Guyanese Girl

Singer Shamain Greaves

06 Dec: She Rocks! R & B Sensation Shamain Greaves Was Born to Sing

Born Shamain Greaves June 3, 1992 in Georgetown, Guyana it was music from the start.  The daughter of the lead singer of Frontline, a popular band based in Guyana, she drew her musical influences from reggae, R&B, soul and those unforgettable golden oldies. At age 3 she moved to the United States and by age 5 began attending Thomas G. Pullen an arts magnet school located in Landover, Maryland. There Shamain studied the violin under the late Leslie Thomas…

Tessa-McWatt

05 Dec: She Rocks! Meet Tessa McWatt – Internationally Published Author

Tessa McWatt is an internationally published author  born in 1959 in Georgetown, Guyana. Her family migrated to Canada when she was three, and she grew up in Toronto where she pursued her love of writing and music.  She is the author of five earlier novels; her second, Dragons Cry, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and the City of Toronto Book Award. As an adult, Tessa worked as an editor in Toronto…

Khadijatou

04 Dec: She Rocks! Meet Khadijatou Doyneh, aka K2, International Singer/ Songwriter/Spoken Word Poet

Khadijatou Doyneh, aka K2, is a Guyanese raised and London based singer-songwriter, author,  spoken word poet, musician, and dancer. Her extensive travel across Europe, USA, Canada and Africa at an early age  gave birth to Khadijatou’s ‘lifetime travel-bug’ and wish to contribute  to creative culture.  She  started her performing arts career in dance theatre after graduating with a BA (Hons)  Dance and Spanish.  She discovered her aptitude for  writing, blending words and rhythms, and became a recognized artist on the …

World Champion Gwen O'Neil

03 Dec: Gwendolyn “Stealth Bomber” O’Neil: First Guyanese Woman to win a World Boxing Title

‘Gwen’ grew up in the Barima River area of the North West District in Guyana, the twentieth child in a family of 21 kids. She says she owes her toughness in the ring to long hours spent doing hard work on her parents’ farm at an early age.  Her father, who was from St. Lucia, died when she was five. She had also had to fight her way through school, so as not to be taken advantage of…

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29 Nov: She Rocks! June Haynes – Former Senior Vice President of Retail for Valentino

When June Haynes was a young girl in Guyana, she would spend her afternoons in her mom’s clothing store flipping through Vogue magazines that had been sent from America. Her love of style brought her to New York, where she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and majored in fashion buying and merchandising.  The combination of determination and felicity landed her the Senior Vice President of Retail & Brand Ambassador position at Valentino, the luxury fashion house founded by…

Poet Grace Nichols

29 Nov: She Rocks! Grace Nichols – Award Winning Guyanese Poet

Grace Nichols is a Guyanese poet.  She was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1950, the fifth of seven children. She was raised in the village of Highdam and attended the school where her father worked as headmaster and her mother taught piano lessons. At age eight she moved with her family to Georgetown, and at age sixteen she left high school with the hope of becoming a teacher. Earning a degree in communications at the University…

Simone Denny

28 Nov: She Rocks Her Guyanese Heritage! Simone Denny – Canadian Pop/Dance/House/Techno Vocalist

Soulful.  Divine.  Spellbinding.  Simone Denny is…a legend in the making.  Born and raised in Toronto, this powerhouse diva is of Guyanese heritage.  Simone’s Caribbean Canadian environment exposed her to a wide and eclectic mixed bag of musical influences. She grew up listening to calypso, reggae, Brazilian music, and of course, R&B. Simone knew in her heart that music would always be a major part of her life. Singing at a talent show in the 6th grade…

Christine Sukhram

27 Nov: She Rocks! Christine Sukhram, Six-Time Guyana Women’s Open Golf Champion

Christine Sukhram is the only leading lady in Guyana when it comes to golf.  She is currently the reigning Guyana Women’s Open Champion. In 2004, at the age of 15, Christine recorded her second international junior title when she won the Pepsi Junior Golf Tournament in Barbados. After proving herself a winner, Christine was selected for the Soca Soft Drinks sponsorship program for talented young Guyanese. Among her most memorable victories at that tender age was the Best Ladies Competition,…

Tesia Alexander

25 Nov: Tesia Alexander: LIAT Airline First Female Aircraft Engineer

An Aircraft Maintenance Engineer is often assumed to be male.  Slowly, however, the number of women is increasing, not only in the United States and the UK, but also in the Caribbean.   LIAT’s first female aircraft maintenance engineer, Tesia Alexander, is leading the way for other women who want to explore this field.  In 2009 Tesia became the first female aircraft engineer appointed by Liat, in its 53 years of operation.   Tesia is based Antigua and credits her success…