Board
Meet Our Board
Responsible for governance
Pharaoh Hamid-Freeman
Founder
Shiata Lewis
President
Shiata considers herself to be a continuous student of dance, over the years she has studied many genres of dance, but feels most connected to African and Caribbean rooted dance. Recently Shiata along with the group West Can were invited to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago to engage in a Dance exchange program that enabled her to receive a deeper understanding of the Ancestral origin of Afro-Caribbean dance.
Moving forward Shiata plans to continue traveling and studying the origins of Caribbean dance. She will also continue teaching children about their Afro-Caribbean culture through dance and is very passionate about the role she plays as an example for the future generations. She believes that people all over the world regardless of race all share one heartbeat.
Marla Noel
Treasurer
Dr. Andrea Rouse - D.C.C. M.A
Secretary
Secretary and Head of Human Resources Committee)
I have over 20 years of counselling. I am also a credential Christian minister with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies (PAWI) . I have also been a member of the West Island Church of God from 1988 as Minister, Youth Director and also Youth Pastor I teach Religious Instruction to schools in Trinidad and Tobago. I am a lecturer at the West Indies School of Theology of Trinidad and Tobago. I have the experience of working with the OFC organization from 2002 as their bookkeeper, human resources and now one of their directors
Aguado Julien - MBA
Director
Director and Head of Finance Committee
Dynamic, versatile, and results-driven professional with more than five years of experience in project coordination combined with over five years of experience in accounting. Self-motivated, reliable, and forward-thinking professional, recently completed a MBA with a specialization in corporate finance. Superior communication skills, bilingual English and interacts with clients, regulatory agencies, outside vendors, and staff. Results-oriented with demonstrated success in project management, customer service, and accounting.
Technical Proficiency: MS Project, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Quickbooks.
Sharon Long
Director
Director and Member of the Advisory Committee
Sharon Long brings to her consulting career more than thirty five years of experience in the social welfare sector. She has held progressively responsible positions starting from a social worker to Acting CEO in the Human Services department of Government of Alberta and its predecessor organizations. Sharon has thorough and deep knowledge of child and family welfare policies, practices and case management in Alberta and other provincial jurisdictions. Sharon has participated in leadership capacity and as a change catalyst in many transformational projects in government. Sharon is an excellent facilitator, business analyst, problem solver, and a resourceful project manager. She has developed and delivered many training programs related to social welfare and human resources and has also mentored management resources in various roles. She is known for her friendly and well considered approach towards clients as well as towards peers, and is really well liked as a mentor and coach.Sharon has a BA from Concordia University and BSW from McGill University and is also a certified coach from the Internal Coach Federation. Sharon is a registered social worker and has delivered several training and coaching assignments for programs such as Strengths Deployment Inventory and Colours Spectrum.
Khalyil Rouse-Bakel
Director
Director and Head of OFC Entertainment
M-city SOLO, is an artist, songwriter and rapper from Montreal, Canada. With his stage name expressing the love for his city and knowledge of self. M-city SOLO’s known for making energetic social music appealing to all generations. He is a representation of his upbringing as his lyrics are inspired by his life experiences growing up in diversity. M-city Solo is also a performer, motivational and public speaker, who’s constantly evolving, and pushing his listeners to think critically on chasing their dreams and success. With over 250 shows to date and over 50,000 youth benefitting from his co-created Tour “ The Music With Meaning Tour” M-city SOLO is an influencer