Ed Hudak, B.S.C. ’87, M.A.L.S. ’10, and his wife, Alina, B.B.A. ’82, M.P.A. ’84, are distinguished South Florida community leaders and public servants: Alina as the first female Miami-Dade county manager, among many other trailblazing achievements, and Ed as the chief of police for the City of Coral Gables.
Between them the couple have received countless awards and accolades; both are members of Iron Arrow, for example. The most recent accolade came in early June, when Ed received the Fred Maas Law Enforcement Leadership Award from the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, which honored Ed for his outstanding contributions to law enforcement and community service.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Ed came to the University of Miami with a football scholarship. He was appointed Coral Gables chief of police in September 2015, having worked his way through the ranks, and currently leads a team of 310 and oversees a budget of more than $38 million.
The Hudaks are true ’Canes for life. Ed, Alina, and their two daughters have seven University of Miami degrees among them. In a 2019 profile written by his daughter, Jenny, Ed waxed lyrical about what it means to be a Miami Hurricane:
“The beautiful thing about Coral Gables and the University of Miami isn’t so much it’s tree canopy, but its root system,” he said. “The root system in Coral Gables reaches up and grabs you. I got here when I was just 18 years old and it was all about football, that was it. Now, to see my children, to see you, growing up in this community, it's so much more than just football."
