Welcome to the UWIAA Washington DC Chapter!
Celebrating Ms. Rayness Mayne (Nov 11, 1934 – February 8, 2018)
Long time stalwart member of the UWIAA Washington DC Chapter, Ms. Rayness Mayne passed away recently. She was a founding member of the UWIAADC, served as a Vice President of the Chapter, and was very dedicated to Taylor Hall. Her funeral took place on February 24, 2018. There was a great turnout and she was memorialized by several organizations including the Caribbean American Intercultural Organization (CAIO), the Caribbean Advisory Group of Montgomery County, the Committee of Ethic Affairs of Montgomery County, the Jamaica Nationals Association, and the UWI. The UWIAA Washington DC President, Mrs. Barbara Brissett attended and read a Tribute from the Director of Alumni Relations for the UWI, Mrs. Celia Davidson Francis. Other UWI alumni in attendance included: Sir George Alleyne, Rev. Dr.Kortright Davis, Dr. Peter Edwards, Ms Shashana Crichton, Mr. Noel Godfrey, Ms. Sonia Subaran, Mrs. Barbara Reuben-Powell, Ms. Mervis Samuels, Ms. Yasmin Anderson, Mr. Louis Stephens, Dr. Enid Bogle and Mr. Darren Skinner.
RAYNESS MAYNE SCHOLARSHIP: Donations may be made to The American Foundation for the University of the West Indies for the “Rayness Mayne Scholarship” which will be awarded to a Taylor Hall student.
Executive Board Members include:
President: Barbara Brissett
Ms. Barbara Brissett is a founding member of the UWIAA Washington DC Chapter. She retired from Engility Corporation in 2014. She now works as a Process Improvement consultant from time to time and has more time for her hobbies (cooking, travelling and dancing. She enjoys showing her Pelican Pride and connecting with UWI alumni from all 4 campuses.Barbara graduated from the UWI (Mona) with a Bachelors in History and Government. As an undergraduate Barbara was elected Secretary of the Student Union. A proud resident of Taylor Hall, she was a member of the University Dance Society. She holds an MSFS Degree from Georgetown University majoring in International Business.
She is an accomplished, results-oriented individual with expertise in Information Technology, including Capability Maturity Model Integration Ò (CMMI); Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation; as well as Quality Management. She was the Director of Process Improvement at Engility Corporation, headquartered in Chantilly, VA. She has more than 20 years of experience in Enterprise IT management across industries through effective leadership, strategic development and execution. Ms. Brissett has extensive experience in analyzing business governance models and in portfolio management, client program management, product development, and identification, design, and execution of client training programs with a hands-on track record in developing new business needs centered around IT management.
Barbara was appointed to the 2010 and 2011 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Award, created by public law in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive. As an Examiner, Ms. Brissett was responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Award. The board is composed of approximately 500 leading experts selected from industry, professional and trade organizations, education and health care organizations, and nonprofits (including government.
First Vice President - Peter Edwards
Dr. Peter “Horlicks” Edwards is a Marine Scientist and Environmental Economist. He is a US government federal contractor and currently works for the Coral Reef Conservation Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As a member of Jamaican diaspora, Peter volunteers some of his time and efforts as he is currently an independent member of Jamaica’s National Council on Ocean and Coastal Management, as well as a Member of the United Nations Expert Pool in the area of Global Reporting and Marine Environment Assessment on behalf of the government of Jamaica. Peter is a proud graduate of the UWI, Mona Campus, with a Bachelors in Zoology and a MPhil. in Marine Sciences. As an undergraduate and also graduate student Peter represented Taylor Hall and UWI in Track and Field as well as Field Hockey. He also served in student government as an undergraduate as the Faculty Representative for Natural Sciences and as the Postgraduate Representative for the Mona Graduate Students. He holds a PhD from the University of Delaware, in Marine Studies with a concentration in Marine Policy. In his spare time, he enjoys a number of recreational sports, Caribbean fusion cooking and live music concerts. He is also is engaged in long distance agricultural pursuits at his family farm in St. Thomas, Jamaica.
Current Executive Board members:
Ms. Barbara Brissett –President
Dr. Peter Edwards – First Vice President
Mr. Noel Godfrey – Vice President
Mr. Neville DePass –Treasurer
Ms. Lorna John – Secretary
Past Presidents include:
Ms. Malene Alleyne
Ms. Sha-Shana Crichton.
Ms. Yasmin Anderson
Ms. Sonia Subaran
Mr. Ian Edwards
Dr. Michael Alleyne
Ms. Evadney Coye
Ms. Cecille Clayton
This UWIAA DC will be working with PELICAN PRIDE to "re-connect" alumni with the UWI. They welcome other "willing hands" so if you are in the Washington DC area please connect with them. They aim to host social and networking events to engage alumni and the more heads and hands to help organize or give ideas, the better!
SOME HISTORY:
2013
The Chapter raised over US$50,000.00 for Nursing scholarships through the generosity of caring donors.
2012
The Chapter raised over US$50,000.00 for Nursing scholarships through generous donors.
2011
US$50,000 was raised through the network of members and given for student scholarships through the American Foundation of the UWI (AFUWI).
2009
The Chapter held a signature event: Caribbean Fall Frolic Happy Hour. It was a well supported and received networking event. They also gave a total of US$11,,000 for a Chancellor's Student Scholarship to each UWI campus.
2008
The Washington DC Chapter held a 60th AnniversaryCommemorative Service at the Trinity Episcopal Church, Washington DC on Sunday, June 1, 2008. In her welcome address, President of the UWIAA Washington DC Chapter Sha-Shana Crichton noted that "UWI is the oldest, fully regional institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth Caribbean and it is safe to say that the Caribbean region and countries around the world which are impacted and influenced by UWI, would not have made the strides that they made over the past decades without UWI".
The Washington DC Chapter contributed US $3,000.00 to the UWI Regional Endowment Fund as well as US$10,000.00 for scholarships in 2008.
Distinguished UWI Alumni in the Washington DC area include:
Sir George Alleyne -UWI Chancellor Emeritus
Lady Sylvan Alleyne - Professor and Coordinator for the Human Development Programme at Howard University
Professor Franklin Knight (former Chapter President) - Director, Centre for Africana Studies, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Garth Samuels - Vascular Surgeon / Physician
Dr. Claire Nelson - Leader of the Futures Forum, President of the Board for Development, Foresight Institute
Dr. Charles Lewis - Optometrist
Dr. Derick Hanlan - Radiologist and Radiation Oncology Specialist
Dr. Enid Bogle
Dr. Omowale Elson - Vice President for Business Development at Elson Consulting Group
Dr. Malcolm Manning
Dr. Patrick O'Mess - Urological Surgeon, Phoebe Sumter Urology Associates
Dr. Yolande Smith - Pediatrician
Dr. Anthony Kalloo - Professor of Medecine at Johns Hopkins University, Director of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Dr. Winsome Leslie - Lead Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank
Dr. Kisha Mitchell - Associate Professor of Pathology, Director - Autopsy Services
Dr. J. Steuart Richards - Rheumatologist
Sonia Subaran Clayton
Richard Fletcher
Eddie Rochester
If you would like to be listed here or to nominate another graduate - kindly contact washington.dc@alumni.uwi.edu
"One UWI, One Alumni Family"
