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

Only 6% of all surgeons in the United Kingdom are female, and Dr. Samantha Tross is one of them. She’s the first Black British woman to become a consultant Orthopaedic surgeon. Samantha was born in Georgetown Guyana on June 30, 1968 to Sammy and Gwendolin Tross. The second of their four children, she went to St. Gabriel’s Primary School before her diplomat father was assigned to England and the family relocated. Samantha obtained a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery degree…

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…

Samantha Cross is a new up and coming triple threat singer/songwriter and dancer who goes by the name SCross. She was born in Linden at Mackenzie Hospital, but now lives in Canada. Growing up Samantha always knew that she wanted to be an entertainer. She started singing at the age of 8 and performed her  first solo with her church choir. Over the years, Samantha has performed at many venues including some well known clubs,…

Her stage name ‘Big Red’, is symbolic of her maturity; she considers herself a “big girl”, and Red- describes the intensity of her performances – red hot. Born in Georgetown Guyana, Michelle “Big Red” King is the eldest of six children of the talented Desiree Edghill. The proud mother of two sons, Steve and Jonathan, Michelle “Big Red” King is a class act who has mastered the ability to harmonize. She possesses a powerful voice…

Activist Karen De Souza is one of the three recipients of the 2014 Laureates of the Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards forExcellence. The Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence (ANSCAFE) is the English-speaking Caribbean’s leading recognition programme in Arts, Sciences, and Public and Civic Work. De Souza is a women’s and children’s rights activist from Guyana. She is the co-founder of Red Thread, an advocacy organisation which provides service and support, education, and advocacy…

The extraordinary life of Baroness Valerie Amos has taken her from the small island of Wakenaam at the mouth of the Essequibo River in Guyana to the House of Lords. It is a journey that includes time spent at the United Nations headquarters in New York and the British High Commission in Australia. She has now returned to London where she has become the first black director of a British University at the School of…

“My name is Raaqima Mc Rae and I migrated to New York from Guyana four years ago. Today (June 25th, 2014) was my graduation, I graduated with honors. Adjusting to this new environment was definitely not easy, but the challenge was worth it. I am proud to say that this Fall I would be attending Johnson and Wales University to major in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Management, and minor in Pre-Law and Spanish. If I…

Born on August 9th, 1985 in Unity Village, Guyana, Indomatie Goordial-John is the eldest of three children, and the only member of her family interested in sports. A right-hand bat and off-spin bowler, Indomatie started playing tape-ball and softball cricket at the age of 13 at the Bygeval Secondary School.  She later played for the Eastern Warriors. In 1999, Indomatie joined Unity Sports Club, one of the first women’s cricket teams in Guyana. Two years…

Victoria Marianna Gunraj is the owner of  Miami-based Caribbean clothing line and T-shirt Company “DeportedTEES.”  Born in Miami, Florida on December 17th, 1989, Victoria’s parents hail from the villages of Wales and Vreed-en-Hoop in West Demerara, Guyana. A graduate of the University of Florida, this 24- year-old business woman earned a B.S. Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition.  Victoria’s passion for fashion and design led her to start her own fashion company in 2011…

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…

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,…

Kadecia Baird has established herself as New York’s fastest female high school sprinters.  This 17 year old star athlete has made a big impact on the track and field community. Kadecia grew up in  Campbellville, Georgetown and is a senior at Medgar Evers High School in Brooklyn, New York.  She began competing in Guyana, passionately pursuing a junior national title. However her talent sky rocketed after she migrated to the U.S. three years ago. Kadecia is a member of her school’s…

Below, the first female army officers, from left, Brenda Aaron, Clarissa Hukumchand, Hyacinth King and Captain Joan Granger, in their uniforms of green khaki shirts and blouse, green berets, shiny black shoes and shoulder bags at Camp Ayanganna. Reprinted from Guyana Graphic, Tuesday, January 31, 1967 (Winston Oudkerk photo) The four young women are donned military uniforms of green khaki on January 30, 1967 and marched smartly off to begin a course of training as…

Guyanese, Tracey Lewis, of Engine 222 in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn has become the second black female in the department’s history to be promoted to Lieutenant.   Lewis has been a firefighter for 17 years, starting off as a cadet in 1997. She was an emergency medical technician before joining Engine 222. “You encounter resistance every day, but I can’t let that stop me from going forward,” Lewis said during  the promotion ceremony at the Christian Cultural…

Martha nee Fung Kee Fung was one of the earliest female business owners in Guyana (1800s). She became a landed proprietor who owned many businesses including a rice mill. She bought two abandoned sugar estates Waller’s Delight and Ruimzight at Windsor Forest which she rented to tenants to plant rice. Martha Street in Windsor Forrest is named for her. Sarah Lam-a-Poo born in 1870, was the grandmother of Errol “Ping” Gillette, Guyana’s first Ombudsman after…