Jamaica Diaspora group to use RICE to aid educators back home

The conference is coordinated by the combined five education task forces led by Dr. Noel Gordon, Ms. Andrea Thomas, and Dr. Sherian Demetrius.  The collective education task forces include early childhood, special, primary and secondary, tertiary, and instructional leadership.

Keynote Speaker for day one is Dean Michael Salmon, who is the associate vice-president/dean of academic excellence and senior advisor to the president of Marymount Manhattan College. He advises the president and several senior leaders on strategic initiatives and student-centered projects. He has a Bachelor’s and Master of Science in Economics from the University of the West Indies and has completed doctoral coursework at New York University. 

Lesleyann Samuel, current president of Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (USA) Inc (UJAA), will serve as keynote speaker for day two. Ms. Samuel is a technical writer for a large telecommunications company. She has been an adjunct professor in the Business Department of the University of Maryland’s Global Campus for the past 21 years, where she teaches organizational leadership.

Conference topics include: Why best practice matters, restorative practice and its implication for teaching and learning, optimizing your school’s success through transformational leadership, building bridges with parents to promote next level family engagement, and optimizing your students’ success through equity and excellence in instructional practices.

Andrea Thomas, conference planning committee and chair of the Jamaica Diaspora Educational Leadership Taskforce said: “I am looking forward to two days of stimulating educational conversations that will benefit our teachers in Jamaica. The participants will be enriched by these two days of gatherings.”

Dr. Sherian Demetrius, conference planning committee co-chair and co-chair of the Jamaica Diaspora Early Childhood Education Taskforce, stated: “The development of this conference has been a truly collaborative effort between the Jamaican educators and the Diaspora. Together we will build a cadre of empowered reflective educators ready to change the lives of the students they teach.”

Dr. Gordon, conference planning committee co-chair and chair of the Jamaica Diaspora Primary & Secondary Education Taskforce said: “One of the hallmarks of this conference is the showcase of several Jamaican educational leaders who will engage in the various forums taking place over the two days of the conference. The combined Jamaica Diaspora Education Taskforce is pleased to participate in this exciting nation-building imitative.”

“It's always a pleasure when members of the Diaspora offer their expertise to Jamaica.  In March this year, the JDTAN hosted its first face-to-face Education Summit since 2019, inviting more than 80 educators to New York. It is our pleasure to provide content to more educators across Jamaica at this upcoming summit so everyone can benefit from Diaspora engagement.  This is the best time to offer this virtual content as teachers will be preparing to return to school this September, and they will have a little more to help themselves wade through the web of starting a new school year,” said Leo Gilling, chairman of JDTAN.

JDTAN has engaged Jamaica’s various sectors over the past eight years bringing professionals and expertise in key initiatives through collaborations and partnerships. JDTAN is a network of more than 2200 Jamaicans from across 46 countries that have delivered more than 400 capacity building workshops, presentations, and panel discussions over the last two years, to professionals in Jamaica.