Initially considering a career as a school teacher, Jeni S. Kaye-Martin began her studies at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where she spent two years before joining the University of Miami in Florida. After getting to know a young man in college and being introduced to his outdoor advertising company, she decided to switch her degree from education to advertising and marketing when they got engaged. Ms. Kaye-Martin earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1955 and, while she did not end up marrying the young man, she remained dedicated to advertising and marketing as a field.
Ms. Kaye-Martin began her career the same year she graduated, joining Harris & Whitebrook Advertising in 1955. Going on to work with several advertising agencies, she attained the position of manager of the advertising production department for the GAC Corporation before joining Jordan Marsh Florida, an offshoot of the Jordan Marsh & Company department store brand, as advertising production director in 1971. She remained with Jordan Marsh Florida until 1983. During this time, she met her late husband, Allen, and the two were married at Vizcaya in 1973. They remained happily married until Allen’s passing in 1986.
Throughout her career, Ms. Kaye-Martin also donated her time and energy to a variety of professional endeavors. As a member of the American Advertising Federation, she served as the chair of the essay committee and held local membership with the Advertising Federation of Miami, where she spent time as the chair of their essay contest for high school girls. She was also affiliated with Gamma Alpha Chi, a professional advertising fraternity for women, which later merged with Alpha Delta Sigma, a men’s advertising fraternity, before it was ultimately absorbed by the American Advertising Federation to become the Alpha Delta Sigma Honor Society.
Now retired from the field of advertising, Ms. Kaye-Martin has remained active in her community, doing her utmost to do good and to give back as a volunteer and mentor. She cites her most notable achievements to be the simple fact that she did her absolute best for every organization that she worked for. Her community endeavors have included time spent as the chair of the development council and corresponding secretary for the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove, as chair of the art show and corresponding secretary for the Patrons of the Philip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science and as vice president of the Art Directors Club.
Furthermore, Ms. Kaye-Martin is a member of the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, for which she published a booklet on the Vizcaya province. Throughout her career, she was always particularly impacted by her travels abroad, which invariably led to new exposure and experiences. She has traveled to Europe with other advertising professionals on a number of occasions. Born to father John and mother Elizabeth, Ms. Kaye-Martin’s family also includes seven brothers, John, Alex, Louis, Steve, James, Sigmund and William, five of whom served in World War II.
