OUR TEAM

OSLENE CARRINGTON

Chief Executive Officer

Oslene was born in Guyana, and presently resides in the U.S. She possesses over 25 years of experience that includes supporting the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), serving in senior management positions at U.S. Fortune 500 companies, leading nonprofit and educational organizations, and launching several businesses. Oslene’s experience includes business development, organizational development, strategic planning, fundraising, operations management, technology planning, marketing and corporate finance. Oslene holds an MBA from the New York University Stern School of Business, a B.A. in Economics from Fordham University, and has received post-graduate training in strategy and innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management.

gAVIN PERSAUD, CPA, CGMA

Finance Consultant

Gavin was born in Guyana, and presently resides in the USA. Gavin is the Principal of Persaud & Associates, the firm which he founded has lead for nearly 20 years.  Prior to that, he served in accounting and audit roles at various firms in the United States, including public accounting firms.  Gavin’s education and training includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Guyana and additional training in Financial Planning from Kaplan University in the U.S.  He is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK), enabling him to practice in Guyana, and possesses a CPA license from the U.S.
ALYSIA S. CHRISTIANI

Marketing Director

Alysia Christiani was born in the U.S. to Guyanese parents.  Alysia is a creative project manager who specializes in leading multimedia design teams in the development and execution of multi-platform advertising and marketing campaigns. She has produced campaigns for companies that include Maimonides Health, Sesame Workshop, Chick-Fil-A, Samsung and the New York Marathon. She is inspired by the stories and traditions of her heritage, and she works to create, curate and champion Caribbean content across a variety of media. To that end she serves as Associate Director of Community Engagement for Third Horizon, an award-winning Caribbean film collective. She co-founded the Timehri Film Festival, an annual celebration of Guyanese, Indigenous and Caribbean film; and she founded Rewind And Come Again, an online publication dedicated to exploring the impact and manifestation of Caribbean culture in diaspora lives.  

SHAUNDELL BROTHERSON

Program Director

Shaundell Brotherson was born in Guyana and presently resides in Guyana. She is an economist, trainer, and administrative professional. She was a Senior Economic and Financial Analyst at The Ministry of Finance (Guyana) and was responsible for negotiating and liaising with multilateral agencies and bilateral creditors on debt-related matters. Shaundell served as a resource person, trainer and consultant for the Commonwealth Secretariat on debt management software in Guyana and the Caribbean. She also worked at The Guyana Oil Company Limited as the Corporate Services Manager, providing oversight for the Human Resources, Information Technology and Security Departments. Shaundell has a Post Graduate Diploma in Development Studies and a BSc in Economics.

dR. SEON LEVIUS

Program director | Instructor

Dr. Seon Levius was born and presently resides in Guyana and the US. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Technology in the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam Department of Business Administration. Seon has been recently appointed SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador because of his teaching effectiveness.

Dr. Levius teaches in the Master of Science in management program—the first fully online degree program at SUNY Potsdam. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree, a Master of Science degree in information systems management. Levius also completed Harvard Business School Executive Education focusing on digital transformation.  Before joining SUNY Potsdam, Seon led the information and communication technology portfolios for two Caribbean intergovernmental and multilateral agencies based in Barbados.

DR. KIVEN PIERRE

Senior Fellow | Researcher | Instructor

Dr. Kiven Pierre was born in Guyana, and presently resides in Guyana. Kiven completed doctoral studies in Entrepreneurship at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.  In addition to teaching entrepreneurship and strategy as a member of the faculty of the University of Guyana School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, Kiven is engaged in academic research on topics including Environmental and Social Entrepreneurship; Sustainable Development; Informal Entrepreneurship; and Energy Independence.  Kiven also possesses an MBA and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Sustainable Enterprise (CASSE) from Syracuse University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Morgan State University. 

ANDY BUDHU

Advisor

Parmeshwar “Andy” was born in Guyana, and presently resides in Guyana He is currently an executive management officer in the banking industry. Andy has over 23 years of experience in the banking and finance; as well as human resources, project, risk, compliance, sales, and process improvement/ change management. Andy has served as Treasurer for the Bank of Nova Scotia Guyana, and currently manages reengineering and operations for the bank.  Andy is also a lecturer at Texila University Guyana, and serves as an advisor to the Bankers Association of Guyana. Andy holds a PhD  in Banking  and Finance from Texila University Guyana, an  MBA in financial management from Cambridge International College, a diploma in Banking and Finance from the University of Guyana, and an Associates degree in Banking and Finance from Institute of Canadian Bankers. 

DR. JERMEY MATTHEWS

Advisor

Dr. Jermey Matthews was born in Guyana, and he presently resides in the United States. He is Senior Acquisitions Editor for Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Mathematics at the MIT Press, where he has acquired and published several award-winning and bestselling books. Prior to Jermey’s current role, he served as Managing Books Editor and Technology Reporter for Physics Today magazine. Jermey received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) in Maryland, his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland College Park, and conducted postdoctoral research in environmental engineering at Howard University in Washington, DC. He is the co-founder of HBSciU.org, a blog that highlights the work of Black and HBCU scientists, and the STEM Reads Book Club, an online resource that promotes children’s STEM books.

