Gepsie Morisset-Metellus is co-founder and Executive Director of the Haitian Neighborhood Center Sant La, a neighborhood resource center that serves as a lifeline for the Haitian immigrant population of South Florida.
Her community involvement spans over two decades. She currently serves on such community boards as the Miami Conference of Christians and Jews (MCCJ); the Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent’s Business Advisory Council; the Miami-Dade School Bond Oversight Committee; the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, The NorthEast Second Avenue Partnership and The Haitian American Chamber of Commerce. She is an active member of the Miami Chapter of the International Women’s Forum, the Greater Miami Chapter of the Links Inc., and the Commonwealth Institute, Miami Forum.
In addition to hosting a weekly talk-show targeting the Haitian community South Florida, Gepsie is a frequent radio and television commentator about the issues that impact the Haitian community. She has also authored several articles and publications about the Haitian experience such as The Haitian Presence in the United States; Haitians: Their History and Culture; and The Long Journey of South Florida’s Haitian Community, The Magic of Little Haiti, among others.
Her many awards from local, state and national organizations include recognition of her exemplary leadership, her ability to harness support for the Haitian-American community’s well-being; her ability to articulate and elevate community concerns; her personal and professional contributions to educational excellence and improved inter-group relations in South Florida. Some of these include: Women of Impact, BellSouth Black History Month Honoree, In the Company of Women, Women’s Hall of Fame, Miami ICON, Outstanding Americans by Choice, MCCJ Humanitarian, M. Athalie Range Miami Pioneer and community leadership awards from many local and national organizations. Most recently, in May 2015, she was conferred Florida International University’s prestigious Kal Kovens Distinguished Community Service Medal.
Ms. Metellus is multilingual and has a multicultural perspective shaped by her extensive travel to Europe, Asia, The Middle East and the Caribbean. She’s an alumna of the Rockefeller Foundation’s prestigious fellowship, Next Generation Leaders. Gepsie’s motto is “Provide the leadership to get things done!
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Gepsie M. Metellus migrated to the United States at the age of twelve. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in French/Romance Languages from Queens College, NY in 1983, a Masters of Science in Modern Language Education from Florida International University in 1992, and a Post Masters Certificate in Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University in 1994. In 2004, she was conferred an honorary doctorate for community service by the Université Jean Price Mars in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
She and her husband Gerard Metellus reside in Miami and have no children.
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