Senator Dr. Kenneth Connell – President (Board member since 2020)
Dr. Connell received his undergraduate and postgraduate training in medicine from the UWI St. Augustine & Cave Hill Campuses and graduated with MBBS and DM Internal Medicine degrees in 2000 and 2006 respectively. He was awarded a Barbados National Development Scholarship in 2007. He was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy degree on completion of studies from King’s College London.
He joined the Faculty of Medical Sciences as Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacology in 2011 and assumed duties of Deputy Dean- Phase 1 in August 2014, and Deputy Dean of Internationalization and Recruitment in October 2020.
Dr. Connell is a Consultant Physician at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and is Consultant-in-Charge of the hospital’s Resistant Hypertension clinic. He is also a member of the QEH’s Drug & Therapeutics committee and Chair of the Specially Authorized Drugs (SAD) committee. He sits on the Barbados Pharmacy Council as a representative of the Barbados Assocaition of Medical Practioners (BAMP).
Dr. Connell is Immediate Past President of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados from 2011- 2020. The civil society organization has as its mandate to promote health advocacy, provide health care training in emergency cardiovascular care (ECC), and provide cardiac rehabilitation therapy for patients post CVD events – stroke and heart attack. He was the Principal Investigator on the US CDC/PAHO Standardized Hypertension Treatment Project – Barbados pilot from April 2014- April 2016.
Dr. Connell was made a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the largest international College of doctors. He was elected as the youngest Governor for the ACP as Governor of the new Caribbean Chapter in 2015 for two years term. In 2014, Dr. Connell was awarded the College’s International Fellowship for research and colllaboration with the University of South Carolina. he is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) and local Chief Examiner for the Royal College Physican MRCP examinations.
Academic profile: https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/fms/staff/academic/dr-kenneth-l-connell.aspx
Board Members
Deborah Chen – Vice President (Board member 2012 – 2014 & 2024 -)
A results-driven individual who has worked extensively in and among NGO’s; a leader with strong planning, organization, and implementation skills who is concerned about national development and passionate about social and health issues, a team player who can motivate others. She transformed the Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ), an NGO, from a small-scale operation with 6 employees to an internationally recognized organization with over 70 full time employees.
A snapshot of her major achievements:
- Significantly improved the usage of the island wide services at the HFJ. In 2023 over 100,000 persons used the Foundation’s services, significantly up from 6,320 persons using the services in 1985.
- Expanded the services of the HFJ including a pharmacy, cardiology and advanced cardiac services
- Was the pioneer for the HFJ’s significant growth and influence beyond local shores through its membership with the World Heart Federation (WHF) based in Geneva, Switzerland, and the InterAmerican Heart Foundation, (IAHF) based in Dallas, USA. Elected as Vice President of the board of the WHF and President of the board of the InterAmerican Heart Foundation and served on both boards for 6 years.
- Represented the WHF at the United Nations High Level meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases in New York in 2011
- Represented the WHF at the 68th World Health Assembly in Geneva in 2015
- Through the WHF and the IAHF, worked closely with NGO’s globally to build capacity and develop heart health programmes
- Instrumental in the HFJ becoming the legally established Caribbean branch for the IAHF and a training organization of the American Heart Association in Emergency Cardiac Care.
- Instrumental in the formation of the National Resuscitation Council of Jamaica
- At the forefront of the formation of the Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control (JCTC) in 2002 which evolved into a major advocacy tool for Jamaica’s ratification of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, (FCTC) the world’s first public health treaty.
- With the JCTC was instrumental in assisting the Minister and Ministry of Health in implementing The Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations-2013 which became effective on July 15th, 2013.
- With the JCTC; currently advocating for the passage of comprehensive tobacco control legislation which is before a joint select committee of Parliament
Sir Trevor Hassell – Past Founding President
Sir Trevor Hassell is a medical doctor, former Adjunct Professor of Medicine, the University of the West Indies, and Consultant Physician and Cardiologist, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, England.
Sir Trevor has held the positions of President of the Caribbean Cardiac Society, President of the Inter American Heart Foundation, and Vice President of the World Heart Federation. He is presently President of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, a regional civil society alliance established to contribute to the prevention and control of NCDs; Chairman of the Barbados National Chronic Non Communicable Diseases Commission, and Barbados Special Envoy for Chronic Diseases.
