Hon. Madam Justice Minnet Hafiz-Bertram is a Guyana-born Justice of Appeal, and is the first female judge to be elevated to the Belize High Court of Appeals. Before her appointment, Justice Hafiz-Bertram served as a Supreme Court Judge, Register General, Registrar of the Supreme Court and Crown Counsel in the Attorney General’s Ministry. She studied law in Guyana and at the Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad and Tobago, where she received her legal education certificate…
Our Sheroes
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett was born in the Amerindian Village of Santa Rosa, Guyana. She received her early education in Santa Rosa and then move to the capital Georgetown to attend a private school. Minister Rodrigues-Birkett then left Guyana for Saskatchewan, Canada, on scholarship, to pursue studies in Business Administration and Indian Studies. Following her return to Guyana in 1993, she read successfully for a degree in Social Work at the University of Guyana, while simultaneously managing…
Guyanese gospel singer/songwriter, Trenacia Esseboom-McKend, is known for her powerful vocals which set her apart from many in the local gospel music industry. She is the first born of two children to Bishop Terrence Esseboom (University of Guyana Print Journalism Lecturer) and Vanessa Esseboom, who both Pastor at the Light of Lights New Testament Church in Georgetown. She acknowledged in the past that growing up with parents who are Pastors has helped her walk with…
Born on January 16, 1982, Thara Natalie Prashad, musically known as Thara, is an American R&B singer/ songwriter/actress of Guyanese Heritage. Her father is Indo-Guyanese and her mother is part Irish and part African-American. While pursuing degrees in biology and acting at Fordham University, the sassy singer gave up her scholarship to pursue a music career. Thara impressed DJ Clue of Desert Storm Label with her audition and was offered a music contract in 2004….
Two female pioneer aviators were recently presented with their own commemorative stamps, which were launched by the Guyana Post Office. Cheryl Moore was the country’s first female military pilot in 1977 and Beverley Drake, the first female commercial pilot in the same year.
Marian Joan Burnett (born 22 February 1976 in Linden) is a Guyanese middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 and 1500 metres. She competed in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympic Games, reaching the second heat of the 800 metres on both occasions. She won the first of her three national Sportswoman of the Year awards in 1998 including being a national champion in two sports – track & field and bodybuilding & fitness. In…
Gaiutra Bahadur is a New York-based Guyanese-born journalist and book critic who writes frequently about the culture and politics of global migration. Her reporting, criticism and essays have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, The Nation, The Virginia Quarterly Review, The (London) Observer and Ms., among other publications. Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture is her first full-length book. A former daily newspaper staff writer, Gaiutra has covered schools,…
Fifteen year old Table Tennis Star, Chelsea Edghill, was introduced to the sport at the tender age of 9, and she has served up quite an impressive career record. The Bishop’s High School student first got her start at the Teach Them Young training Summer Camp and later at Mae’s where she regularly competed for the school. In 2006, Edghill made her first regional appearance at the inaugural tournament of the annual Caribbean Pre-Cadet Table…
Deputy Borough President Sandra Chapman has nearly three decades of experience as a manager, problem solver and advocate in the public sector with special emphasis on streamlining services between a busy city agency and its residents. As Marty’s chief advocate in constituent services, Chapman is uniquely qualified to assess our residents’ needs and to help them navigate the often complex workings of various city agencies, from housing issues to quality of life concerns and everything…