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The NAAHP Haitian American Leadership Award Scholarship application is open through April 26  Apply Now

Daily Schedule

  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Thursday, December 1, 2022

    9:00 AM - 11:30 AM

    Exhibitor Set-Up

    12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

    Registration Opens

    1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

    Opening / Welcome Remarks

    Campus Center Ballroom

    2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    Plenary Session

    The State of the Haitian Diaspora in the United States

    Campus Center Ballroom

    This session will assess the US-Haitian Diaspora. It will identify its strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities while providing recommendations for a roadmap towards greater heights.

    Moderator: Dr. Monalisa Ferrari, Founder, FEWGI | Founding President, DREP

    Speakers:

    • Leonie M. Hermantin, Director of Development, Communications and Strategic Planning, Sant La Neighborhood Center, Inc.
    • Fritz Clarvil, President, Simact Foundation, Inc.
    3:10 PM - 4:20 PM

    Breakout Sessions

    Choose Your Career Wisely!

    Session #1: Indications of Success Among Professionals in the Haitian Diaspora

    Room 3540

    This session will showcase the findings of a research conducted by Yselande Pierre, Ed.D., Senior Associate Director of Operations for Campus Life at Florida International University (FIU). Dr. Pierre’s research examines the relationships among salary earnings, educational attainment, community support, resilience, and the career success of Haitian professionals.

    Moderator: Yselande Pierre, Ed.D., Senior Associate Director of Operations for Campus Life at Florida International University (FIU).

    Session #2: The Road Less Traveled: Careers In Emerging and Non-Traditional Fields

    Room 3540

    This session will explore the importance of broadening our horizons and venturing into non-traditional and emerging career paths for success. In this session we will explore how to increase our market value, discuss where we are as a community, and highlight the importance of boosting the participation of women, especially underrepresented minorities in certain fields.

    Moderator: Ketsia St. Amand, Senior Nonprofit Strategist, PNC

    Speakers:

    • Whitney Lubin, Product Manager, Microsoft & Founder, Haitians in Tech
    • Jean E. Gustave, Creative Director and Partner, Remora, Inc.
    • Dr. Errol L. Pierre, Senior Vice President of State Programs, Healthfirst

    Session #3: Our Quest to Wholeness: Our True Wealth is Our Health

    Room 3545

    This session will offer an exploration of how to nurture and take control of our health at the physical, mental and spiritual level. Specifically, this session will address depression in the community as a hidden and masked epidemic that we need to do a better job at identifying culturally. It will also explore the systemic oppressions and traumas (racism, displacement, asylum, violence, etc.) and their negative impact on our health as a community.

    Moderator: Dr. Carline Crevecoeur, Obstetrician and Gynecologist

    Speakers:

    • Dr. Nadia Valentin, DNP, RN, APRN, FNP-BC Clinical Director- NewVision HealthCare
    • Dr Gabrielle P. Abelard, CEO, Abelard Psychotherapy Inc.
    • Guerda Nicolas, PhD, Co-Founder & President of Ayiti Community Trust
    4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

    Plenary Session

    Shaping the Present, Reimagining the Future: A Conversation Among Ecosystem Builders

    Campus Center Ballroom

    This panel will discuss how Haitian innovators are charting a new path in their community and building sustainable ecosystems. Above all, this panel is a call-to-action inviting all of us to get active in building the thriving communities that we want to see in Haiti and here in the United States.

    Moderator: Christine C. Jacques, CEO, DAGMAR

    Speakers:

    • Lyse Fedjanie Barronville, Executive Director & Strategy, Konbino
    • Vladimir Laborde, Project Executive, MBE & Corporate Engagement
    • Ashley Narcisse, Staff Software Engineer, Apollo GraphQL
    5:45 PM - 6:00 PM

    Closing Remarks

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Speaker: Molina Jean-Louis, Vice President, NAAHP

    6:00 PM - 6:30 PM

    Power Networking / Visit Exhibitor Booths / Break

    2nd Floor Terrace

    6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

    Thursday Night Cocktail Reception

    Opening Night Cocktail Reception

    1st Floor Terrace

    Please join us for an evening of power networking with other professionals, special guests, and community leaders.