Sir Trevor has been engaged for many years in all aspects of the response to NCDs in the Caribbean. In the past decade he contributed to the technical working paper for the Heads of Government of CARICOM Summit on NCDs, 2007; was an active contributing member of the Barbados Delegation to the UNHLM on NCDs, 2011, the UNGA NCD Review Meeting, 2014; and the 67th World Health Assembly. Over the past 8 years he has led the civil society effort in the Caribbean in advocacy, capacity building, and enhancement of communications applying initiatives that included hosting multi-stakeholder regional meetings to inform, consider and implement multi-sectoral approaches to NCDs.
In 2015 Sir Trevor was a member of the WHO GCM/NCD Working Group on how to realize governments’ commitments to engage with the private sector for the prevention and control of NCDs.
Sir Trevor is presently a member of the World Cancer Research Foundation (WCRF) International Policy Advisory Group, a member of The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Advisory Group on Advancing the Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Agenda in the Caribbean and a member of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) led Expert Advisory Group on Public Health Law in the Caribbean.
In 2013 Sir Trevor was appointed to the Order of Barbados as a Knight of St. Andrew in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the medical profession.
Maisha Hutton – Executive Director – Secretary
Maisha Hutton is the Executive Director of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), the only regional alliance of over 100 NCD focused civil society organisations. Maisha holds a BSc in Microbiology, a MSc. in Molecular Biology and a PGDip in International Health. Prior to joining the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, she worked in HIV/AIDS and STI prevention and control for 10 years.
Maisha has been with the HCC since 2012 where she is responsible for the daily operations and leading on the implementation of HCC’s strategic plan which is underpinned by five strategic pillars: accountability; advocacy; communication; capacity building; and sustainability.
The HCC Secretariat in collaboration with its civil society members – works with national, regional and international public and private partners to drive NCD policy and programming in a number of priority areas including: civil society capacity building; cervical cancer prevention; alcohol policy; tobacco control; food policy; childhood obesity; and strengthening mechanisms for a whole of government and whole of society multisectoral response to NCDs.
Dr. Karen Sealey (Board member since 2016)
Former Special Adviser, UN and Partnerships, Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization
Karen Sealey is a physician-planner, public specialist with a wide breadth of experience in public health administration and planning at the national and international levels. Before joining PAHO/WHO, she was the Director of Health Planning in the Ministry of Health, Trinidad and Tobago.
During her secondment to UNAIDS, 2006-2009, as the Director of the Caribbean Regional Support Team, Dr. Sealey was a strong advocate for meaningful inclusion of the Persons living with HIV, civil society and the private sector in the response to HIV, established the Caribbean Women, Girls and HIV program and published the first regional comparison of progress towards the UNGASS indicators in the Caribbean – “Keeping Score”.
She returned to PAHO/WHO in August 2009, Dr. Sealey its first Special Adviser for UN Matters and Partnerships in the WHO Office at the UN. There she provided technical support to the Permanent Missions from the countries of the Americas on health development matters. Most notably she provided strategic leadership and coordination to the CARICOM Group of Ambassadors in the negotiation processes leading to the adoption of the Political Declaration of the UN high level meeting (HLM) on the prevention and control of NCDs.
Since her retirement, Dr. Sealey has completed several consultancies with UN agencies and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in the areas of managing the NCD response, strategic planning, organizational development and health diplomacy.
Dr. Sealey is the convenor of the Trinidad and Tobago NCD Alliance which will be formally launched in November 2016.
Mr. Ronnie Bissessar (Board member since 2020)
Mr. Bissessar is the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Heart Foundation (TTHF) which is a not for profit Foundation creating public awareness of heart health, healthy lifestyles and proper dietary habits in an effort to reduce the incidence of heart disease and stroke.
Mr. Bissessar is also the Deputy Chair of the Trinidad and Tobago Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance (TTNCD) established in 2016; Mr. Bissessar’s vision for the TTNCD is that its nine (9) individual members will promote the prevention and control of NCD’s by harnessing the individual resources of the member and, through joint patient advocacy, achieve national access to health services for the early detection, treatment and rehabilitation of persons suffering with NCD’s.
