Nicole de Lara Puente joined the Live Like Bella® Childhood Cancer Foundation as Chief Executive Officer in June of 2017 but had been a Bella Believer since Bella’s battle with cancer began in 2007. She is a passionate leader and devoted advocate of the Foundation. Under her leadership, Live Like Bella® has partnered with the State of Florida to create the Live Like Bella® Pediatric Cancer Research Initiative to allocate funds specifically for childhood cancer research. As of May 2022, the initiative has allocated a historic $26 million dollars and funded 45 multicenter clinical trials and innovative discovery science. Prior to joining Live Like Bella®, Nicole was Director of Development at Baptist Health South Florida and Miami Cancer Institute – an alliance with Memorial Sloan Kettering. There she was responsible for the development and implementation of operational and strategic plans for the Baptist Children's Hospital Foundation. Before entering into the non-profit healthcare arena, Nicole spent over ten years in television in International Sales & Marketing for leading media outlets including Columbia Tristar, Sony Pictures, E! Entertainment, and Viacom. Nicole served on the Transition Advisory Committee on Health and Wellness for Governor Ron DeSantis and was Press Secretary for the Florida House of Representatives and Communications Director for the Florida Department of State. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications from Florida International University and a certificate in International Business from Scuola Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy. She and her husband Justin have two young daughters, Victoria and Grace, and reside in South Miami, Florida.