Nadia Cherrouk is a senior international financial and program management professional with over 20 year experience and leadership in the international development field. Ms. Cherrouk has extensive experience in multi-sectorial rural and urban programming, financial management and institutional administration and has developed strong partnerships and working relationships with local government institutions and multilateral donor agencies such as the World Bank, USAID, the American Red Cross, the UN agencies, DFID and other multilateral organizations and corporate donors.

Ms. Cherrouk holds a masters and bachelors in Business Administration, with a specialization in the not-for-profit sector, organizational strategic management, grant management, including federally funded grants, and multilateral funding. She currently serves as country director for the Pan American Development Foundations (PADF) in Haiti, where she oversees a $20 million dollar portfolio targeting over 1.5 million direct and indirect beneficiaries. She is also the Chief of Party for the USAID funded program Leveraging Effective Application of Direct Investment (LEAD) Program.

A lawyer by training,a career diplomat, Me. Denis Regis was admitted in 1978, through a competitive process, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he spent most of his administrative career in both Central and External services with the rank of Attache to the one of Director General. At the Chancellery, Me. Regis was in turn Director of Consular Affairs, of Cultural Affairs and of Political Affairs.

In the External Services, Me. Regis held the position of Minister Counselor at the Embassies of Haiti in Washington, DC and in Ottawa.

Me. Regis led a parallel career as a professor and a researcher at the State University of Haiti (UEH), where he taught Public International Law, Private International Law, International Criminal Law, Diplomatic and Consular Law. He was Dean of the National Institute of Management and International Studies (INAGHE), an autonomous entity of the State University of Haiti.

Me. Regis participated in multiple missions and international conferences on behalf of his country and the United Nations to the Organization of American States, to the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations (Geneva, Switzerland), to the Association of Caribbean States, to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, to the Joint Franco-Hai’tian Commission (Paris) and to the Sixteenth Session of the International Association of Penal Law (Budapest, Hungary). He is Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (Maryland, USA); he is also Member of the Toussaint Louverture Center for Human Rights (Haiti) and until his appointment as Ambassador, he was Coordinator of the Haitian Coalition for International Criminal Court (CHCPI).

Me. Regis is the founding President of the Center for Diplomatic and International Studies (CEDI), a private institution for higher education he headed until recently.

Cleve Mesidor is a Global Solutions Consultant at the Raben Group. Her portfolio targets emerging markets, with a focus on Haiti and the Caribbean. She recently spent six months on the ground in Haiti focused on capacity building and job growth.

Cleve is a former Obama Presidential Appointee, with over 15 years of public affairs, policy, and economic development experience. As Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, she was charged with promoting national economic programs and high profile public-private partnerships. Prior to that, Cleve served as Communications Director for U.S. Representatives Betty McCollum and Barbara Lee, coordinating with Congressional leadership, Committees, Member offices, and third party groups to launch major legislative initiatives.

She holds a Master of Arts degree from Howard University and was recently named one of MSNBC’s Grio 100 and profiled by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In Foundation.

Rodneyse Bichotte is the Assembly Member and State Committee Woman / District Leader for New York State’s 42nd Assembly District. Assemblymember Bichotte has been appointed Chair of the Oversight of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) Subcommittee. She currently serves on the following committees: Housing, Government Operations, Economic Development, Small Businesses, Banks, and Social Services.

In her first session, Assemblymember Bichotte has introduced over 22 pieces of legislation, of which four became law. In addition, the Assemblymember co-sponsored over 87 pieces of legislation.

Rodneyse Bichotte is the first Haitian-American woman elected into office in New York City. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Rodneyse’s advocacy centers on providing resources on affordable housing and home ownership, financial literacy of her communities, public safety initiatives and better relationships with law enforcement, affordable healthcare, high-quality public and private education, and economic development, especially for individuals seeking to open small business. She has lobbied in New York City, Albany and Washington as a District Leader for affordable housing and healthcare, against cuts for special education programs, an increase the minimum wage, the passage of the Dream Act and growth in the small businesses and tech sector. In addition, Rodneyse takes an active role in bettering her community through her on-the-ground work with organizations such as the Haitian American Caucus and Habitat for Humanity with President Jimmy Carter; she has helped to deliver resources to Haiti.

