Conference Host Committee

Born in Pétion-Ville, Haiti, Ambassador at Large Danielle Saint-Lot has spent much of her career focused on promoting women’s rights and business development in Haiti. She has been Haiti’s first female Minister of Commerce and Industry and has held several other key positions in Haiti’s government including Minister of Tourism. She is an associate at Caribbean Business Consulting (CBC) and co founder of Femmes en Démocratie, the Haiti Chapter of Vital Voices Global Partnership. She also served as Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti. She has worked as program coordinator or consultant for different international organizations. Her main areas of expertise are business and private sector development, politics and local governance, women political and economic empowerment, public and government affairs.

Ambassador Saint-Lôt sees herself as a “Connector”. She brings her strong private and public experience and her personal convictions about local economic development through business opportunities, education and women empowerment. She holds a B.A. in International Relations from the Haiti National Institute for Management and International Relations. She also earned a degree in International Economic Relations from the Institute for International Public Administration of Paris, France.

She is a member of Vital Voices Global Advisory Council. She also serves as member of the Steering Committee of the Haiti Hope Project of The Coca Cola Company supporting mango farmers. She is a Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards honoree. She has been one of the four recipients of the First Annual DVF Awards to honor women for Exceptional Leadership. She is the only Haitian from Haiti who had the privilege to ring the NYSE bell, in March 2010. In 2012, she has been appointed by President Martelly Ambassador at Large of the Republic of Haiti for Women’s Empowerment.

Personal
Dr. Smith Joseph was born in Saint-Louis-du-Nord, Haiti. He completed his elementary studies in his native town and went on to achieve his secondary studies in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In 1979, Dr. Joseph and his family migrated to the United States and settled in Miami, Florida. Thereafter, Dr. Joseph secured a diploma in Laboratory Technology and began employment as a lab technician specialist with the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital (UM/JMH). In 1988, Dr. Joseph earned an Associate degree in the Pre-Pharmacy program at Miami-Dade Community College. Upon graduating, Dr. Joseph went on to earn a Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy from Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University (FAMU) and is a proud “Rattler.” Dr. Joseph worked as a registered pharmacist at Walgreen’s Pharmacy and later accepted a position as a clinical pharmacist at the Miami Heart Institute in Miami Beach, Florida. In 1998, Dr. Joseph earned a degree in Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University and went on to complete a 3-year residency program, with a specialty in Internal Medicine, at Grady Memorial Hospital/Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2011, Dr. Joseph opened his professional medical practice on West Dixie Highway, in the heart of North Miami, where he has maintained a successful practice with a growing staff of about 10 employees.

Education
Doctorate Degree, Osteopathic Medicine – Nova Southeastern University
Doctorate Degree, Pharmacy – Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU)
Associate Degree in Pre-Pharmacy – Miami-Dade Community College

Community Involvement
Despite his busy professional career, Dr. Joseph is an active and concerned resident. He delivers scores of motivational speeches at local churches and local schools. Dr. Joseph organized a rally and candlelight vigil in 2012 against gun violence following the shootings of young Trayvon Martin and the Sandy Hook Elementary children. Dr. Joseph was a co-founder of the Society of Haitian American Professionals (SHAP), providing networking support and training to South Florida’s professionals, and has served on the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board and the City’s Quality Education Advisory Board.

Associations and Memberships
In 2009, Dr. Joseph was inducted in the Miami Dade College Hall of Fame and has received numerous honors and recognitions for his professional and civic accomplishments, including his medical missionary work during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and others in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Joseph is a diplomat in Internal Medicine, a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association, the American Board of Disability Analysts, Past President-Association of the Haitian Physicians Abroad (AMHE)-South Florida Chapter, and has been honored by the Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare, Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges.

Chairman Jean Monestime strongly believes that there is no greater gift than the gift of service to others. Throughout his more than 30 years as a resident of Miami-Dade County, Monestime has worked hard to achieve the American Dream, becoming the first Haitian-American to serve on the Board of County Commissioners, where he has worked to expand opportunities for others, thus paving the way for future generations.