 

TRISTON THOMPSON

Advisor

Triston was born in, and presently resides in Guyana. He is co-founder, partner and Information Systems Architect at IntellectStorm, an Information Technology firm based in Georgetown, Guyana. Triston and his partners at IntellectStorm developed a mobile app that he refers to as the “Google of Guyana.” The app, Directory.gy, was recognized as the official application of the 50th anniversary of Guyana’s independence in 2016. IntellectStorm’s Directory.gy also placed first at the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge in Jamaica. Triston is a former Fellow of Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), an initiative of the U.S. Department of State. He is a cum laude graduate of University of Guyana with a B.S. in Computer Science.

JANITA SAWH

Advisor

Janita was born in Guyana, and presently resides in the United States. Janita currently serves as the Strategy and Operations Lead for Google’s Payment Platform. Her prior experience includes working in Economic Development for the City of New York, focusing on growing the tech ecosystem to advance entrepreneurship and innovation to create jobs, and working in management consulting for large multinational clients in the Financial Services industry. She studied Finance and International Business at the New York University Stern School of Business.

DR. AYESHA WILBURG

Advisor

Dr. Ayesha Wilburg was born in Guyana, and presently resides in Guyana.  She is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Healthcare International Inc., which provides occupational health and urgent care services at three clinics across Guyana.  Dr. Wilburg is also the Medical Director at Coastal Diagnostics Laboratory, which performs COVID-19 testing.  Previously, she served as the Medical Director at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.  She regularly volunteers for medical outreach missions in Guyana’s Region 1, where she was born. 

Dr. Wilburg’s clinical experience was garnered at Savannah-la-mar Regional and Cornwall Regional Hospitals in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She has also worked on the Noble Bob Douglas drillship in Guyana and received training and authorization to board vessels via helicopter.  Dr. Wilburg completed her doctoral studies at the University of Guyana and is a certified doctor for Oil and Gas United Kingdom (OGUK) medicals. 
TRAVISE BEATON

Advisor

Travise was born in Guyana, and presently resides in the U.S. He is an experienced senior industrial engineer, whose expertise is in food manufacturing, packaging and distribution.  Travise’s 20-year food-related manufacturing and engineering career has spanned industries such as farm products, water, pharmaceuticals, spices, seafood, and sugar. He has worked around the world, including in Guyana, Grenada, Vietnam, Singapore, and Ghana for companies such as Nestlé, GlaxoSmithKline, GEA Group and Tetra Pak.  Travise possess an M.Sc. in Advanced Chemical Process Engineering from Loughborough University in the U.K, and a B.Sc. with Distinction in Chemistry from the University of Guyana.  Travise also possesses numerous certifications in project management, including Certified ScrumMaster and Certified Program Manager.

Dr. Purnesh Seegopaul

Advisor

Purnesh was born in Guyana, and presently resides in the U.S.  He is a General Partner at Pangaea Ventures, where he is building emerging companies leveraging sustainable advanced materials technologies with an impact to make our world better. Purnesh previously held management and technology leadership positions in both large enterprises and startups, commercializing advanced materials products in energy, electronics, health and sustainability. He holds 9 US patents. His current startup engagements include Calysta (biotechnology conversion of natural gas into food), New Leaf Symbiotics (natural microbes for sustainable agriculture), Hazel Technologies (increasing shelf life and quality of produce) and Aeponyx (silicon photonics for optical switching). Previous company engagements included Cnano Technology (carbon nanotubes for lithium ion batteries electrodes) that completed an IPO last year and Semprus Biosciences (medical device coatings) that was acquired by Teleflex. Purnesh received his B.Sc. (Chemistry/Biology), with Distinction, from the University of Guyana, Ph.D. (Chemistry) from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Delaware.

daniel barker

Advisor

Daniel was born in the U.S. to Guyanese parents. Daniel is currently President of the Halcyon Incubator in Washington, D.C. Prior to this, he was Vice President of  Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, where he built partnerships between academia, nonprofits, and innovators in the private sector. Dan has also served as Vice President for Social Impact at BlackRock, and prior to that worked at Deloitte. Daniel began his career at the Council on Foreign Relations and Earth Institute. He holds an MA in International Finance and Economic Policy from Columbia University and a BA in International Relations from New York University.

SHEN JACKSON

Advisor

Shen was born in the U.S., and currently resides there, but grew up in Guyana.  He currently serves as a Director of Engineering at Google, where he works on innovation in the Google Data Center organization.  Previously he was the Vice President of Hardware Engineering and Supply Chain at a stealth mode start-up, as well as Director of Manufacturing Engineering at Tesla.  Shen has worked at several startup companies, and is an active angel investor.  Shen graduated from Queen’s College in Guyana, and holds a BSc from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.