Public service is a lifelong commitment for Rodneyse, and since her election in 2010 as District Leader, she has used her position to facilitate and sponsor a number of community events in Flatbush, such as the first voter’s forum, which promoted fair elections, voters rights and voting demonstrations with the Board of Elections; the largest candidate forum in Brooklyn; annual senior luncheons; safe streets initiatives; and the largest Brooklyn funding forum to help non-profits learn how to access government funding.

Professionally, Rodneyse has worked in the fields of Secondary Education in Mathematics, Engineering Mergers and Acquisition, Corporate Development, and Corporate & Investment Banking. She served as a public school Math Teacher and member of the teachers union; an Engineer, where she worked overseas in Japan and China; and a Finance Manager.

Rodneyse has traveled all over the world, including seven countries in the continent of Africa, several countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, including Israel. Her extensive global experience helped her navigate through different business customs, acquired key negotiation tactics and built customer relations across the world.

She earned and holds an MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, a BS in Electrical Engineering from SUNY Buffalo, a BS in Mathematics in Secondary Education and a BT in Electrical Engineering — both from Buffalo State College. A true product of the “Big Apple,” she is a graduate of the New York City public school system, including the specialized high school LaGuardia High School of Music and Arts & Performing Arts.

Rodneyse served on a number of boards such as Habitat For Humanity NYC as the Advocacy Chair, Turning Point as the Development Chair, Community Board 17 as a board member, the chairperson of the Economic Development Committee of Brooklyn Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Chicago Urban League, Scholarship Chair, Metroboard Scholarship, the Sickle Cell Thalassemia Patient Network as a member, and the National Black MBA Association. She teaches Sunday school at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn.

Rodneyse is an alumnus of the White House Project from Brooklyn College.

MARJORIE P.BRENNAN, MD is a physician specializing in pediatric anesthesiology at Children’s National Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at George Washington University. Her particular areas of interest have included muscle diseases of children, publishing book chapters in Essence of Anesthesia Practice, and Progress in Anesthesia as well as several peer-reviewed medical journal articles. She has been active in medical missionary work, volunteering for several trips to Vilnius University Children’s Hospital in Lithuania, and to Sacre Coeur Hospital in Haiti. She is the founder and director of the JDT Foundation, aimed at providing higher education opportunities and reclaiming the environment in Haiti. Locally, she serves as team leader of the Children’s Hospital Junior Operating Room at the NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo.

She received her Bachelor of Science and her MD degree from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Marjorie has been an active her local community. She serves on the board of Potomac School, and independent K-12 school in Virginia, and is a Sunday School teacher at her local parish. She resides in Virginia with her husband and three children.

Laurence Sarah Bigio first joined the GB Group over 20 years ago as Vice President of Business Development before assuming the role she embodies today: President of Marketing. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and International Business from the American University, Laurence is responsible for the Group’s corporate image as a whole, its 9 divisions (Agriculture, Construction, Consumer Goods, Energy, Finance, Infrastructure, Logistics, Media & Trading) and its 24 operating companies.

The GB Group is the largest private contributor to the Haitian State and collaborates with over 4,000 employees across Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St. Maarten, Panama and the United States.

In addition, Laurence is also CEO of Caribbean Media and responsible for the direction and publishing of Challenges: a weekly news magazine and the first of its kind in Haiti.

Laurence is focused on maintaining an active leadership role in the markets the company serves while shaping a business environment that upholds the GB Group’s mission and vision.

She lives in Florida with her 3 beautiful children.

