slesnick served as Chief Editor and publisher, and oversaw operations along with copy editor Susi Davis.
Advocacy and philanthropy
Prior to her political and publishing careers, Slesnick had become an active advocate in support of several causes, including literacy, sustainability, historic preservation, community development, public health, senior care issues, and women's professional development. Her advocacy resulted in several projects, programs, initiatives, and organizations being created around those respective issues. She was also engaged financially, supporting and serving on the boards of numerous non-profits throughout her career.
In literacy Slesnick is credited with helping to establish the Coral Gables Literacy Festival in 2020 which would partner with the City of Coral Gables and several leading literary institutions including the Scholastic Book Fair, Books & Books, the Coral Gables Museum, and the Coral Gables Library to provide community services for local youth. These included donations of books to families in need, free literacy screenings and evaluations, children's activities, and author events. She was also a leading advocate for the renovation and refurbishment of the Coral Gables Library, a registered architectural landmark of Coral Gables.
Slesnick was also active in developing assistance programs for young women. In her work to advance women's professional development, Slesnick had partnered with Coral Gables Senior High School to create a professional mentoring program, known as the “YaYas”, for female students to help them write resumes, prepare for interviews, and provide professional attire for those in need.
Slesnick advocated for sustainability and environmentalism in several capacities, including in her role as a Board of Directors member of the Coral Gables Garden Club, where she supported and publicized initiatives such as establishing new parks, increasing the number of trees in the city, and promoting the socio-economic and urban benefits to extensive tree presence in cities. A notable example would be a major sustainability and beautification project undertaken while Slesnick served as Chair of the Coral Gables Community Foundation. Slesnick worked with the city to design a plan and then raised the funds to place a series of oak trees on the median of one of the city's prominent downtown business district thoroughfares, which were later replaced with Royal Palms and relocated to a residential neighborhood where they have remained as character-defining features.
Another major focus of her advocacy was historic preservation. In that field, Slesnick was a patron and supporter of the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables (HPACG), as well as an active member of the Dade Heritage Trust. Slesnick also campaigned politically against the issue of high-density development as well as controversial Master Plan changes and frequently awarded variances to the Coral Gables Zoning Code. The high-density development issue was seen by Slesnick as well as many residents and members of the historic preservation community as damaging to the city's long-established historic character, leading Slesnick to advocate in favor of more robust preservation efforts through government roles as a City Commissioner and as Vice Chair of the Coral Gables Historic Preservation Board.
Slesnick's other community leadership included serving as President of Gables Good Government (GGG), a not-for-profit community organization founded in 2009 to encourage transparency and public participation in Coral Gables government, and would lead the group from 2012 to 2015. Slesnick was also active in supporting cultural programming through Actor's Playhouse at the historic Miracle Theatre, where she served as a Board member for twenty years from 1995 to 2015, and supporting art openings. Other roles Slesnick held in South Florida through her public life included serving on the Board of the American Red Cross of South Florida as well as being a Board member of the Junior League of Miami.
In addition to her civic roles, Slesnick was also active in the Coral Gables faith community. She served twice in the leadership position of Senior Warden of St. Philip's Episcopal Church, a part of the Slesnick family's four generations of involvement in the church. Thereafter she remained active in organizing and supporting many of the church's events.
Political career
By the start of the 1980s, Slesnick was widely recognized in South Florida for her engagement in community issues, leading to direct political activism and involvement. Her political career formally began when she first ran unsuccessfully for Coral Gables City Commission in 1983 as a rare woman candidate at the time. Following that race, Slesnick's community involvement continued to deepen, including several cultural and economic leadership positions in the region. One early role following her first campaign was Slesnick's election as a member of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, serving from 1984 to 1987, followed by being elected President of the Junior Orange Bowl Committee in 1989.