Monestime was first elected to represent District 2 on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners on November 2, 2010. District 2 includes portions of the City of Miami, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Opa-locka, and the unincorporated areas of Liberty City, Biscayne Gardens and North Central Dade. He was overwhelmingly re-elected in August 2014 for a second four-year term, and in November 2014 chosen unanimously to serve as Chairman of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners for two years. In this position, he represents more than 2.5 million people and presides over a county commission that sets the priorities for our annual budget that is larger than 17 states and 78 countries.

On February 20, 2015 Chairman Monestime was selected unanimously by municipal, school board, and commission colleagues to preside over the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Governing Board. A major role of the MPO is to ensure conformance with federal regulations requiring that highways, mass transit and other transportation facilities and services are properly developed and deployed in relation to the overall plan of urban development and to approve plans for regional and state transportation network accessibility.

Chairman Monestime exemplifies an active life of service. He is a former City of North Miami Councilman and Vice-Mayor. He was a Delegate to the National Democratic Convention and later selected as a Florida Electoral College member for the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election, another prestigious and historic appointment!

Additionally, he is the President of JEMO Realty, Inc., a full-service real estate and insurance company, and JEMO Enterprises, LLC, a business consulting agency. Moreover, he is a former Miami-Dade County Public School teacher and worked as an adjunct professor of management at the University of Phoenix, South Florida campus.

As an advocate for equal justice and economic development, Monestime has lectured and presented dozens of seminars. He has been a guest on several radio and TV programs on issues related to community leadership, business and financial matters, as well as local government and civism.

Among his extensive civic involvements, Monestime has served as a member of the NAACP, National Black MBA Association, Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, the African-American NON-GROUP Coalition, Turner Tech High School Academy of Finance Board, Haitian American Political Action Committee, Little Haiti Optimist Club, the Society of Haitian-American Professionals and Entrepreneurs, the Florida Governor’s Haiti Advisory Group and the University and Community Zone Schools Advisory Committee. Chairman Monestime has been an active member of Eden SDA Church since 1981, where he's served as Head Elder and currently as Choir Director.

The Chairman obtained his MBA from the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University and received a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Florida International University.

Chairman Monestime is married to Kettia and they have two adult sons.

Dotie Joseph was born in Haiti, and raised in Miami. She has a proven passion for human and civil rights advocacy. Ms. Joseph earned a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, where she co-founded Yale’s Haitian Student Alliance and served as the Political Action Chairperson of the Yale N.A.A.C.P. She also studied post-colonial relations between France and Africa at Columbia University in Paris, France; and conflict resolution at the Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution in The Hague, Netherlands. She also served as the Legislative Correspondent for U.S. Representative Peter Deutsch during college.

After Yale, Ms. Joseph served as a Research Intern in the Democracy Program of the Carter Center, where she focused on activities in West Africa and the Caribbean; and as the Acting Youth Director for Eglise Beraca in Miami.

Driven by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s quote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” Ms. Joseph went on to earn a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. There, Ms. Joseph interned with the Voting Rights Project of the national Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, externed with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice where she focused on protecting the rights of individuals with limited English proficiency, and served as the 2003 Frankel Fellow for Human Rights First where she worked on issues related to US-Haiti immigration policy and political asylum.

Beyond U.S. borders, Ms. Joseph worked with Congolese and Somali refugees at the Refugee Law Project in Uganda, and helped resettle over one hundred Sudanese refugees while interning with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Egypt.

Currently, Ms. Joseph is serving is the President of the Haitian Lawyers Association, as Deputy City Attorney for the City of North Miami Beach. Previously, Ms. Joseph served as the Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Judge Eugene Hamilton, as a Civil Rights Litigation Consultant, as an Associate with several law firms, and as the owner of her own law firm.

Her credo is to live out the tenets espoused in Psalm 82:3 and Isaiah 1:17 (We are called to defend the cause of the oppressed, to seek justice, and to correct the oppressor).