I was born on a warm, sunny day in October 4, 1972 in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. I currently live in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, and I attended College Adventiste du Cap-Haitien from Pre-School thru 12^th Grade. I am the first of two children. My father, Lucien Antoine Aurel, desperate due to lack of opportunities for his family in Haiti, embarked on one of the first boats, miraculously making it to Miami when I was only two, and my little brother eight months old. Three years later, my mother, Elyse Prophète, a young 26-year-old woman, beautiful and full of life, couldn’t bear being alone and decided to take the journey and meet her husband in the “land of the free”. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the same luck, and died at the sea. “I sometimes think that she knew she was going to seal her fate, leaving her two small babies behind, not knowing when she will see them again. My mother was prepared to risk everything. She took us to a good Christian boarding house the day before she left.”

Until I was 12, thanks to the money my father sent from the US, My brother and I managed to live well in the boarding house. This was until my father got sick and couldn’t help anymore. At that moment, we experienced poverty like the rest of the Haitian children. We had to drop out of school, having only one meal a day by 4:00 pm, when Sister Marion gave us some sweet potatoes. When I was 19, I traveled to the US to reunite with my father. I obtained my Green Card and started a new life. I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems at DeVry University in Decatur, GA; graduated on June 2001, I got a good job with the Georgia Department of Human Resources (GA DHR), improved my conditions, but Haiti was always on my mind. I got married to a Haitian in February 2000 in Georgia and had two children. One day at 4:30 am, immigration officers arrived to my house and took my husband to jail because of his immigration condition, where he spent eight months at Atlanta City Jail and was deported to Haiti on june 5^th, 2005. Questioning my stay in the US, I decided to go back to Haiti. Because I believe that: “The same God who blesses me in the US, is also in Haiti.” So I filled myself with determination, and founded the NGO Sonje Ayity in 2005 and decided to go back to my country in 2006 to help build the “Haitian dream” of thousands of people. My biggest inspiration is to motivate locals to stay on the island to help build a better country. I am also a co-founder of a for-Profit (Sociéte Agricole de Production et d’Elevage du Nord, (SAPEN, SA)) in 2010. With my chicken processing company I provide food and hope to thousands of people.

SAPEN, SA, is the result of a dream, so the country could stop importing chicken from abroad, to see my country free of poverty and a country where food is not a luxury; a country that is providing food for everyone; a place where people do not have to risk their lives on boats looking for a better future. “I want to encourage Haitians to take risks, not just complain, and not just ask themselves what they are going to do to feed their children or when the next boat leaves. They can contribute to the development of the country, staying in Haiti with pride, taking responsibility of their lives. If we unite, we will build a better Haiti. It can take 20 years, but we have to start. Being the first Afro-descendant country to become independent, we must rise from the ashes.”

I am a servant, a willing outlet of God to inspire others to give their best. I am self motivated, dynamic, perfectionist, and stubborn.

Yve-Car Momperousse is CEO and co-founder of Kreyol Essence (KE), an agribusiness that creates beauty products with ingredients from Haiti. The millennial started the company three years ago and has raised 1.5million dollars in startup capital for this international business.

Leveraging Black castor oil, sourced from the mountains of Haiti, the agribusiness produces natural and organic body, hair, and aromatherapy products, including exotic oils, pomades, soufflés, and therapeutic candles.

KE currently employs over 70 farmers and women in Haiti to produce the unique line and is poised to hire 300 people in the next few years as part of the company’s social impact mission. Investors and partners include global development leaders such as YUNUS Social Business, the Clinton Foundation USAID in addition to private angel investors.

Yve-Car, a social entrepreneur, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Metropolitan Planning from Rutgers University and a Masters in International Development with a focus on Rural Agriculture at Cornell University. She has received numerous honors including the:

• Sustainable Business Award, Global Now
• Business Leadership Award, Haitian Roundtable
• 20 Under 40 Business Award, Caribbean Life, A News Corp Publication

She has also been featured in the Huffington Post, Cornell Business Review, Madame Noir, and Virgin Unite.

Leanna is the 20 year old CEO of Leanna’s Inc., a hair & body care products company she started at the young age of 9.

