Marielle Barrow (Trinidad based) – Founder/  Editor-in-Chief

 Dr. Marielle Barrow is a social entrepreneur, visual artist and Fulbright Scholar, former and Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, New York and currently Visiting Scholar at Rutgers Advanced Institute of Critical Caribbean Studies. Marielle graduated with a BSc in Hospitality Management (joint degree program) from The University of the West Indies, and the University of Technology in Jamaica (Hons.) and earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts & Cultural Enterprise Management and an MPhil in Cultural Studies at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad with High Commendation. Marielle is currently completing her first co-edited anthology entitled “Global Archipelago: Art, Location and the Caribbean”.

As a social entrepreneur she established Caribbean Arts Village Ltd to create a nexus for Caribbean artists in the region. The company hosted, trained and promoted musicians and visual artists at its base, The Centre for the Arts, in Port of Spain, from 2006 to 2007. Marielle launched Caribbean InTransit, a mechanism for social development through the arts in 2011. As a non-profit entity in the US and the Caribbean, Caribbean Intransit provides a creative meeting place for persons to share and develop their thought-provoking ideas and works within a community of cultural producers, students, scholars, activists, and entrepreneurs via scholarly publication,a newsletter, arts for social change workshops, symposia, online events and festivals.

Kathalene Razzano ( Maryland based)- Managing Editor

 

Dr. Donna P. Hope – Anglophone Specialist

Dr. Donna P. Hope is Senior Lecturer in Reggae Studies at the Institute of Caribbean Studies, UWI, Mona and former host of the Jamaican daytime radio talk show, Disclosure on Hot 102 FM. Her extensive research in Jamaican music, particularly dancehall culture, over the last two decades has resulted in two single-authored books – Inna di Dancehall, Popular Culture and the Politics of Identity in Jamaica (UWI Press, 2006) and Man Vibes: Masculinities in the Jamaican Dancehall (Ian Randle Publishers, May 2010). Since 1998, Dr. Hope has written and presented numerous academic papers, conference presentations, and engaged in discussions in the print and electronic media in Jamaica and abroad on Jamaican music in particular dancehall culture. She was the Organizer of the International Reggae Conference at the UWI, Mona in February 2010.

A strong advocate for youth development through education, and a strong believer in the value and potential of all aspects of Jamaican culture, Dr. Hope recently initiated a small non-profit, Full-Ah Hope which aims to promote youth development and education by utilizing relevant aspects of Jamaican culture.
The holder of a B.A. (First Class Honours) in Mass Communication and a Masters in Philosophy (M. Phil.) in Government from the UWI, Mona, Dr. Hope was a Jamaican Fulbright Scholar 2002-2004, and completed her Ph.D. in Cultural Studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia in 2006.
Dr. Hope continues to engage in ongoing research on culture generally and Jamaican dancehall and music culture as well as on youth development. Her key areas of research interest include Jamaican culture, music and dancehall culture, youth development, black masculinities, black popular culture, cultural/creative industries, media and communication, gender, identity, and power.

Katie Miranda (Puerto Rico) – Hispanophone Specialist

Katherine Miranda holds a PhD in English with a specialty in Caribbean literature from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, where she currently teaches.  In 2011 she was awarded an AAUW Fellowship to complete her dissertation, a comparative examination of Trinidad and Tobago spoken word and Cuban blogging.  Her work blurs national, linguistic and genre borders to explore new media, emerging literacies and a range of contemporary Caribbean cultural expressions.    .

Neila Ebanks (Jamaica based) – English Copy Editor

Neila Ebanks, the first Commonwealth Connections Residency Fellowship awardee for Dance (2011) is always committed to pushing her artistic and academic boundaries. Her most recent studies took her to the UK where she gained an MA in the exciting field of Physical Theatre from the Royal Holloway/ University of Surrey (2002 to 2004). While in England, Neila also created work for the HIP Festival of Black Dance (London) and performed with Bimba Dance Company (Birmingham), Sakoba Dance Company (Newcastle) and Foursight Theatre Company (Wolverhampton).As performer and choreographer in the worlds of Jamaican Dance and Theatre she has been twice nominated for an International Theatre Institute Actor Boy Award for Choreography – The Black That I Am (2005) and De Moon In De Crossroads (2006). She has also made a foray into Film and Media, acting in Almost Heaven, a German movie shot in Jamaica, and appearing in various television commercials and music videos. Now based primarily in Jamaica, Neila is honoured to be sharing her knowledge as full-time lecturer in Performance and Improvisation at her artistic alma mater the EMCVPA.As a writer, Neila has been published in the NDTC Quarterly Journal, the online project http://www.sul-sul.info/spip.php?rubrique334 and in the Jamaica Observer newspaper.

