Career

We are celebrating Haitians that are evolving, becoming the first and making headlines in their careers. Our portraits honors their accomplishment in their various field. All portraits were created by our talented artist Romulus Dieuseul.

 

Gessica Généus

Généus was born on 23 December 1985 in Port au Prince, the capital of Haiti, in a precarious neighbourhood. Although she knew who her father was, he was not involved with her upbringing. She grew up with her mother and cousins. Her mother, an activist, was diagnosed as bi-polar and schizophrenic when Généus was fourteen. Généus is listed among the famous alumni of the College Saint-Louis de Bourdon.

In 2002, at the age of 17, Généus financially supported her final years at school by acting in Barikad (Barricade) a popular film directed by Richard Sénécal. For her role, she received the Ticket d'Or (Golden Ticket) for best actress at the Haitian Entertainment Awards. In 2006, she won the best female actress award at the Brooklyn International Film Festival in New York for her role in Cousine. (Cousin). In 2007, she won the Grand Prix de la Diaspora at FESPACO (Pan-African Cinema Festival of Ouagadougou).

After the earthquake in 2010, Généus worked for the United Nations before moving to Paris in 2011, on a scholarship to study acting from Acting International in Paris. In 2012, she played Vertueuse in a historical, French TV mini-series broadcast in two parts and titled Toussaint Louverture . It was produced by France. Read more about Gessica Généus.

 

 

 

Fabiana Pierre-Louis 

Pierre-Louis (born September 9, 1980) is a Haitian American attorney and jurist serving as a justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. She is the first Black woman to serve on the court. Pierre-Louis had previously worked as attorney-in-charge of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey's Trenton and Camden branches, and as a partner at the law firm of Montgomery McCracken. Pierre-Louis was born in New York City and spent her early childhood in Brooklyn before moving to Irvington, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Haitian American immigrants and speaks Haitian Creole fluently. Pierre-Louis graduated from Union Catholic Regional High School in 1998. She earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School.

Pierre-Louis served as a law clerk for New Jersey Supreme Court Justice John E. Wallace Jr. Pierre-Louis worked for almost ten years as an assistant United States attorney in the office of United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and served as the attorney-in-charge of the U.S. Attorney's Trenton and Camden branches. After leaving that position she became a partner at the law firm of Montgomery McCracken in its Cherry Hill office. 

On June 5, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy announced his intention to nominate Pierre-Louis to the New Jersey Supreme Court to replace Walter F. Timpone, who was approaching the state's mandatory retirement age for judges. On August 24, 2020, the New Jersey Senate's Judiciary Committee voted 11–0 to advance her nomination to the full Senate, and on August 27, 2020, the Senate voted 39–0 to confirm her to the Court. Read more about Fabiana Pierre-Louis.

 

 

 

Jacquil Constant

Executive Director | Filmaker | Cinema Professor

Jacquil Constant is known for Haiti Is a Nation of Artists (2022), Brothers to Brutha (2008) and Flavor of Love (2006).

 

 

 

Wallace Aristide

“I am the son of Imma Bienaime and Ernest Aristide who migrated from Haiti to Nassau, Bahamas then to Miami, Florida seeking a better way of life. They were hard-working entrepreneurs who invested a lot in their community. They gave me the best possible education, which paved my way to becoming an educator. I graduated from Bethune-Cookman University in 1988 and Nova Southeastern University in 2000. I am a product of this community. I encountered many obstacles and was able to turn them over. I am not only a success story, but a servant to all young people and families in this community. As a child, I observed how my parents brought people in from the island and offered them a place to stay. They always lent a helping hand. This was the culture that I grew up in. As I watched my parents be servants to their community, I too wanted to become a servant. I espoused the motto of my alma mater, Bethune-Cookman University: “Enter to learn, depart to serve”, and that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others”?

I have over 30 years of experience as an educator in the Miami-Dade County Public schools. This includes over 10 years as Principal of Miami Northwestern Senior High School and 6 years as Assistant Principal. Prior to these assignments, I was a teacher, a head football coach, and an athletic director. During my years of service, I mentored and assisted several professionals to become administrators and educators. Read more about Aristide Wallace.

 

 

Meet Fayola Delica

Her most vivid childhood memory is that of her Haitian immigrant parents working 14-hour days to successfully operate their small business in order to give their three children a piece of the American Dream. As a little girl inspired by her parents’ entrepreneurial spirit, Fayola sold Girl Scout cookies as her way of offering a helping hand (“men anpil, chay pa lou”). Her internal drive and compassion for people would continue to grow into her adulthood and later prove to be the core of her existence. A first-generation college graduate with multiple degrees[1] in hand, at 24 years old, Fayola moved to the Charlotte suburbs of North Carolina where she built her dream home, practiced as a registered nurse, and served as an active member in her church and community meanwhile attending seminary school full-time. Unexpectedly, as it did for millions of Americans, the 2007-08 Financial Crisis came and with the blink of an eye, Fayola lost everything.

A forever-defining moment in her life, Fayola made it her personal mission to help others find their true purpose, just as she did hers – a journey of authenticity she refers to as “finding your hidden treasure.” Also the name of her online BlogTalkRadio show, which airs live every Friday at 2pm ET, Fayola shares the personal accounts of herself, clients and notable guest speakers to empower listeners, discussing topics of entrepreneurship, community, politics, leadership, and Christianity in the marketplace. Read more about Fayola Delica.