Dr. Jaffus Hardrick is a visionary and transformational leader with twenty years of higher education experience in human resources, academic affairs, student services, diversity and community relations. Throughout his two-decade career, Hardrick has served at the highest levels of education administration and cultivated multi-generational environments that spur growth, innovation, and optimum performance among faculty, staff, students, and community stakeholders. This proven track record of recruiting, retaining, and developing talent has garnered Hardrick recognition by South Florida Business Journal, among others publications. The award-winning university executive has also contributed to educational policy and practices on a national scale through his service on the boards of the Association of Public & Land-grant Universities and the College Board.

Dr. Hardrick currently serves in dual roles as Vice President of Human Resources and Vice Provost for Student Access & Success at Florida International University (FIU). He is responsible for strategic and innovative leadership in the areas of policy development, shared governance, strategic direction, donor development, and community relations for the nation’s fourth largest university. He also provides executive oversight and leadership for program development for a workforce of more than 9,000 faculty and staff across multiple campuses. Hardrick is also tasked with developing initiatives focused on the successful recruitment, retention, development, and graduation of under-represented student groups. Under his leadership, FIU was named one of America’s 100 Best Employers’ by Forbes Magazine and named among the ‘Great Colleges to Work For’ by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Prior to joining FIU, Dr. Hardrick worked at Baylor University as Assistant Vice President of Human Resources and Assistant Provost. Dr. Hardrick earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; a master’s degree from Prairie View A&M University; and a doctorate degree from Baylor University. He enjoys spending quality time with his family, reading, motivational speaking, and playing sports. Dr. Hardrick is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Dr. Verret presently serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Savannah State University. He works with the President and members of the Cabinet to achieve strategic goals of the university and provides vision and leadership to assure that academic priorities are addressed and implemented. These include academic success of students and enhancement of academic programs and promotion of cooperative relationships with neighboring institution and other partners.

As Provost at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania and as Dean of the Misher College of Arts and Sciences University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, he led the revisions of university-wide general education curricula, developed study abroad programs, established collaborative agreements with neighboring institutions at the K-12 and higher education levels, instituted new academic programs and oversaw the relocation of major programs to a new science and technology center. Dr. Verret also served on faculty at Tulane University and also at Clark Atlanta University, where he was also chair of the department of chemistry.

As a biochemist and immunologist, Dr. Verret’s research has addressed the cytotoxicity of immune cells, and on biosensors and biomarkers. He has published in the fields of biological chemistry and immunology. At the University of the Sciences, he and other colleagues established a knowledge network on social exclusion in support of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health within the World Health Organization.

Throughout his career, he has worked to increase the number of US students pursuing advanced study in the STEM disciplines, especially from underrepresented groups. He has labored to mitigate the shortage of qualified science and math teachers in K-12.

He has served on many professional organizations and advisory bodies, including study sections of the National Institutes of Health and currently on the Board of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. He has received awards and fellowships for teaching and scholarship.

Educated by the Sisters of St. Joseph at Nativity of Our Blessed Lord in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of New York and by the Jesuits at Brooklyn Preparatory, Dr. Verret went on to receive his undergraduate degree cum laude in biochemistry from Columbia University and the Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. To these, were added postdoctoral experiences as fellow at the Howard Hughes Institute for Immunology at Yale and Center for Cancer Research at MIT.

SUMMARY

Founder, former Siméus Foods International, Inc., a $100+ million food processing company headquartered in Texas

Founder, Organisation Sové Lavi (Saving Lives), a nonprofit 501c3 that operates a charitable clinic in Haiti. The organization also drills wells, provides scholarships and more.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Former President and Chief Operating Officer of TLC Beatrice Foods International, a $2 billion corporation with operations in 25 countries.

Prior to that, lived and ran businesses in Venezuela, France and Spain.

Founded Siméus Foods International in 1996 – ranked by Black Enterprise magazine in 1999 as the largest black-owned business in Texas and the eleventh largest in the nation.