    Come enjoy the beauty of the Haitian culture through music, dance, painting, delicious food and drinks, and much more.

  • Friday, December 2, 2022

    8:00 AM

    Registration & Coffee

    (exhibitors, speakers and panelists arrival)

    9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

    Welcome & Conference Opening

    Campus Center Ballroom

    9:20 AM - 9:30 AM

    Keynote Address

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Speaker: Pierre Noel, Executive Director, Haiti Development Institute

    9:35 AM - 10:55 AM

    Plenary Session

    A Community Conversation: Discussing Approaches to Strengthening The Voices of Americans of Haitian Descent For Greater Impact in Our Communities

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Since the mid-20th century, the Haitian American community in the United States has steadily grown, sourced primarily by a combination of periodic waves of migrants from Haiti and US-born children. Now at just over 1 million persons of Haitian descent, the community’s successes include keeping at least one eye on Haiti while also being recognized as leaders in professions across fields and industries, holding elected office across the US and being the backbone of locals wherever Haitian Americans are found. Yet, there is dissatisfaction regarding the unmet potential of the community both domestically in the United States and in regards to Haiti’s development. Hence, with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Ayiti Diaspora Collaborative (ADC), a collection of 12 US and Haiti-based Haitian led organizations, is engaged in a community-wide series of conversations. Let’s discuss and discover inclusive approaches that our Haitian American community or Americans of Haitian Descent community, can apply to strengthen the community’s voice across the various interests it cares about both in the US and in Haiti.

    Introduction to Ayiti Diaspora Collaborative:

    • Dr. Jean-Philippe Austin, President of HAFFD
    • Gepsie Metellus, Executive Director of Sant La – Haitian Neighborhood Center

    Moderator: Dr. Alix Cantave, Senior Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg

    Speakers:

    • Santra Denis, Founder of Avanse Ansanm
    • Dr. Marc Prou, Co-Founder, Former Director and Senior Teacher- Researcher at Institut Supérieur de Formation, Recherche et Innovation en Éducation (InnovEd-UniQ)
    • Linda Dorcena Forry, Former Massachusetts Senator and State Representative.

    ADC National Survey Presentation:

    • Régine René-Labrousse, Replenish 509 & ADC Project Co- Lead
    • Dr. Gilbert Saint-Jean, ADC Project Co-Lead
    11:05 AM - 12:15 PM

    Breakout Sessions

    Session #1: The Haitian Migration Crisis: A Multidimensional International Crisis

    Room 3540

    The tragic episodes of Haitian migrants and asylum seekers stuck at the US-Texas border in August 2021, and the current situation situations of Haitian migrants or Haitian-Dominicans being expelled without due process in the Dominican Republic in November 2022, speak to the interconnectedness of regional and global migration, inadequate humanitarian and public health responses, and overall international human rights abuse and misused immigration policies. It is more than ever urgent to understand the motivation and the implications of the policies at play, the actors behind them, and the national, regional, and international entities that should be involved in any meaningful and long-term resolution. This panel will gather immigration advocates and experts deeply involved in the current situation of Haitian migrants in the US and the DR and Haitian American elected officials to review the genesis of the current situation, explore possible recourses and issue a specific call to action to resolve the various aspects of what now rises to a multidimensional international crisis.

    Moderator: Charlot Lucien, Founder and Director of the Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachussetts

    Speakers:

    • Guerline M. Jozef, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Haitian Bridge Alliance, The Black Immigrants Bail Fund and The Cameroon Advocacy Network
    • Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, City Councilor, At-Large, Boston
    • Charnette Frederic, Councilwoman, Irvington, New Jersey | Chairwoman, NHAEON
    • Brian Concannon, Executive Director, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

    Session #2: Entrepreneurship As a Wealth Building Tool

    Room 3545

    This session will challenge the audience to think of entrepreneurship as a wealth building strategy. We will cover the importance of capacity building and investing in entrepreneurial ventures that have been created by members of our community. Lastly, our panelist will share the stories behind their innovative and cross-sector initiatives, as well as the legacy they hope to leave behind through these ventures.

