COVER GIRL: Singer Lisa Punch on the cover of Guyana Entertainment Magazine (GEM)

Founder & CEO of the award-winning global organization, Women on the Crossroads, Sherry Ann Dixons, was recently admitted to The Black 100+ Hall of Fame. The Black 100+ Project is an Exhibition of the top 100 Black Achievers in Modern Britain. Guyanese by birth, Sherry is highly respected in the ethnic community in Britain and developed a following of dedicated readers with her health, lifestyle, beauty and relationship articles  She is very passionate about raising the…

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,…

Deborah Nirmala Misir is a Guyanese/American attorney and founding partner of Lally & Misir, LLP. She is the daughter of New Amsterdam, Guyana-based attorney Jorawar Misir. A leading federal litigator and expert on administrative, constitutional and government regulatory law, she has over fifteen years of experience in both government and private practice, including briefing over seventy federal appeals cases up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court, and making seventeen federal appellate oral arguments. She…

Sometimes, when Dionne Hammiel wants the attention of her rambunctious kindergarten class, she stands on the table. Other times, she lowers her voice to a whisper, making her instructions a very important secret that every child strains to hear. The hushed message at John Burroughs Education Campus in the District was utterly routine on a recent day: “We need to go to the bathroom, drink some water, come back, and pick out our books to…

Shondell ‘Mystery Lady’ Alfred is a professional boxer from Guyana. She is one of the first female boxers to represent Guyana internationally and in 2011 the “Mystery Lady” was awarded “Most Inspirational Boxer of the Year” by the Women’s Boxing Archive Network (WBAN).  Alfred’s knockout victory over Corrine Van Ryck DeGroot was largely responsible for her winning the award in front of a glamorous line up of boxers worldwide. Shondell grew up in Albouystown where she took to athletics and later karate while in…

Congratulations to Dr. Paloma Mohamed, poet, playwright & educator on being named one of four honorees for the Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence (Arts & Letters).  Dr. Mohamed  is currently the Director of the Centre for Communication Studies at the University of Guyana. The Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards is the only programme in the Caribbean which seeks out and rewards outstanding nominees in Arts & Letters, Public & Civic Contributions, and Science…

JEAN SMALL is a Guyanese Jamaican living in Jamaica since 1954. She graduated from the University of the West Indies in Foreign Languages,–French, Spanish and Latin and her profession all her life has been as an educator. She has worked in Guyana, Trinidad, Nigeria, Australia and here in Jamaica as a teacher of French at both Secondary and University levels. Her love since school days has been theatre and she now considers herself first an…

Before there was American Idol, there was Pat Cameron, who as host of the influential radio show, `On Show Young Guyana,` helped give recognition to the musical abilities of many young Guyanese. Pat was born on October 3, 1924 to Lilian Gertrude Christiani and Henry Perot Christiani. A Bishop’s High School graduate, she  worked in the Guyana Civil Service and was trained as a Social Welfare Officer in Jamaica. She entered the world of broadcasting…

Dr. Oneka LaBennett is Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. She received her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Harvard University in 2002, and her B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Wesleyan University in 1994. Born in Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. LaBennett’s research and teaching interests include popular culture; race, gender and consumption; urban anthropology; transnationalism and diaspora; and Caribbean migration. Dr. LaBennett is the author of She’s Mad Real:…

Mona Williams is a storyteller, children’s writer and educator whose action-packed stories and dramatic presentations enthrall audiences of all ages.  She covers a vast spectrum of stories including myths, legends and heroic tales; folk, fairy and wisdom stories, fables, riddles and autobiographical adventures. Born in the town of Mackenzie, Guyana on 27 July 1943,  Williams secured a place at the exclusive girls’ school Bishops. The school lends it name to her autobiography, Bishops: My Turbulent…

On Saturday, July 4, Guyana’s first female World Champion Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil defeated Sonya Lamonakis and captured the heavyweight title in Philipsburg, St Maarten. O’Neil who is now a five-time boxing world champion while at the same time a mother of five children, thanked the fans, her management team and God for the heart-stirring win which put her back on top of the world heavyweight boxing scene. A huge crowd favourite, O’Neil fought to…

Marcie De Santos started designing over five years ago. She always had a passion for unique clothes, so she started by designing for herself and soon realized that she had a flair for designing. She prides herself in the uniqueness of the color blends that she uses. Her target is mainly women whose desire is to exude femininity in unique, exuberant, eye catching styles. The Guyana Fashion Week (GFW) 2008 was her debut runway show…

  Keisha Edwards has been designing from a very young age. As a child growing up in Guyana, she would sketch outfits and ask her mother to make them for her. Born on September 8th, 1986, Keisha grew up in North Ruimveldt and then moved to East Ruimveldt at the age of 7. One of 8 kids, Keisha treasures her friendship with her siblings, and still reminisces on her childhood and the good times they…

Educator, author, researcher, community advocate and TV and radio host Dr. Janice Emanuel-Bunn was born in Guyana and migrated to the United States in 1983 and settled in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Dr. Emanuel-Bunn has always demonstrated great interest in the community by conducting mentoring, domestic violence prevention, health and youth empowerment programs for many years. She said her passion is to “sow seeds of greatness in others.” She has served the Seventh-day Adventist church in…

Lorna E. Welshman-Neblett has reached a pinnacle that few women of color have attained in the fragrance industry. More than 20 years ago she launched Angel, the first Thierry Mugler perfume, in the U.S. market. The fragrance has been flying off high-end shelves since. Welshman-Neblett’s career in the fragrance industry began in the late 1970s, when Elizabeth Arden established a separate fragrance company with Chloe, Burberrys and others. Welshman-Neblett started working with Thierry Mugler Parfums…