Was drafted to run for President of Haiti in 2005.

Served on the Commission on Building for the University of North Texas at Dallas. He also serves on the boards of Inter-America Foundation, Townsend Capital URP and Business Investment Growth Austin.

Siméus served on the Governor Jeb Bush 2005 Advisory Committee for Haiti’s economic development.

He also served as an advisor to various ambassadors from throughout the world.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

President of TLC Beatrice Foods International, the largest black-owned, multinational corporation based in the U.S. at that time

Leveraged buyout (LBO) was orchestrated by a team headed by the late Reginald Lewis for a price exceeding $1 billion

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Founded Organization Sové Lavi (Saving Lives in Haitian Creole) in 2000. Sové Lavi operates a non-profit medical clinic that cares for approximately 800 patients each month and drills wells throughout the community where he was born in Haiti.

RECOGNITION/AWARDS

Siméus has received many honors, including Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young LLP, and the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.

He was a finalist for Texan of the Year by WFAA Dallas as well as the Horatio Alger award. He has also been honored on numerous occasions for his humanitarian work in Haiti.

The National Coalition for Human Rights;

The National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians;

Tthe Haitian-Canadian Association;

Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Business Development Council, Inc.

SPEAKER/LECTURER

A dynamic motivational speaker, Siméus has shared his journey and philosophy for success with numerous universities, corporations, and fundraising events, most recently at Tuskegee University’s George Washington Carver Lecture Series.

Additionally, he was a keynote speaker for the National Association for the Advancement of Haitians (NOAH), Association des Médecins Haïtiens à l’Étranger, Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc., the National Restaurant Association, the 7-Eleven Corporation celebration of the Martin Luther King Holiday, Chiapas International, Price Waterhouse and the Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Business Development Conference.

He has spoken at the University of Chicago Alumni Association, several Chambers of Commerce, the University of Nebraska Medical School, and the Haitian Medical Association.

He has been a frequent guest on various Haitian radio and television stations, High Schools/Churches/Other nonprofits.

EDUCATION

He received his Electrical Engineering degree from Howard University and his MBA from the University of Chicago. He is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

Jean-Claude Brizard is President of UpSpring Education Group, a network of highly experienced education practitioners and education sector leaders who partner with mid-sized, high poverty districts to build transformational plans for reform, ensure the capacity to execute with excellence and design toward a community’s ultimate measure of success.

Mr. Brizard spent the 2013 calendar year as an advisor to the leadership of College Board developing the organization’s career readiness initiative. This engagement culminated in a strategic plan for integrating career readiness into the College Board’s mission and a special supplement that was published as part of the 45^th edition of the PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. He is the former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools. Prior to his appointment in Chicago, he was Superintendent of Schools for the Rochester, NY School District.
Under Mr. Brizard’s leadership, both the Chicago Public Schools and the Rochester City School District saw substantial improvements in student performance. He introduced a comprehensive change agenda across the Chicago Public Schools, including closing a significant budget gap of more than $1.3B over two fiscal years while preserving core reforms and investing in classrooms. He developed a new framework for teaching and the system saw record increases in student achievement, graduation rates and on college readiness benchmarks. He created a Blueprint for reform that will continue to serve as roadmap for years to come.

Mr. Brizard’s experience also includes a 21-year career as an educator and administrator with the NYC Department of Education. He served as a Regional Superintendent, supervising more than 100 schools in the Borough of Brooklyn and he also served as the system’s Executive Director for secondary schools. He is a National Trustee of the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, Teach for America DC Region, founding board chair of Anseye Pou Ayiti (Teach for Haiti) and New Voice Strategies (VIVA Teachers).

A licensed commercial pilot, Mr. Brizard credits his parents—both of whom were educators—with inspiring him to pursue a career in education. He holds a Master’s Degree with honors in School Administration & Supervision from The City University of New York/City College of New York and a Master’s Degree in Science Education from Queens College, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Queens College.