    Moderator: Rebecca Obounou, Assistant Dean, Social Innovation, MIT PKG Public Service Center

    Speakers:

    • Jhonson Napoleon, CEO, Azure Group
    • Herby Duverné, Windwalker Group CEO
    • Patrick Dessources, Executive Director at Centre d’Appui et de Services aux Entreprises Locales et Internationales (CASELI)
    12:15 PM - 1:15 PM

    Luncheon

    12:50 PM - 1:10 PM

    Keynote Address

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Speaker: Myrtho René, Board Member, Central Bank of the Republic of Haiti

    1:15 PM - 2:45 PM

    Plenary Session

    Strengthening The Capacity of Haitian Micro, Small and Medium-Enterprises (MSMEs) to Provide Products and Services, and Support Economic Opportunities, Particularly in Underserved Communities

    Campus Center Ballroom

    While the situation on the ground in Haiti remains challenging, USAID continues to find innovative ways to reinforce businesses and entrepreneurs whose activities fulfill vital functions for communities in Haiti. Haiti INVEST and Atteindre are providing support through financial incentives to business consultants and workforce development providers to work with a number of high potential businesses to help them reinforce their technical and managerial capacity and facilitate their access to the capital they need in order to expand their reach, hire more employees, and provide services particularly to underserved communities. Thanks to USAID’s efforts, many of these enterprises have been able to access local and overseas capital.

    During this plenary session, Haiti-INVEST and Atteindre will present ways in which diaspora, either with capital and or expertise, can continue to support vital MSMEs enterprises that are growing despite difficult circumstances. This will be an opportunity to highlight recent successes and feature entrepreneurs sharing their individual experiences.

    Presenters:

    • Steven Fondriest, EGAD Office Director, USAID-Haiti
    • Jean-Marc Cuvilly, Manager Haiti-INVEST, DAI
    • Claude Clodomir, Chief of Party, USAID-ATTEINDRE Project
    • Jamie McInerney, Head of Caribbean Advisory, CrossBoundary

    Moderator: Claude Clodomir, Chief of Party, USAID-ATTEINDRE Project

    Panel:

    • Jude Jean-Baptiste, CEO and Founder of Paon Bleu S.A.
    • Jeannine Barthélemy-Paul, Co-Founder of Les Villages Apicoles Horizons S.A. (ViAHSA)
    • Jacques Dumarsais, Chairman, Agriglobal Group S.A. | Founder and Promoter of Agrinova | Co-Founder of the Haitian Association of Essential and Vegetable Oil Producers (AHPHEV)
    • Ralph Edmond, CEO, Farmatrix
    2:55 PM - 4:00 PM

    Breakout Sessions

    Session #1: The Pillars of Wealth Building

    Room 3540

    This session will identify the pathways to wealth building and provide useful steps that you can take today to build generational wealth and multiply your assets. Panelists will share their broad approaches to wealth management. Altogether, the conversation will explore the importance of financial literacy and wellness, investing essentials, financial planning, and the risks and benefits of speculative markets—especially those involving blockchain technology.

    Moderator: Dr. Paul Etienne, Founder, Madbu

    Speakers:

    • Yvrose Joseph, Head of the Financial Inclusion Unit, Central Bank of the Republic of Haiti
    • Esterling Accime, Senior Software Engineer, Signos
    • Vladimir Sterlin, Sr Director for Policy and Governments, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce

    Session #2: Taking Back the Narrative About Haiti: A Tale of the Haitian Music and Film Industries

    Room 3545

    This session will touch on how Haitians are re-creating the narrative about Haiti. Though the negatives also need to be confronted, there has to be a balance and resistance to the single story that has been placed on Haiti and the limitations it creates for our progress. This panel will explore how we can take ownership of our narrative by showcasing      Haiti’s rich history, deep ancestral heritage, beautiful people, sublime land, and powerful culture.