Mr. Bissessar is a director of the InterAmerican Heart Foundation (IAHF) (headquartered in Dallas, Texas) and the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) based in Barbados.
Mr. Bissessar is an Attorney at Law in private practice and is Head of Chambers at Lawgivers; he is also a Mediator and a former Vice President of the Assembly of Southern Lawyers and Past President of the Rotary Club of San Fernando South. Mr. Bissessar has served in numerous leadership capacities with non-governmental organisations, charities and philanthropic groups.
Mr. Bissessar is a Senior Ordinary Member of the Council of the Law Association and is a former Chairman (and now Director) of the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute which is a not for profit Foundation whose principal objective is to encourage corporate governance best practices regionally; Mr. Bissessar is co-founder of the Trinidad and Tobago Legal Network which promotes and provides continuing legal education to members of the legal profession.
Mr. Bissessar is a former Chairman of the South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) (1997-2001) and a former Director of TSTT.
Mr. Bissessar was a Lecturer in Corporate Practice and Procedure at the Hugh Wooding Law School (2008-2020) and is an External Examiner of the University of the West Indies (UWI).
In 1985 Mr. Bissessar was awarded the Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of the West Indies and in 1988 was awarded an LLB from the University of London. In 1993 he received the Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School; Mr. Bissessar is a Certified Mediator with the Mediation Board of Trinidad and Tobago.
Mr. Bissessar is married to Dr. Sabita Harrikissoon (who is a Dental Surgeon) and they have two (2) children Sveva (13) and Seth (6).
Dr. Dawn Josephine Gayapersad (Board member since 2022)
Dr. Dawn Josephine Gayapersad is a member of Cancer Support Services, Barbados. A retiree and volunteer with a passionate voice for people living with NCDs. A dedicated researcher seeking out evidence based data to increase awareness through numbers. In the USA, she worked in the startup biotechnology industry on discovery and new technologies winning awards for her work.
As a volunteer she won awards for her work with underprivileged youth through the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and for outstanding service with the American Red Cross.
Dr. Dawn grew up in Trinidad. She attended Biche Presbyterian School in rural Trinidad, she won a scholarship and was accepted at St Augustine Girls High School, graduating with one prize, several distinctions and honors.
Dawn earned a B.Sc. in England, an international MBA in Belgium, and Ph.D. in the USA. At Hazleton Biotechnologies, one of America’s first biotechnology startups, she worked on erythropoietin, this discovery opened the door for cancer therapeutics, and the first low dose birth control pill. Using her unique combination of cellular biology, statistics and economics knowledge, she improved data analytics and reporting for clinical safety human trials. She then worked at the startup Oncor as a regulatory professional seeking government approvals for Her2Neu breast cancer and Fragile X markers, and the first radioactive HPV test. Because of Digene’s vision for HPV, she took a risky job with this startup that brought the HPV non radioactive mRNA test to market and the global study linking HPV with cervical cancer, she won two awards for above and beyond regulatory achievements.
In 2002, she started her own business and experienced her first cancer event. In business, her experience earned contracts from several big corporations including Ethicon, the device and diagnostics division of Johnson and Johnson where she won an award for collaboration.
In 2010, she started volunteering for and mentoring disadvantaged youth through the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), Maryland, USA. She was appointed to the Advisory Board. She received an award for exemplary service by developing innovative ways to open doors for NFTE and its students.
During hurricane Katrina, Dawn served over 100 hours at the American Red Cross, Washington, D.C. searching for missing persons. She received an award for outstanding service.
In 2014, she experienced a second cancer event and joined a cancer support group. This opened her view of cancer patients and their lived experiences.
In August 2019, she arrived to live in Barbados and sought out a support group, she chose to become a member and volunteer of Cancer Support Services. In 2021 she completed a research report on PSA Screening over 5 years for CSS She can often be found on Brownes Beach reading papers on human genetics, cellular biology, and novels by bajan authors. She has three daughters.
She hopes to help others succeed and thrive.