Mr. Brizard is a Fellow of the Broad Center, a Fellow of the third class of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship, and a member of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network.

Jacques Medina Jean is the Business Relationship Manager for Industry, the second largest business units of Schneider Electric $35B Corporation. Jacques joined the company through the acquisition of Invensys in 2014. Schneider Electric is the global specialist in energy management with operations in over 100 countries, leverages its portfolio to make energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green. It is headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, France. In this role, Jacques is responsible for the overall IT strategy, operating plan, and the IT budget that support the business across its global footprint.

Prior to Schneider Electric, Jacques worked for Invensys, a London based technology manufacturing company. He joined the company in 2009 as Director of Global Service Effectiveness where he led the PMO, M&A, Architecture, and Continuous Improvement organizations, which provide end-to-end management enabling all IT Infrastructure project pipelines and line of Service Delivery to operate as an integrated service portfolio. In 2011 he was promoted to Senior Director and Corporate IT Lead, responsible for developing and maintaining corporate business applications that support Invensys Finance, Legal, Human Resources, M&A, and Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability as well as the company IT PMO organization. In 2013 Jacques was promoted to Senior Director and IT Business Partner where he was charged with supporting the growth of Invensys largest division, Industrial Automation’s $2B business units by partnering with the business on IT related revenue generating programs and with overseeing all aspects of Information Technology across Industrial Automation global reach.

Before joining Invensys, Jacques spent 10 years with Honeywell. During his tenure, he held several positions including senior manager and interim Product Management Director. At Honeywell, he held positions focused on Product Management, Six Sigma, and led IT for the Honeywell Consumer Product Group in Europe, Latin America and Asia. His major contributions were focused on driving IT programs to optimize overall processes and cost across IT and M&A.

In his spare time, Jacques is a social entrepreneur. He is the founder of Universal Learning Centre (www.universallearningcentre.org), a US based not-for-profit organization focused on providing educational resources and learning opportunities for people living in developing countries. To date, he has built a portfolio of three public libraries across Haiti with a catalogue of fifty thousand books and a computer lab of 17 workstations serving a population of half a million. The libraries are the first and only of their type in the regions they serve. Currently, Jacques is planning to open the largest library yet in Cap-Haitian in 2015, the second largest city of Haiti.

Jacques earned a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, and went on to complete an Executive Program in Business Marketing Strategy from the Harvard Business School in Boston, MA, a Bachelor of Science in Economics from la Universidad De Guadalajara, in Mexico. He is also a Black Belt Certified and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). Jacques speaks Creole, French, Spanish, English and some Portuguese. Jacques worked and lived extensively in several countries. He currently resides in Allen, TX with his family.

Jeff Lozama is the President and CEO of CMS International Group, Corp a company specialized in the export distribution of High-End Building materials to the Caribbean and Latin America. With over 20 years of experience in this industry, Jeff Lozama has worked on notable commercial and residential projects in the Caribbean i.e. Exuma Bell and Indigo Island, private islands of CEO of LVMH; Chub Cay Marina Resort; Sandals Resort, Merricks Resort, H-Hotel, Kinam and Karibe Hotels to name a few.

Mr. Lozama graduated from Florida Memorial University with a Bachelor in Business Management.

Mr. Lozama is a founding member and Executive Director of Man Dodo Humanitarian Foundation, Inc a 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit organization serving the less fortunate population of the South of Haiti. He is the current Chairman of the Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce Chamber of Commerce of Florida; Member of the Board of Directors of Miami-Dade County International Trade Consortium, Member of Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce and the United States Black Chambers. He also serves on the advisory board of the Haitian American Nursing Association (HANA); Hand in Hand for Haiti and Elder Board of Florida Bible Church in Miramar, Florida.