    Moderator: Joseph Chery, Founding Member & Resident Curator, Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachusetts (HAAM)

    Speakers:

    • Dielson Gustama, Film Maker, Producer, and Screen Writer
    • Brunir Olivier Shackleton, Haitian-American Writer, Actor, musician, and Activist
    • Steve Desrosiers, Educator, Writer, Musician, and Artist OR Education Coordinator, Office of Advancement Boston Public Schools (BPS)
    4:00 PM - 4:20 PM

    Power Networking / Visit Exhibitor Booths / Break

    2nd Floor Terrace

    4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

    An Afternoon With The Boston Pan-African Forum

    Campus Center Ballroom

    4:30 PM

    Introduction of Dr. Joyce Hope Scott, President of the Boston Pan-African Forum

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Speaker: Suze Francois, Conference Chair

    4:40 PM

    Keynote Remarks

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Speaker: Dr. Joyce Hope Scott, President of the Boston Pan African Forum

    5:00 PM

    Plenary Session

    Building Alliances, Unity and Collaboration: Haiti, Africa & the Diaspora, Amplifying Voices, Claiming Justice, Empowerment, and Repair

    Campus Center Ballroom

    The United Nations General Assembly’s (resolution 68/237) proclaimed 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD) citing the need to strengthen national, regional and international cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights by people of African descent, and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society. The UN proclaimed three themes for the International Decade, that is recognition, justice and development.” For the 12th Annual International Pan Africanist Fall Welcome Celebration, this Round Table of Boston Pan African Forum focuses on Recognition and Restorative Justice. Our distinguished panelist will address the importance of unity, collaboration, and solidarity of African-descended people all over the world, in the diaspora, and in the motherland.

    Moderator: Dr. Jemadari Kamara, Professor, Africana Studies Department, University of Massachusetts, Boston

    Speakers:

    • Yvette Modestin, Writer, Poet, Activist, Founder/Executive Director Encuentro Diaspora Afro/Boston, Administrative Committee, National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC)
    • Dr. Alix Cantave, Senior Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Editorial Board, Haitian Studies Association
    • Karen André, Associate Director, Division of Consumer Education and External Affairs, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
    6:35 PM - 6:45 PM

    Closing Remarks

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Speaker: Myka Texas, Director of Project Development and Award Management, NAAHP

    6:45 PM - 7:00 PM

    Power Networking / Visit Exhibitor Booths / Break

    2nd Floor Terrace

    7:00 PM - 10:00 PM

    Friday Night Cocktail Reception

    A Pan-African Affair

    1st Floor Terrace

    The National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals (NAAHP) in collaboration with The Boston Pan African Forum (BPAF); the Africana Studies Department, UMass Boston; and Encuentro Diaspora Afro/Boston Presents The 12th International Pan Africanist Forum and Welcome Celebration. You do not want to miss this event and the special opportunity to network with the Boston Pan-African Forum. It’s going to be another great evening filled with art and culture.

  • Saturday, December 3, 2022

    8:00 AM - 8:45 AM

    Registration & Coffee

    (exhibitors, speakers and panelists arrival)

    8:45 AM - 8:55 AM

    Welcome & Conference Opening

    Campus Center Ballroom

    9:00 AM - 10:15 AM

    Plenary Session

    Foreign Military Intervention In Haiti: History, Analysis, and Recommendations

    Campus Center Ballroom

    This panel brings perspectives from the past and present to inform the future. Haiti has a long history of crises and foreign military interventions. Today, Haiti is at a crossroad and the threat of, yet another foreign military intervention seems imminent. This timely conversation features three of the foremost experts from Haiti with invaluable experience and insights on Haiti’s long history of foreign military interventions to assess their pros and cons if any, offer an analysis of the current situation, and provide recommendations on steps the diaspora can take to support the homeland and promote sustainable solutions.

    This panel is brought to you in collaboration with the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy (HAFFD)’s Voices from Haiti project which aims to bring, to the US-based Haitian Diaspora, subject matter experts from Haiti offering their perspectives on the current crisis as well as recommend paths to solutions.

    Remarks by HAFFD’s Executive Director, Ariel Dominique

    Featuring “Ensékirité,” a short documentary video on the situation in Haiti by the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy (HAFFD) produced by Ayibopost

    Moderator: Garry Pierre-Pierre, Pulitzer Prizewinner, Journalist, Founder and Publisher of The Haitian Times

    Speakers:

    • Dr. Michele Oriol, Sociologist
    • Ted St. Dic, Economist
    • Mario Andresol, Former Infantry Army Officer and Captain of the Haitian Army Forces, Former Chief of the Haitian National Police, and Entrepreneur
    10:15 AM - 11:30 AM

    Plenary Session

    Beyond Ransom: Haiti and The Global Reparation Movement

    Campus Center Ballroom

    This session will delve into the systematic exploitation of Haiti by foreign nations. Most importantly, the session will explore what a reparation movement centering on Haiti’s unique history and experience might look like while also aligning and taking our place in the global reparation movement.

