Meet the Board: Lorenzo Cobiella, A Life Guided by Faith and Service

When Lorenzo Cobiella was in second grade, he thought he might like to become a priest.

Considering his life up to that point, that career decision made sense. Growing up in Hialeah in a close-knit Cuban American family, Lorenzo spent his time seeing faith in action. He attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School and attended church at Our Lady of the Lakes, he served every Sunday as an alter-server, and together with his family participated in church activities.

In addition to his dedicated to his faith, Lorenzo thrived in other areas of life as well. He played sports, competed in debate and gravitated towards anything and everything relating to government, politics and history. As he got older, his interested shifted from priesthood to secular life. But this wasn’t a sign Lorenzo was abandoning his faith; in fact, he was leaning into it.

After graduating from Monsignor Edward Pace High School, Lorenzo had plans to attend Florida State University to study political science. For all his planning, Lorenzo’s path went in a different direction.

During a time when he was experiencing changes in his home life, a parish priest offered Lorenzo a guiding hand. The priest encouraged him to stay in Miami as he continued his education, offering Lorenzo financial support if he would agree to help lead the youth ministry. Lorenzo agreed and began working on his undergraduate degree at Florda International University.

In his role as youth minister at Our Lady of the Lakes, he led service projects that strengthened his belief that faith and public service went hand in hand. Around that same time, his aunt was invited to serve as a Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) board member. Lorenzo’s aunt introduced him to LSF’s work, teaching him that Lutheranism and Catholicisim weren’t all that different.

“I realized there were more similarities than differences. There was more that united us than divided us,” Lorenzo said. “That experience changed the way I looked at faith and service.”

At the time, LSF was taking on a defunct shelter in need of repair. Lorenzo and his youth group took on the project as their own, clearing overgrown grounds, painting interiors, planting trees and even building a small library.

It was his first exposure to nonprofit work at scale and to the idea that while good intentions are the first step towards helping vulnerable populations, real change requires sustained commitment.

During his college career at FIU, Lorenzo was feeling the pressures of the real world fast approaching. He decided to change his major to finance, hoping it would be financial security for himself upon graduation. Upon graduating he took a job as a bank teller and while he felt safe and secure, he also felt empty.

“If you do something you’re not passionate about, it becomes just a job,” he said. “I wasn’t happy.”

Three years after graduating, he enrolled in law school at Barry University. During his second year, Lorenzo volunteered with then-U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Politics had always interested him, and the experience confirmed that he belonged in public service. She later offered him a position, allowing him to transfer back to Miami and complete his degree while working in her office. By the time he finished law school at FIU, he was back in his hometown, and he was one step closer to building the life he knew he was meant to lead.

After law school, he began in estate planning and guardianship before moving into municipal law. In 2014, he joined his current law-firm, and was assigned to serve as Assistant Town Attorney for Miami Lakes. Three years ago, Lorenzo and his firm were appointed city attorney for Doral, and in 2024 Lorenzo was added as a named partner to the law firm, Gastesi Lopez Mestre and Cobiella. Today, Lorenzo’s practice is focused on local government and education law.

Although Lorenzo remained involved in-service work through his church and civic life, his former relationship with LSF took time to mature into something larger. Former board member Laurel Marc-Charles first nominated him in 2011. The timing was not right. In 2019, his name resurfaced. This time, he accepted happily.

“It felt like coming back to something that had always mattered,” he said.

Professionally, Lorenzo brought with him decades of experience navigating public funding, contracts and regulatory systems. That expertise is especially valuable for an organization like LSF that relies heavily on government partnerships.

On a personal level, Lorenzo’s connection to LSF spanned decades and touched him on an even deeper level. Among LSF’s many initiatives that Lorenzo has an appreciation of, refugee services resonated most personally. His parents arrived in the United States as children after fleeing communist Cuba. That opportunity became the foundation that allowed him to thrive.

“If they hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “This country gave my family a chance.”

Those values, first formed through youth ministry and strengthened through years of public service and legal work, continue to guide his involvement with LSF. They inform how he approaches leadership, decision-making and advocacy, grounding his work in both compassion and accountability.

Today, as LSF’s board chair, Lorenzo emphasizes engagement and accountability. While he believes the board should possess a financial understanding of the organization he also stands behind seeing what operations and service delivery actually look like.

“As chair, in the next year and two years, I want to get my hands dirty and get more involved,” Lorenzo said. “I want to leave LSF better than what it is.” That commitment reflects not only Lorenzo’s personal investment in LSF’s future, but also his confidence in the organization’s leadership and direction.

Candidly, he said he believes LSF is in good hands. Lorenzo credits CEO Mike Carroll with fostering a culture of openness and collaboration that strengthens the organization at every level. He noted that Mike’s willingness to engage with board members, welcome feedback and share both challenges and successes creates a foundation of trust and transparency that ultimately benefits staff, partners and the families LSF serves.

Looking ahead, Lorenzo remains motivated by the same mission that shaped him early on as a young man leading a youth ministry: serve with integrity, compassion and purpose. Whether it’s advocating for communities through his public service, strengthening LSF’s lasting impact or continuing to walk in his faith, Lorenzo continued to live out the values that have guided him since his childhood.

While he remains deeply committed to strengthening LSF, his career and the communities he serves, Lorenzo is equally intention about showing up for his family and protecting time for the parts of life that aren’t measured by titles or lines on a resume.

When he is not in a courtroom, board meeting or community event, Lorenzo prioritizes time with his family, especially his 18-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son, and his wife. Whether it means attending school events, sharing meals at home or simply checking in on their day, he is intentional about staying present.

He also finds balance in quieter moments. Lorenzo enjoys fishing and spending time on the water, fitting in a round of golf when he can, and unwinding in the kitchen, where you might find him making anything from beef bourguignon to Cuban chicken soup with plantains. Those routines, he said, help keep him grounded and connected to the people and values that shaped him.

Looking ahead, Lorenzo sees his future much the same way he has approached every stage of his life: rooted in faith, guided by service and centered on lifting others alongside him. From youth ministry to public service to nonprofit leadership, his path has been defined by a belief that real change begins with personal responsibility.

“We can only grow together as a community when you give a hand to someone else,” Lorenzo said. “That’s how you create real change.”