She’s Mad Real by Dr. Oneka LaBennett

The newly appointed board member of the American Caribbean Maritime Foundation (ACMF), a Westchester-based charitable organization, is setting sights on increasing the group’s mission for the next generation of Caribbean youth. Michelle Nicholas, who is the vice president of development at Westchester Family Services, said she was bringing her passion and economical skills to help increase interest in Caribbean maritime. A native of Guyana, Nicholas said she was exposed to the maritime industry at a…

It’s a rainy day in NYC.  What the weather like where you are?.

Reported By Allison Skeete Special to NAN News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 31, 2019: A Grammy Award winner Caribbean roots singer is set to be in Brooklyn, NY this Sunday, June 2nd for the launch of the Guyana Innovation Prize Venture Fellowship. Melanie Fiona, a Canadian-Guyanese, is slated to be part of the Brooklyn, NY launch of the Fellowship, the brainchild of the Guyana Economic Development Trust CEO, Oslene Carrington. The event aims…

New York-based lawyer Denise M. Grant was born in Guyana and is a Partner in the  Project Development & Finance Group, Shearman & Sterling,LLP. She is the daughter of Guyana’s former ambassador to the United States, the late Hon. Cedric Grant and the second oldest of four girls (three of whom are lawyers). Denise was raised in England before migrating to the United States in 1982 where she graduated with an International Relations degree from…

Congratulations to Kristie Ranchurejee,  a Levermore Global Scholars junior, on recently being awarded the 2013 Sue Levering Social Justice Award! Kristie’s involvement on the Alephi University campus and dedication to improving the lives of others through activism is truly inspiring, from her work with Amnesty International to representing the LGS Program as one of its delegates to the United Nations Youth Assembly. The Sue Levering Social Justice Award is bestowed each academic year to an…

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…

Faudia Baijnauth is the co-founder and Chairperson of Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Inc. (ICA). She is responsible for the overall governance and direction of the organization which has grown to become one of the leading Caribbean organizations in Queens. Faudia’s primary role is to ensure that ICA advocates and creates programs and services for Indo-Caribbean residents in South Queens. Faudia  holds a BA Degree in Political Science from Baruch College and earned her Master’s in Social Work…

Award winning London-born saxophonist and composer Nubya Garcia makes the cover of Jazzwise Magazine.  The September issue  features an interview with Nubya, one of the leading forces behind the resurgence of jazz-influenced sounds in the UK.  Nubya was born in 1991 in the Camden district of northwest London to a Guyanese mother, Loraine Jansen (Bishops High School alumni); and former civil servant, and a British Trinidadian film maker father. Garcia followed her older siblings to the local…

US-based Brenessa Thompson & Aaliyah Abrams will be representing Guyana at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil. The Olympic games will run from August 5 to 11 and Brenessa and Aaliyah are the two female athletes who make up Guyana’s 4 member Track Team. Brenessa Thompson (born 22 July 1996) is a Guyanese-American sprinter who specializes in 100m and 200m.  The Four-time All-American of Medgar Evers college is one of the most prolific sprinters in the…

Civil engineers have one of the world’s most important jobs: with creativity and technical skill, civil engineers plan, design, construct facilities essential to modern life, ranging from roads, bridges, to highway systems and are responsible for shaping our country’s infrastructure. Jean Ramkhelawan holds not only the title of Civil Engineer, but the coveted title of the first woman engineer of Indian descent in Guyana. With determination and resiliency demanded by this taxing profession Jean has…

Proud Guyanese-American and Brooklyn native,  Dawnn Lewis, best known for her strong and compassionate character Jaleesa Vinson in the hugely-popular 90s sitcom, A Different World, and for her current co-starring role in the HULU reboot of the Veronica Mars series has returned to Broadway as Zelma Bullock, Tina Turner’s mother in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Dawnn grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn and is excited about returning to Broadway, spending…

Rainy Milo (Rachael Smith by birth) is an R&B recording artist born on November 12, 1995  in south-east London  to a Guyanese mother and British father.  She got her stage name, Rainy Milo, from a nicknames at school that stuck.  Milo began her career singing with local musicians and arts collectives at age 14   She attended the Harris Academy South Norwood and then went on to study Musical Theatre at the BRIT School known for honing the talents of acts like Adele, Amy…

Kaieteur News, October 18, 2018 Guyana has yet another year claimed the top spot at the regionally offered Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination [CAPE]. The top performer is Aadilah Ali, a consistently outstanding student of Queen’s College. According to information released by the Caribbean Examinations Council [CXC], the administrator of the examination, Guyana’s Ali, by virtue of being the most outstanding regional CAPE performer, is the winner of the Dennis Irvine Award. This award, according to…

An insightful, bold exploration into the disappearance of African American men, The Black Man Drought is upfront about the issues plaguing them. From drugs to jail to interracial dating and homosexuality, this sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes sassy in your face narrative forces an internal look into the choices of Black men and how they affect the whole community. The Black Man Drought: An answer to where all the brothers have gone and how to…

Born in Guyana, Sharmilla Persaud, with a little unwilling help from her mother, discovered her love of fashion at an early age. Finding the perfect artistic playground in her mother’s colorful saris and jewelry, a young Sharmilla went to work cutting and combining them into her own creations. At five, she moved with her family to New York, and now credits the streets of Manhattan for lending an urban edge to her aesthetic as a…