    This panel is brought to you in collaboration with the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy (HAFFD).

    Moderator: Macollvie Nell, Executive Editor of The Haitian Times

    Speakers:

    • Dr. Joyce Hope Scott, Clinical Professor of African American Studies, Boston University
    • Dr. Philippe-Richard Marius, Professor and Author, in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the College of Staten Island (CUNY)
    • Dr. Yveline Alexis, Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Comparative American Studies, Oberlin College & Conservatory
    11:35 AM - 12:35 PM

    Lunch

    12:40 PM - 1:55 PM

    Breakout Sessions

    Session #1: A Pathway to End the Crisis And Create a Peaceful, Democratic, and Prosperous Haiti

    Room 3540

    This workshop is for Haitians living in Haiti, and Haitians living abroad who want to roll up their sleeves and create a Haitian-led solution to the current crisis in Haiti. They want a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous Haiti, and don’t believe it’s possible. The intention of this workshop is to:

    • Leave participants in the presence of the possibility of a peaceful, democratic and prosperous Haiti
    • Introduce the Manifesto for an Inclusive Dialogue as a pathway toward a peaceful transition to a democratic and prosperous Haitian society
    • Leave each participant empowered with straightforward strategies and a springboard for individual and collective action to transform and rebuild Haiti

    Moderator: Saurel Quettan, MBA, PMP, Chair of the Board Development Committee, Georgia Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (GAHCCI)

    Speakers:

    • Johnny Celestin, Deputy Director, NY City’s Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises
    • Dr. Régine Jackson, Dean of Humanities, Social Sciences, Media & Arts Division | Professor of Sociology

    Session #2: Parachute Journalism: How Mainstream Media Covers Haiti

    Room 3545

    As the Haiti crisis devolves the mainstream media is struggling once again to explain the story to the rest of the world. Why are journalists unable to clearly articulate the Haiti story? This vacuum provides an opportunity for Haitian American leaders to fill the space and influence how the country is covered. What can we do and how do we help mainstream journalists tell a better or more accurate story about Haiti?

    Moderator: Vania André, Digital Media Executive, The Haitian Times

    Speakers:

    • Jessicah Pierre, Chief Communications Officer for the City of Boston
    • Kwani Lunis, TV Correspondent at NBC Universal| Social Media and Digital Content Producer
    • Fadia Patterson, Multimedia Journalist at Bay News 9
    2:00 PM - 2:15 PM

    Power Networking / Visit Exhibitor Booths / Break

    2nd Floor Terrace

    2:20 PM - 2:30 PM

    Keynote Address

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Speaker: Tarah Ernest, Pilot, American Airlines

    2:35 PM - 3:15 PM

    Keynote Address

    Campus Center Ballroom

    Speaker: Etzer Emile, Economist Campus

    3:15 PM - 3:30 PM

    Closing Remarks

    Campus Center Ballroom

    • Summary of the day and the conference
    • Invitation to the 10th Anniversary Celebration
    • Invitation to visit the exhibitor booths

    Speaker: Suze François, Conference Chair, NAAHP

    Thank You By: Serge Renaud, President, NAAHP

    3:30 PM - 3:45 PM

    Power Networking / Visit Exhibitor Booths / Break

    2nd Floor Terrace

    6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

    Saturday Night Cocktail Reception

    10th Year Anniversary Celebration

    Edward Kennedy Institute

    This is the night! You got to be there. Come party and celebrate with us!

    10:00 PM - 2:00 AM

    After Party

    Closing After Party

    TAMBOO (252 Main Street, Brockton, MA)

    After the Conference is the After party. Come celebrate another successful National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals (NAAHP) Conference with our Haitian Diaspora and our many guests from all around the world. DJ Superduke will be on the one and two!

*Agenda is subject to change