Happy Holidays GGR Family!

A person’s image, manners and communication skills make the difference between mega success and average in their personal, social and business life. ~ Gloria Starr Meet Phillipa Morrish – certified Social Protocol consultant and the Founder of Etiquette Training International, New York.  Since 1999, Phillipa has worked internationally with corporations, organizations, law enforcement officers and private clients to help them become leaders in their field. She also works extensively with teens, and has been an…

When she entered her guidance counselor’s office earlier this year, it was not a big revelation. Bibi Sulaman, a senior at Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences High School, had met with her counselor to verify her credits and classes before graduating this June. Casually, her counselor revealed that she was valedictorian of her class of around 150 students. “It wasn’t a surprise,” said Bibi. “[Being valedictorian] wasn’t my goal. I just tried to do my…

In a departure from her dramatic roots, Kylie Bunbury stars alongside Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams in upcoming comedy Game Night.  Kylie is the daughter of legendary Guyanese-Canadian soccer player, Alex Bunbury.  In this exclusive interview with EBONY, Bunbury breaks down her relationship with on-screen hubby, Lamorne Morris, her introduction to the comedy game and why it’s important to show Black women in all of their greatness. Tell me a bit about Game Night’s Michelle &…

I always had childhood dreams of ensuring that I make a difference in the world; that a day would come when I would be able to do better for my family. And it became clear that law was the answer…like doctors, lawyers have the ability to shape lives, to change lives, to save lives. They bring life to society through various procedures which they use to secure justice.” ~ Latoya Andrea Roberts. From being a…

I’ve had an ongoing love-hate relationship with vision boards ever since I created my first one about 9 years ago.  Most people say they work, but a little voice inside was always telling me that they were kind of silly, so I never fully embraced the idea. I was inspired to create my first board after watching a tv show, but I don’t recall putting much effort into it or even hanging it up anywhere. …

Shyko Amos is an OBIE winning actress with Guyanese roots who is known for her performances in  Tell You Something (2015), One Small Step for Melvin (2014) and 3-C (Three-C) (2012).  She has performed in theatres all over the world from South Africa to Paris and New York appearing on Televion for the BBC and TROUBLE TV. Originally from the UK, at age 15 Shyko began her career at the prestigious National Youth Music Theatre of Great Britain.  She has a…

Flora Zeta Zhang Elizabeth Tian Ai Cheong-Leen was born in Hong Kong in 1959.  Her father Hilton Cheong-Leen was born in Georgetown, British Guyana but is of Chinese descent and her mother Pauline Chow is from Beijing. Flora graduated from The Royal Ballet in the UK and at the Paris Opera in France. She starred as the lead actress in movies such as: “Life After Life”, “Duel to the Death”, “Chasing Girl” and “Return of…

In some ways, Shion Fenty’s campaign is similar to that of many others taking place this year across the U.S. She’s a 37-year-old Black woman, a first-time candidate, and is facing two middle-aged white men in the primary. But there’s something that sets her apart from the wave of other women of color running for office this year: Fenty is a Republican. The fact that she’s a Black woman and the daughter of immigrants in…

Author Jan Lowe Shinebourne is a Guyanese novelist who was born in Canje, Berbice, Guyana and was educated at Berbice High School and the University of Guyana. After school she was a reporter in Georgetown. She began writing in the mid-1960s and in 1974 she was a prize-winner in the National History and Arts Council Literary Competition. In 1970 she emigrated to London, England. She did postgraduate literary studies at the University of London. She…

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of watching the young women of St. Albans Episcopal Church perform the Maypole dance at the annual Guyana Folk Festival held in Brooklyn, NY.   I remember doing this as a little girl growing up in Guyana dressed up in frilly dresses and socks with colorful hair bows, as we danced and weaved the ribbons to the sound of music. Watching this recreated many, many years later brought back sweet memories. A maypole is a tall…

Meet Domini Alleyne, 2014 Miss Barbados Senior Fitness Queen. The 30 year old fitness model, who reings from Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo and Den Amstel West Coast Demerara in Guyana, migrated to Barbados at age 13. She later returned to Guyana and in 2011 worked briefly for the local HJTV television channel and was also a fashion model. However, chronic overeating following a failed marriage propelled Domini to embark on her fitness journey. Here’s Domini…

Future Scientist, Stony Brook University Class of 2013 Majors: Chemistry; Chemical & Molecular Engineering UNCF-Merck Science Initiative 2012 Award Recipient Dara Bobb-Semple has many accomplishments at Stony Brook – from twice being recognized for achieving a 4.0 GPA, to receiving the MARC award in fall 2011, to being elected to Tau Beta Pi Honor Society (December 2011), to recently being named a recipient of a national award, the 2012 UNCF Merck Undergraduate Science Fellowship! But…

Pauline Melville was born in Guyana in 1948 and has emerged as one of the most accomplished talents on the modern literary scene. Her pre-school years were spent in the then British Guiana. Her father was “mixed-race Guyanese, part South American Indian, African and Scottish”, and her mother came from a “big working-class family” in south London. The family moved to south London in the early 1950s, when she was “five or six”. A professional…

The Slipper is a classic tale of love and loss portrayed in the most unconventional style. Included are lovable, colorful characters such as Meetu, Vishnu, maa and baap who’s humor infuses a serious subject matter in a very unique, warm and touching manner. What happens when a headstrong teen falls for an unsuitable suitor? What becomes of her future when her strict parents desire another path? And what ensues years later when Meetu’s past catches…

Originally from Jamaica, Queens, New York, Tracy Antoinette Greene Douglas now resides in the black water region of Madewini Creek, along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway in Guyana.  A naturalized Guyanese, Tracy co-founded “Pandama Retreat, Winery and Center for the Creative Arts” with her husband, Warren Douglas, who is a native of South Ruimveldt in Georgetown.  Following a 2009 visit to Guyana, Tracy’s spirit led her to leave her then North Carolina home behind and relocate with…