Magaly Prezeau holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Services Administration, both from Florida International University. She has been a prominent community leader and advocate for most of her professional career in social services and public health for over 20 years. Her passion and commitment as a public servant led her to open a community-based organization in the 2010. She currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of Community Access Center (CAC), a Miramar-based non-profit organization that has assisted thousands of residents with public assistance, free volunteer tax preparations, chronic disease management, community baby showers, monthly elderly luncheons, health/resource fairs, immigration and family case management services. CAC also produces and airs a 30-minute Haitian community television program (Tele-Access) on Island TV (Comcast 578) which is viewed by over 500,000 Haitian Americans living in South Florida.

Currently she is the Chairwoman of the Haitian American Professionals Coalition (HAPC) located in South Florida and was one of the founding members in 2001. The Haitian American Professionals Coalition (HAPC) is a non-profit volunteer organization which was established in 2001. The mission of HAPC is to mobilize and link professionals of diverse occupations in order to effectively address issues relevant to the community and to provide opportunities for growth and development. HAPC is comprised of a core assembly of volunteer professional associations, organizations and individuals, business leaders, media and community members that seek to advocate and promote the well-being of Haitian communities in Florida, United States and abroad. Currently the core members are the Haitian Lawyers Association (HLA), Haitian American Nurses Association (HANA), Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida (HACCOF), Community Access Center (CAC), Caribbean-American Visual Cultural Preservation (CAVCP), United Haitian Students of Florida (UHSF), and Association of Haitian Educators of Dade (AHED).

She was selected as an Honoree of the 2012 Broward County Commission on the Status of Women. She also serves as a Board Member of the Florida Community Leadership Board and Health Equity Research Institute. Recently she received the Caribbean-American Heritage Award as a Social Services Leader from the City of Miramar.

She is a Board Member of the City of Miramar Economic Development Advisory Board; DCF Broward Domestic Violence Committee; Broward Regional Health Planning Council - Health Access and Quality of Life Committees; Healthy Start Coalition of Broward - Black Infant Health Practice Initiative; DCF Refugee Task Force; United Way Substance Abuse Strategic Prevention Action Team; Human Trafficking Coalition; Broward Prosperity and Wealth Building; Broward KidCare TaskForce Committee; Broward Maternal & Child Health Committee; Healthy South Broward Coalition; Steering Committee Member of the Coordinating Council of Broward.

Alix Desulme has an outstanding record of public service and prides himself on his dedication to his community. Alix grew up in North Miami. Alix was born in Arcahaie, Haiti on December 5, 1977. He migrated to Westbury, New York at the age of 7 where Alix attended Elementary School. He attended middle school in North Miami when his family relocated in 1993.

Alix is a certified teacher, a small business owner and an Adjunct Professor. In 2001, at the age of 23 years old, Alix established Alix Desulme & Associates, Inc. (ADA), Marketing and Public Relations firm based in North Miami, Florida. Alix is an innovative leader with an extensive background in Management, Public Relations, and Community Outreach.

For almost ten (10) years, as a small business owner Alix created jobs and opportunities for local families. A partial list of ADA's clients includes Western Union, The Children's Trust, Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, Florida Department of Transportation, SogeXpress, Food Express, Florida Department of Health to name a few.

Alix champions for children and youth causes; and he has taught with the Miami-Dade County Public school system for almost two decades. He loves interacting with young minds and works tirelessly driving the necessary changes for students to compete in a global world.

In a 2009 city-wide election, Alix made history. He was elected City Clerk of the City of North Miami. He was the first Black to serve in this capacity for the City of North Miami. Alix held the distinction of the youngest and the first Haitian-American elected City Clerk in the United States of America.

As the Elected City Clerk for the City of North Miami, Alix found and secured support and funding from local politicians, businesses and school board members for NoMi Kids & Democracy. It was a program designed to teach students about citizenship, civic involvement, local government and our electoral process through experimentation.

NoMi Kids & Democracy gave students opportunities in public schools to run for school-wide offices and campaign for elections. This process culminated in students voting in REAL voting booths. NoMi Kids & Democracy focused on leadership skills with follow-up workshops to lead in the school and the real world. Alix championed causes for youth that made them and the community-at-large better all-around through innovative solutions - with a real-world, applicable feel.