“Anyone who leaves their homeland, by force or by will, can determine to embrace the entrepreneurial mindset and succeed. And they will know that in this journey, they can help others succeed.” Dawn Gayapersad February 2018
Dr. Tamara Remy (Board member since 2022)
Dr Tamara Remy is a General Surgeon based in St. Lucia and one of the Directors at the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), the only Caribbean NCD alliance of over 100 health and non-health civil society organisations (CSOs).
Since 2012 Dr Remy has been a General surgeon at Tapion Hospital, a private hospital located on the picturesque Tapion Reef overlooking the sea at Castries, St Lucia.
She is a Member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. Dr Remy is always eager to share her wealth of knowledge in Breast Cancer Prevention and Care.
Dr. C. James Hospedales (Board member since 2024)
A citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, with 30 years’ experience in public health in the Caribbean, Latin America, UK and USA. He was executive director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency, 2013 to 2019, coordinator of non-communicable diseases in PAHO/WHO, 2006 to 2012, and director of the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre 1998 to 2005. In 2020, he founded the EarthMedic and EarthNurse Foundation for Planetary Health to mobilise health professionals worldwide to address the climate crisis.
Charity Dublin (Board member since 2024)
Charity Dublin is a vibrant Public Health Nutritionist. She holds a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of the Southern Caribbean and an MSc. in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Technology, Jamaica.
Ms. Dublin is employed as a Community Nutrition Officer in the Ministry of Health, Wellness, Social Transformation and the Environment, Antigua and Barbuda.
Ms. Dublin is the Vice-President of the Antigua and Barbuda Diabetes Association, Chair of the Nutritionists and Dietitians of Antigua and Barbuda group and the Public Relations and Marketing Chair of the Caribbean Association of Nutritionists and Dietitians. She is also an active member of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition’s youth arm, Healthy Caribbean Youth, National Breastfeeding Committee and the Wellness Committee of Antigua and Barbuda.
Her passion lies in providing nutrition education, improving nutrition and health literacy, and empowering people to use their available knowledge and resources to make the best nutrition and lifestyle choices for themselves and their families. She is particularly enthusiastic about the areas of healthy food policy, infant and young child feeding, and the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases.
Dr. Colette Cunningham-Myrie (Board member 2020 – September 2025)
Dr. Colette Cunningham-Myrie is a physician, who is an accomplished applied public health: specialist/ epidemiologist and senior lecturer in the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, Jamaica.
During the decade of the 1990’s, she was a key faculty member of the multidisciplinary team for outreach clinics, including our Lay Diabetes Educators program, which was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health Jamaica, to train lay community leaders on key aspects of diabetes symptoms, signs and management, nutrition and foot care. This program was later recognized internationally as an important tool in community outreach. She also served as editor the association’s DIALOG newsletter. Between 1996 and 1998 she served as the Medical Association of Jamaica’s representative on the Board of Directors.
In 1998 she was awarded a Regional Study Grant from the Small Embassy Project Program of the Royal Netherlands Embassy based on her work with the DAJ. This grant allowed her to complete the Master of Public Health degree in 1999 at the UWI, which catapulted her stellar contribution to Jamaica and the Caribbean as a public health specialist. In the early 2000’s she served as National Epidemiologist in the Ministry of Health, Jamaica providing leadership of both the Chronic Diseases & Injuries and Communicable Diseases/Disease Surveillance portfolios which included crafting Jamaica’s first national Strategic Plan for the NCDs in 2002. Since 2003 she joined the UWI Mona campus and lectures on Epidemiology, Public Health, Family Medicine and Research Methods to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. A Fulbright scholar, she was Jamaica’s Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow for 2010/2011 and spent the year at Tulane University in the New Orleans, USA honing skills in social epidemiology and international health. In 2018 she was awarded the Dr PH degree (with high commendation), her thesis assessing geographic variations in obesity related disorders and their risk factors in Jamaica.
Dr. Cunningham-Myrie has significantly increased the NCDs research footprint of the UWI by conducting pioneering research on the NCDs and their risk factors, social determinants of health, patient satisfaction and health impact assessment. She has also provided technical expertise through consultancies to policymakers in the Caribbean region, including the CARICOM Commission on Health and Development (CCHD) Sub-Committee on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases, which provided evidence for the landmark 2007 Port of Spain Declaration on NCDs.
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