Women in Uniform at Guyana Independence Flag Raising Ceremony

Allison Butters-Grant  is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Seafood Distributors, an importing/exporting business that she jointly operates with her husband, Kerwin.  The daughter of successful seafood entrepreneurs she opened her own Seafood Market in Guyana specializing in wild caught seafood sourced from Guyana with the mantra “straight from the sea to your plate.” Her business distributes  seafood locally in Guyana and to the international markets, including the Caribbean and the US.  In 2015, Guyana Chronicle…

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…

Janice Elizabeth MacGregor is a second generation Canadian born to parents who emigrated from Guyana and became Canadian citizens. Her father, Frank Moorgen (RIP 2010), was born in Hampshire Village, Berbice and her mother, Mary Moorgen (née Deonarine) was born in Corentyne, Berbice. ‎ Janice, her brother, and her sister were born in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada). She attended Millwoods Christian School where her strong commitment to academics and faith were formed. She fondly recalls visiting…

Alyson Cambridge is an accomplished soprano opera singer, born in 1980 to a Guyanese father (Richard Cambridge) and Danish-American mother. At age 23, while a first-year student at the Curtis Institute of Music, she was the Grand Prize Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Nine months later she debuted at the MET as Frasquita in Carmen under renowned music conductor/director James Levine; a performance that earned her praises from many news outlets including…

Sunday’s Child by Anne Lyken-Garner is the remarkably inspirational true story of a little girl struggling to rise above poverty, appalling living conditions, food lines, violence, abuse, mental anguish and political hardships. It shows how she picks out little glimmers of hope and love and uses them as positive anchors in her life. She draws on everything she has – just to survive. Readers, all of the events I’ve recorded in this book have happened…

BMCC Student Government Association President, Okeema Humphrey’s ultimate goal  is to give back to the country of her birth, Guyana,  but in the meantime she’s sharing very smart advice with her peers. During her recent graduation ceremony,  Okeema told the class of 2015 “whether you are employed, unemployed, or moving on to higher education …  use what you learned at BMCC to be the best version of yourself that you can be.” Okeema is a…

Celebrity choreographer and actress Shakira Marshall combined her passion for African and Caribbean dance into a class. Marshall, who is of Guyanese ancestry, now shares her love of dances from the diaspora as an instructor at the Center for African and Diaspora Dance in Brooklyn. NY-based video reporter, Melissa Noel, (also a Guyanese Girl) recently caught up with Marshall at her studio and witness her in action. Check out the video. Shakira grew up in…

Abiola Abrams is a first generation Guyanese-American author, columnist, speaker, filmmaker and multimedia personality who was raised in New York City. Also a certified wellness coach, Abiola gives heartfelt, no-nonsense, stigma-free advice on self esteem and self worth, body image issues, healthy relationships, mental health, sexual health, and how to live with verve. The first person in her Guyanese family born in the US, Abiola was bullied in her African American neighborhood for being “the…

Lakshmee Singh is a well known talk show host and producer of the popular “Let’s Talk with Lakshmee” show.  The  multitalented TV personality is also a dancer, actress, community worker, choreographer and has been in the public eye since the age of five.  Lakshmee has performed for large audiences at prestigious venues such as Westbury Music Fair and The Continental Arena. She has taught and coached many groups of young girls for stage performances. Lakshmee’s first acting experience was…

In 1958, Martha Ruby Holland (nee Nicholson) founded the first Ruby Holland School of Music  in British Guiana, South America. She was an avid believer in music education and the art.  She believed that everyone possessed creative talent and spent her life providing artistic opportunities for students regardless of their age, social standing or financial means. Martha’s approach to teaching music (the piano) was unique and quite enriching. She offered her students a rich array…

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently announced the appointment of Catherine Pollard of Guyana as Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. She will succeed Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service and able leadership. Since 2014, Pollard served as Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, prior to which she served as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management from 2008 to 2014.  She was previously Chief of Staff…

The Honourable Madam Justice Désirée Bernard, a citizen of Guyana, was born on 2 March 1939. A lawyer by profession, she began her career in 1963 when she attained a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of London.  Qualifying as a solicitor in 1964, Justice Bernard engaged in private practice in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana from 1965 to 1980. During that period, she was appointed a Magistrate (1970), Commissioner of…

Ready to take the world by storm, the sultry songstress known to audiences as “Petra” crosses effortlessly into the realms of Caribbean music infused with pop, jazz and R&B melodies that places her in the evolving category called “Island Pop.” Born Roshell Petra Hooper, the singer/songwriter who hails from Guyana, South America was raised in Trinidad and Tobago in a family of professional musicians; her mother was a talented singer and her father is the…

Congratulations Salma – You Rock! Salma Majeed of the ISA Islamic Academy School in Georgetown is the top performer out of the 16,811 students who sat the National Grade Six Assessment scoring 548 out of 560. Story: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2013/news/stories/06/07/samo-majeed-tops-grade-six/ .

Guyanese, Iris de Freitas, was the first female lawyer in the Caribbean and possible The chance discovery on eBay of a postcard featuring a portrait of a young black woman in university robes has led a Welsh university to honour one of its alumni. As part of its International Women’s Day celebrations on Tuesday 8 March 2016 Aberystwyth University,  a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales officially named a room in honour of Iris de…