Leanna has dedicated her life to being a motivational speaker and sharing her wealth of knowledge to her peers. Her profile includes having conducted business lectures and classes at the University of West Alabama, Binghamton University, Columbia University, MIT and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She also participated in the “What Makes a Young Champion Summit” in Singapore and the 2010 Apple Leadership Summit as a panel member. Leanna was flown to the U.S Virgin Islands and was honored to be the keynote speaker for the YWCA. Leanna became the youngest person at the age of 13 to ring the NASDAQ opening bell on Wall Street. She has been highlighted by media outlets such as FOX Business, The Today Show, NBC, ABC, BBC UK World Service, and CNN. Leanna has also been featured in several magazines such as Forbes, Time, INC. Magazine, Success Magazine, Ebony, Jet and Glamour, to name a few. Leanna has been profiled on the Celebrity Networth website & set with a networth of $5 million as of 2016.

Leanna’s list of achievements include being a Janet Jackson “20 under 20 Honoree” and honored on the BET’s Black Girls Rock award show in 2011. She also received The Grio’s 100 class of 2012 Business Award, the Caribbean American heritage Visioneur award in 2013 & a Youth Honoree recipient of the 2013 McDonalds 365Black Award. Leanna was also honored as a recipient of the 2015 Caribbean Life Impact Award.

In 2008, Leanna founded the Leanna Archer Education Foundation in Haiti, where her family is from. Her organization is dedicated to providing 3 meals a day and an education to nearly 200 children in a safe environment. LAEF also focuses on developing each child’s vocational talents and skills, in hopes to provide them with the tools for a better future, doing what they love.

Empowering Women in Haiti, Promoting Social Entrepreneurship Globally

• Founder, Danielle Saint-Lôt Haiti Women’s Foundation
• Ambassador at large for Women’s Empowerment, Republic of Haiti
• Vital Voices Global Advisory Council
• Femmes en Démocratie, co-founder
• Clinton Global Initiative’s Haiti Action Network
• The Biennial of the Americas Advisory Board
• National Association of Haitian Professionals (NAHP) Advisory Board
• Coca Cola Company’s Steering Committee for the Haiti Hope Project

Danielle Saint Lôt is founder of the Danielle Saint-Lôt Haiti Women’s Foundation, a U.S.-based 501c3 organization with a one-year signature program, Haitian Women’s Business Academy. The non-profit advances programs to empower Haitian women, advocate for the missing middle, and grow the creative economy. She also serves as Ambassador at Large of the Republic of Haiti for Women’s Empowerment.

She is a Founding Partner of Caribbean Business Consulting (CBC). She is a member of Vital Voices’ Global Advisory Council and serves as a member of the Coca Cola Company’s Steering Committee for the Haiti Hope Project, which supports mango farmers. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the National Association of Haitian Professionals and has also join the Advisory Council of the Biennial of the Americas. Her career has primarily focused on promoting women’s rights and business development in Haiti. Previously, she was Minister of Tourism and has the distinction of having been Haiti’s first female Minister of Commerce and Industry. Additionally, she served as Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti.

Ambassador Saint Lôt is co-founder of Femmes en Démocratie, the Haiti Chapter of Vital Voices Global Partnership, which honored her with a Global Leadership Award. In 2010, she had the privilege of ringing the NYSE bell. Among her many accolades, she is a recipient of the DVF Awards by Diane von Furstenberg and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, which honors extraordinary women who have had the courage to fight, the power to survive, and the leadership to inspire.

Ambassador Saint Lôt holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the Haiti National Institute for Management and International Relations and earned a degree in International Economic Relations from the Institute for International Public Administration of Paris, France.

She is the granddaughter of Haiti Ambassador Emile Saint Lôt, who at the birth of the United Nations in 1945 served as Haiti first UN Ambassador and as a member of the Security Council. He is credited with casting the deciding vote to make Israel a state in 1947.