Vizcaya was originally the private winter residence of industrialist James Deering and in the course of the last century has known many identities. In Vizcaya's recent process to refresh our mission and vision, we wondered: What should the role of James Deering be in our new vision? Why does he matter? Why does Vizcaya matter? In exploring Vizcaya's two founding stories -- the story of the founding of the estate and the story of the museum -- we envision Deering as a catalyst that enables us to embrace stories of people, place, preservation and innovation through the past, present and future. Through this process, Vizcaya has redefined its role which is to inspire cultural vitality and environmental sustainability and to establish its relevance as a museum in the urban core of twenty-first-century Miami.