Don’t forget to love yourself…..

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. Melody Beattie, Quoted in “Simple Abundance”, by Sarah Ban Breathnach

Democrat political newcomer Tinesha Allen upset longtime Griffis–Widewater Supervisor Jack Cavalier on Tuesday, defeating the incumbent by 18 votes in Safford County, Virginia.   Allen is the first African American woman ever elected to Stafford’s Board of Supervisors. She was one of two new supervisors and two new School Board members elected Tuesday in Stafford. They joined all four incumbent constitutional officers and School Board Chairwoman Patricia Healy, who won contested re-election bids, and George Washington…

On April 10th, the first Guyanese Girls Rock Scholarship award was presented to Kelly Hyles at the “Bridging the Gap” Millennial Conference in Brooklyn, New York. Kelly, a high school senior, was accepted to the top 8 Ivy League schools in the United States and was honored for academic excellence. She was presented with the Guyanese Girls Rock Certificate of Scholarship and a new Apple MacBook laptop computer by GGR’s Founder, Cloyette Harris-Stoute. Kelly was…

Allison Butters-Grant  is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Seafood Distributors, an importing/exporting business that she jointly operates with her husband, Kerwin.  The daughter of successful seafood entrepreneurs she opened her own Seafood Market in Guyana specializing in wild caught seafood sourced from Guyana with the mantra “straight from the sea to your plate.” Her business distributes  seafood locally in Guyana and to the international markets, including the Caribbean and the US.  In 2015, Guyana Chronicle…

One week ago Letitia Wright lit up the purple carpet at the Avengers: Infinity War premiere in Hollywood. The 24-year-old Guyanese-born British Star is inspiring the next generation of young women in STEM & Style and we’re definitely a fan!  Letitia is soaking up her new Hollywood fame after appearing in ‘Black Panther’, ‘Black Mirror’, and even Drake’s music video ‘Nice for What.’ According to Teen Vogue, Letitia looked like a true superhero at the Avenger’s world premiere…

“Winner are not people who never fail, but people who never quit” and Lisa Punch keeps on winning.  The model/singer/songwriter who represented Guyana at the 2015 Miss World Pageant in Sanya, China beat out her fellow contestants earlier this week and made history for Guyana when she performed one of her original songs and won the Talent category of the Competition. Per missworld.com,  “Miss Guyana received a standing ovation from her fellow contestants and the…

After an eventful and exciting evening of talent showcase, evening wear and question and answer segments at the Miss West Indian Canadian Pageant, Canadian-Guyanese contestant Alexsis Theodore came out on top and was crowned Miss WI Canadian 2017, taking on the title from last year’s winner Chanelle Lee. The event hosted by prominent emcee Reneil Kistodial was held on Sunday, October 22nd at the Red Rose Convention Centre in Mississauga. With the beautiful sunny weather…

At a time when many cultural forces continue to stand in the way of women pursuing careers in the science and technology fields, Dr.  Shabana Amanda Ali is proving to be a great role model for young female scientists.  A self-professed “Multidimensional Student of Life” her work speaks volumes of her level of commitment to the field of research science.  After witnessing the decline of her grandmother’s health due to osteoarthritis, Dr. Ali  decided to dedicate her career to finding a…

Grace Aneiza Ali is the founder and editor of  OfNoteMagazine.org, an online magazine that celebrates people of color in the arts. She was born in Guyana and moved to the United States when she was fourteen years old. Having grown up surrounded by a culture of illiteracy among women, she is committed to the work of educating girls in developing nations. Grace launched Of Note in 2009 as a platform to honor “artists whose work values compassion,…

Rashada Harry is the Founder of  Your Future Your Ambition,  a social enterprise she created in 2012, which aims to encourage people from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority backgrounds into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related careers.  Since its launch 6 years ago over 4500 students have attended the YFYA annual event.  The social enterprise has been recognized for its excellence and the directors as leaders and role models in STEM.  Rashada was motivated to…

Lack of self-esteem can grab hold in times of stress and challenge, and self-loathing is fueled by exhaustion and hopelessness. Self-love can be reborn by making a commitment to add life-affirming activities to daily life. It is crucial that we nourish ourselves–body, mind, and spirit. This does not mean going to a spa every few years. It has to be blended into our lifestyles and treated with as much importance as a doctor’s appointment or…

Maureen Bunyan is an Emmy Award winning Anchor at WJLA TV 7, ABC Affiliate in Washington D.C.  She is of  Guyanese and Aruban heritage.  Her parents moved from Guyana to Aruba in the 1930s, where Maureen was born.  The eldest of three daughters,  immigrated with her family to the United States when she was just eleven years old, after her father, Arthur Bunyan, accepted a job with a company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her mother Wilhelmina was…

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently announced the appointment of Catherine Pollard of Guyana as Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. She will succeed Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service and able leadership. Since 2014, Pollard served as Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, prior to which she served as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management from 2008 to 2014.  She was previously Chief of Staff…

Rainy Milo (Rachael Smith by birth) is an R&B recording artist born on November 12, 1995  in south-east London  to a Guyanese mother and British father.  She got her stage name, Rainy Milo, from a nicknames at school that stuck.  Milo began her career singing with local musicians and arts collectives at age 14   She attended the Harris Academy South Norwood and then went on to study Musical Theatre at the BRIT School known for honing the talents of acts like Adele, Amy…

Meet Halima Yusuf, CEO & Founder of FRX International Drugs (FRXID), a pharmaceutical company based in Berlin, Maryland. As Chief Executive Officer, Halima Yusuf has had a very influential role in steering the ever-evolving business. In fact she indicated that she used her upbringing in Guyana as inspiration to create the company. According to her, the scarcity of proper pharmacy care and knowing the facts relating to the medication and its usability drove her to create…