Alix was committed to improving the City Clerk's Office by making it the most technologically savvy, user-friendly and efficient City Clerk’s Office in North Miami’s history. During his tenure as City Clerk, he computerized all documents so the public could have quicker access to public documents. Within months in office, Alix moved the City Clerk Office into the technology age, making it: faster, easier, and more efficient for taxpayers to access services. By staying current with the technology that became available, it assured the preservation of the City’s' documents and legal records.

On Tuesday June 2, 2015 Municipal Election, Alix was elected to the North Miami City Council representing the West portion of the City of North Miami. (District 4)

Education:

North Miami Middle & North Miami Senior High School Alumnus

St. Thomas University, Master of Science in Exceptional Student Education/ESOL

Bachelor of Art in Organizational Leadership/Marketing

Community Involvement:

Co-founder of the Haitian American Elected Officials Network

2012 Florida Jaycee Outstanding Young Public Service Award recipient

Who's Who in Florida under 25 Years Old

The National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians (NOAH)

Outstanding Youth Achievement Award, Miami-Dade County

Outstanding Young Professional Award

The City of North Miami Close-Up Achievement Award

Associations and Membership

The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project

South Florida’s Chapter of Haitian American Elected Officials

Operation Green Leaves Project

North Miami Knights of Columbus

North Miami Business Advisory Committee

North Miami Youth Opportunity Board

Citizens for a Better Government (PAC)

North Miami Jaycees

Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee

Big Brother & Big Sister of Dade County

Miami-Dade PTSA Executive Board, Past Member

Personal
Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Mr. Bien-Aime migrated to Canada in 1991 before settling in the United States in 1993. He is married and the loving father of three children; two boys and one girl. He has worked in all aspects of the automobile industry for almost 20 years. He began his career climbing the corporate ladder, until 2006 when he followed his entrepreneurial dream and opened his own business.

Education
National University of Haiti, Bachelor of Science in Communication / Social Science Lavale University, Post-graduate Certificate Program in Social Science Professional training certificates in bookkeeping, taxation, and management

Community Involvement
Since 1999, Mr. Bien-Aime has been a strong community advocate throughout South Florida, supporting and promoting political involvement and lobbying on immigration issues.

USCM Taskforce/Committee

Standing Committee:
- Community Development and Housing
- International Affairs

Taskforce:
- Vacant and Abandoned Properties
- Small Business, Franchising and Entrepreneurship

Associations and Memberships

Veye-Yo Haitian organization, member

Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, member

Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce, member

National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON), member

Haitian American Elected Officials Network – Florida Chapter, member

Conference Host Committee

Ambassador Danielle Saint-Lot

Co-Chair of the Conference Host Committee

Ambassador at Large of the Republic of Haiti

President of the Danielle Saint-Lot Haiti Women’s Foundation

Dr. Smith Joseph

Co-Chair of the Conference Host Committee

Mayor of City of North Miami

Chairman Jean Monestime

Co-Chair of the Conference Host Committee

Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners

Dotie Joseph

Deputy City Attorney of North Miami Beach

President of the Haitian Lawyers Association

Dr. Jaffus Hardrick, Ed.D.

Vice Provost for Student Access & Success

Vice President of Human Resources

Florida International University

Dr. Reynold Verret

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Savannah State University

Dumarsais Siméus

Founder, former Siméus Foods International, Inc., a $100+ million food processing company headquartered in Texas

Jean-Claude Brizard

President of UpSpring Education Group

Former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools

Jacques M. Jean

Business Relationship Manager (BRM) for Industry at Schneider Electric

Jeff Lozama

President and CEO of CMS International Group

Chairman of the Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce Chamber of Commerce of Florida

Magaly Prezeau, MPH

Chairwoman of the Haitian American Professionals Coalition (HAPC)

Mr. Alix Desulme

Councilman of City of North Miami

Mr. Philippe Bien-Aime

Councilman of City of North Miami