Justin Berezin
Secretary
Justin is, in addition to being a lifelong animal lover and the board Secretary of theTurtleRoom, a practicing attorney and the founder of Miami Tortoise Garden, which Justin began as his passion project in 2023 to share his animals and animal-related experiences with others. Justin’s work as an attorney focuses primarily on media, intellectual property, e-commerce, and entertainment.
Justin has a B.A. in economics from Syracuse University and received both his J.D. and Masters of Music Business and Entertainment Industries from the University of Miami. After Law school, Justin worked in-house at a global music festival brand before founding an online nursery specializing in variegated plants from South Korean and Indonesia. It was during this time that tortoises first caught Justin’s attention, and in 2018, he acquired his first tortoise, a Burmese Star Tortoise (Geochelone platynota) named Dr. Brett. From the moment he first held Dr. Brett, Justin knew that working with these animals was something he was meant to do. Since 2018, Justin has spent every possible moment working with, learning about, and sharing his love for, tortoises. Justin’s kept nine different tortoise species, of which he currently breeds five. More recently, Justin’s started working with Vietnamese Black-breasted Leaf Turtles (Geomyda spengleri), as well as various Uroplatus species (leaf-tailed geckos). If he had to narrowly define himself as a reptile keeper, Justin would say he’s a Burmese star guy with an Egyptian tortoise habit and a
Justin lives in Miami with his fiancé, Syd, their two dogs, Craig and Ellie, and an office and yard full of nearly eighty tortoises, turtles, and leaf-tailed geckos. In Justin’s free time, there’s nothing he loves more than making the most of life in South Florida spending quality time with Syd, Craig, and Ellie.