Charlot Lucien is the president of GRAHN New England Boston, a board member of EDEM Foundation and a member of several organizations working to improve the economic and health wellbeing of Haitians in various regions of Haiti. In his professional life he is a manager at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) where he has coordinated HIV AIDS programs and projects aiming at improving refugees’ health, mental health, self-sufficiency and their insertion in US mainstream host communities. He is actively involved in the Haitian diaspora, working on a range of topics that include active participation of Haitians in the diaspora to support empowerment of Haitians in the areas of economic development, culture, health and civic involvement. He is the recipient of several awards for his civic engagement, from the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, GRAHN-Monde and was more recently named by the New-York-based Haitian Roundtable (HRT) as an inductee in its 1804 List of Haitian-American Changemakers.
Marie “Myka” Texas
September 9th, 2016 by DCIMyka Texas is a healthcare IT professional currently working in the specialized field of electronic health records and practice management technology. She serves as a Designer/ Sr. Business Analyst charged with crafting software/product requirements from conception to life. She has worked on health innovative software for companies such as GE Healthcare, Microsoft, and Partners Healthcare System in Boston. She holds a bachelor in Economics and French from UMASS Amherst, studied abroad at the University of Grenoble in France, holds a Masters in Software Engineering from Brandeis University, and is currently working on a Healthcare MBA from George Washington University.
Myka is an advocate at heart and believes in the power of the diaspora to lead her native country of Haiti into a state of restoration. She serves as Director of Project Development and Award Management on the NAAHP Executive Management Team and has been working with NAAHP as conference staff since 2014. Last year she was one of the Conference Chairs for the Miami Conference and this year she is a Conference Co-chair leading the Gala Committee to another outstanding delivery. Myka seeks opportunities where she can contribute on initiatives aimed at the development of Haiti, through raising consciousness of Haitians abroad to recognize their pivotal role as one of the key pillars of hope.
Ludovic Comeau
September 9th, 2016 by DCIProfessor Comeau has taught economics at DePaul University since 2001. He earned a Ph.D. in economics, an MBA in finance and an MA in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also earned an MA in French Literature from the University of Chicago, and business and Law degrees from the State University of Haiti.
Prior to the 1990s, he affirmed his love for education as a teacher of Haitian and French literatures at Petit Séminaire-Collège Saint-Martial (1979-1991), his alma mater, as well as his managerial and citizenly skills in Haiti’s private and public sectors, specifically:
- in a family business;
- as member for four years of the managing board and Préfet des études de la section secondaire at Saint-Martial, Haiti’s oldest, iconic boys Catholic school (founded 1865);
- as assistant-director for Cultural Affairs at Haiti’s ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship (1980-1988);
- as director of Human Resources at the ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports (1988-1991);
- as a freelance columnist, regularly publishing articles on cultural and artistic matters;
- in humanitarian endeavors through the Catholic Church and the Lions Club of Port-au-Prince Central.
Following graduate school through a Fulbright scholar obtained in 1991, Dr. Comeau returned home in 1997 to join Haiti’s central bank (La Banque de la République d’Haïti, BRH) as economist consultant. One year later, he became director of Money and Economic Analysis (chief economist), until early 2001 when he returned to the U.S. to join DePaul University. He is a consultant for the central bank of Haiti. Other consulting endeavors include serving as a Research Advisor for a Diaspora-wide project about Diaspora Engagement and Investment in Haiti (2015), as a member of the jury for the final round of the 2015 Business Plan Competition, and as a Project Leader and the Jury Coordinator for the Diaspora Challenge Fund (2016-2017), all three PADF/LEAD/USAID-sponsored projects.
Professor Comeau’s research focuses on institutional aspects of economic growth, particularly issues regarding the impact on economic growth of sociopolitical instability and sub-efficient economic governance. Dr. Comeau has spoken and lectured extensively about Haiti, mainly since the January 12, 2010 earthquake. He’s participated in many forums held in the Diaspora. He is a member of the board of DuSable Heritage Association, and a founding member of Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti. He joined GRAHN-Monde, or GRAHN-World (Group for Reflection and Action for a New Haiti; http://www.grahn-monde.org), an unprecedented global Haitian think-tank that emerged in Canada one week after the earthquake. He is vice-president at GRAHN-World and president of GRAHN-USA. He is founding editor of Haïti Perspectives, GRAHN’s scientific quarterly, and president of the International Jury for GRAHN’s Excellence Awards. He is professor and trustee at ISTEAH (Institute for Science, Technology and Advanced Studies of Haiti, http://www.isteah.edu.ht), GRAHN’s accredited graduate program, in Haiti. He is supporting the U.S. fundraising campaign for GRAHN’s major project: Le Pôle d’innovation du Grand Nord (PIGraN) – La Cité du Savoir (http://www.pigran.org). Over the years, he’s been the recipient of several awards.
Jean-Patrick Lucien
September 9th, 2016 by DCIJean-Patrick Lucien immigrated in the US at the age of 18, after completing high school in Haiti from College Canado Haitien. A graduate of Northeastern University, he is a computer engineer with extensive experience in marketing, product and service design, currently working as a Corporate Application Engineer in the Electronic Design Automation industry. Patrick and his wife Bernadette co-founded EDEM Foundation in 2003 to contribute to the growth of successful economic enterprises and social institutions in Haiti through youth education and skills training. Patrick is also the co-founder of Ile-a-Vache Development Group (IAVDG) operating the Vacation Village Resort, the Banque du Village micro-credit, the Village bakery and various small businesses operated by locals in Ile-a-Vache. Patrick has been able to link local organizations and individuals in Haiti to partners such as the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the US Naval Academy leading to the creation of several educational programs, 75 small businesses and over 25 full time jobs in the south of Haiti. Patrick is the recipient of several awards including a citation from the Governor of Massachusetts, Mr Charles Baker, for his commitment and service to the Haitian community. Patrick resides in Framingham, MA with his wife Bernadette and his two daughters Sarah and Isabelle.
| Ile-a-Vache Development Group, President | www.iavdg.com |
| EDEM Foundation, President | www.edem2.org |
| BelSoley Inc, CEO | www.belsoley.com |
| The Vacation Village, President | www.thevacationvillage.com |
Serge Renaud
January 17th, 2016 by DCIMr. Renaud is a Senior Tax Specialist with the U.S. Department of Treasury. Prior to this position, he was a Corporate Tax Examiner dealing with various and complex tax issues in different business entities such as C-Corporations, S-Corporations, Partnerships, and other type of business entities with a wide range of assets.
Prior to joining the U.S. Treasury, he was employed with PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP. in their International Tax Services (ITS) as an International Tax Associate working on various international tax issues.
Mr. Renaud is a founding member of the National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals (NAAHP), a founding member of the New Jersey Haitian Student Association (NJHSA), a Current Advisory Board Member of the Haitian Association of Indiana (HAI), and a former Board of Directors of the Haitian American Leadership Council (HALEC) – NJ Chapter.
Mr. Renaud graduated with a Master of Science in Accounting from Seton Hall University; an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