Nicole Jordan, Dutch Specialist

Nicole is a classical singer, specialising in Early Music, contemporary music, chamber music, and art song repertoire.  Nicole is currently Visiting Artist in Voice at the University of Trinidad & Tobago where she performs and teaches voice and Psychology of Performance.  She is the artistic director of The Alchemy Ensemble, which performs original classical music productions regularly in The Netherlands.  She has sung with a variety of chamber ensembles including The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, The Canadian Chamber Choir, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, and the early music ensembles, The Harp Consort, and Concerto Copenhagen as well as performing in numerous concerts and solo recitals.Nicole holds an honors undergraduate Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Acadia University in Canada, a Masters of Music Psychology from Keele University in the United Kingdom, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Performance Studies from Sheffield University.  A “singerscholar”, Nicole has a passionate interest in the psyche of the performing artist, and is an experienced voice teacher and music psychology researcher.  She has spoken internationally on the topic of Musicand Psychology in Estonia, Australia, Canada, Portugal, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United Kingdom.

Marta Fernández Campa, (Spain Based) Special Projects Editor

Marta holds a PhD in Caribbean Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Miami where she undertook her doctoral studies with the support of a Fulbright fellowship. Her research and work examines contemporary critical engagements with memory. It also looks at how Caribbean literary texts and visual artwork are re-contextualizing colonial and post-colonial archival records, expanding as a result our understanding of the cultural influence of archives through alternative processes of archiving

 

 

 

 

 INTERNATIONAL BOARD

 Marielle Barrow, President, International Board & Trinidad Board

Marielle is a social entrepreneur, visual artist and Fulbright Scholar who is currently a Cultural Studies PhD candidate at George Mason University, Virginia and a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, New York. Marielle graduated with a BSc in Hospitality Management (joint degree program) from The University of the West Indies, and the University of Technology in Jamaica (Hons.) and earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts & Cultural Enterprise Management and an MPhil in Cultural Studies at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad with High Commendation. Marielle is currently completing her first co-edited anthology entitled “Global Archipelago: Art, Location and the Caribbean”.

As a social entrepreneur she established Caribbean Arts Village Ltd to create a nexus for Caribbean artists in the region. The company hosted, trained and promoted musicians and visual artists at its base, The Centre for the Arts, in Port of Spain, from 2006 to 2007. Marielle launched Caribbean InTransit, a mechanism for social development through the arts in 2011. As a non-profit entity in the US and the Caribbean, Caribbean Intransit provides a creative meeting place for persons to share and develop their thought-provoking ideas and works within a community of cultural producers, students, scholars, activists, and entrepreneurs via scholarly publication,a newsletter, arts for social change workshops, symposia, online events and festivals.

James Early, Director of Strategic Development

James Early is Director of Cultural Heritage Policy at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Washington, D.C. Since 1984, Mr. Early has served in various positions at the Smithsonian Institution, including Assistant Provost for Educational and Cultural Programs, Assistant Secretary for Education and Public Service, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Service, and Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Public Service.

Prior to his work with the Smithsonian, Mr. Early was a humanist administrator at the National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C., a producer, writer, and host of “Ten Minutes Left,” a weekly radio segment of cultural, educational and political interviews and commentary at WHUR FM radio at Howard University, and a research associate for programs and documentation.

 

 Carlene Moolchan, Director of Finance

 Carlene Moolchan isthe CEO of Elysium Business Support Services  Ltd.  She has served as Director of Finance of Production One Ltd., an Events Management company Production One Ltd. is a company committed to the top quality production of high-profile concerts and to expanding the audience for jazz, and other live music in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. Carlene has also served on the board of AFETT- the Association of Female Executives of Trinidad & Tobago.

 

 TRINIDAD BOARD

Neysha Soodeen- Director of Partnerships

Neysha Soodeen, Managing Director of the Trinidad-based Toute Bagai Publishing, is the recipient of the 2013 Marcella Martinez award, named in honour of a Jamaican who dedi-cated her career to the promotion of Carib-bean tourism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Samantha Gooden-Director of Brand Management

With over 15 years of combined experience in advertising and marketing, Samantha Gooden is a highly creative and multi-talented, Communications Strategist with experience in strategic brand management. During her tenures with various Caribbean businesses she has become known as an exceptional innovator. For almost 10 years she was the driving force of operations within the Caribbean’s only indigenous regional advertising agency; spearheading footprint expansion from Jamaica to Trinidad and St. Lucia. During this time she developed brand strategies and tactical initiatives for Digicel, Grace Kennedy Foods, Grace Kennedy Money Shop, Fruta (S.M. Jaleel) and KFC among others in the region. She now applies her remarkable collaborative and interpersonal skills as Regional Head of Brand Management and Marketing at LIME.