Board Members
Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada
Executive Chair
Ms. Uzoma-Wadada as Director of Community Mobilisation, is responsible for the mobilisation of our people from the four corners of Trinidad and Tobago, towards the enhancement of their knowledge, dignity, pride, spirituality and self confidence as African people living in a multi-racial society. Ms. Uzoma-Wadada, who has a Master’s Degree in Agriculture and Rural Development, has had tremendous experience working with communities as Director of Programmes for the Caribbean Network of Rural Development. She has also served on a number of government appointed committees which address issues of the environment and sustainable development in Trinidad and Tobago. She is the recipient of the SWMCOL Champion of the Environment Award and the Global Drylands Champion Award from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. At present she is also the Chairperson for the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute. She is however totally committed to her position as Executive Director of the ESCTT and now that the ESCTT serves as the Secretariat for the Caribbean Pan African Network (CPAN), she also holds the position of Administrative Director of CPAN.
Khafra Kambon
Director, Regional and Pan-African Affairs
Khafra Kambon has been a well-known national figure in Trinidad and Tobago since 1970 when he was one of the leaders of the Black Power movement, which brought positive social and economic changes to the country and stimulated changes throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. Today, he is the Chairman of the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, a position he has held since 1992. Professionally, Khafra Kambon, is an economist and Managing Director of Khaf Sha-Ra Services which provides services in field research, data analysis and Human Impact Assessments for major projects. As a Human Settlements practitioner, he has marshalled his 30 years of experience in organization-building, social mobilization, social and economic research and human resource management to resolve the human problems involved in projects such as squatter regularization, re-settlement and community development. More recently he has represented Caribbean Civil Society Organizations at various meetings organized by the African Union and is the Regional Coordinator of the Caribbean Pan African Network (CPAN). CPAN is an umbrella body of regional civil society organizations linked to the Diaspora Initiative of the African Union. He has also been appointed Permanent Representative to the Economic Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC) on behalf of the Caribbean. He was awarded, by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Chaconia medal silver for community work. He is the author of the book For Bread Justice and Freedom: A Political Biography of George Weekes.
Dr Asha Kambon
Public Policy Expert
Is a researcher and public policy expert, with over forty years of experience working at the national, regional and international levels. Her work has focused on issues of Development, Gender Equality and Disaster Risk Reduction. In the area of Disaster Risk Reduction, she has worked as a Macro socio- economic Assessor and Trainer. She holds a Doctorate in Social Policy, from the University of the West Indies, St.Augustine. Dr. Kambon has over 30 years experience in working with community-based organizations, mobilizing grassroots women and men to achieve greater control of their lives. She has served on several Boards of Development Organizations locally and internationally among them MATCH International of Canada, the Commonwealth Women’s Network, the Geneva-based Women’s World Summit Foundation, and the Network of NGO’s of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women. She is an Executive member of Researchers for Education, Action and Development, a non-profit research organization.
Equino Moyo
Historian
He is both a historian and a mathematician, a graduate of the University of the West Indies, who majored in history and mathematics. He is also an educator of the highest calibre who has served at various levels within the education system. He is a former teacher at the secondary level and has also lectured at the University of the West Indies, School of Continuing Studies. Mr. Moyo heads the Moyo’s Institute of Excellence, of which he is the founder and principal. He has given many years of community service firstly as a member of the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) and currently as an Elder and Director of the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago. He is a vibrant advocate for the emancipation movement within Trinidad and Tobago.
Hazel Adele Simonette-Herndon
Advisors to the Board
Hazel Simonette- Herndon is an energetic businesswoman who, after graduating from Famshawe College and the University of Western Ontario, with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and Tourism, worked in the Hospitality Industry both in Canada and Trinidad and Tobago for fifteen years. She brings a personal commitment for African Advancement, based on strong family traditions of African expression and entrepreneurship, as well as an abiding commitment to national development. As Director of the Emancipation Support Committee she puts her skills and expertise in the area of tourism, marketing, protocol and resource development in the service of the goals of the organisation.
Jacquie Burgess
Jacquie Burgess has been involved with the women`s movement in Trinidad and Tobago for over thirty years. She describes herself as a feministactivist. She is co-founder of the organization, Women Working for Social Progress, a civil society organization, based in the Tunapuna area. Among the organizations in which she is also currently active are Millennium Sistahs T&T, Rape Crisis Society and The Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women. After being involved in the commemoration of the Emancipation Festival for many years, Jacquie became a member of the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago and later was appointed to the Board of Directors. She now serves as the Director of Culture. Jacquie, a sociologist by training, is a wife and mother of two children. At present she works with the Ministry of the People and Social Development in its Poverty Reduction Programme. She is the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Flour Mills.
Pearl Eintou Springer
She holds a M.Phil. Degree from City University, London, and an A.L.A. from the Library Association of Britain. She is the former Director of the National Heritage Library. Ms. Sp Ms. Springer has been a founding member of several artistic, cultural and community organisations, chief among these are the Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago, the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the Traditional African National Association of Trinidad and Tobago (TANA), the Confederation of African Associations of Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean Theatre Guild, and the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, She has served both as a Best Village tutor and judge and has been responsible for co-coordinating the very successful symposia elements of CARIFESTA, held in Trinidad and Tobago in 1992 and 1995. She is a published poet, playwright and acclaimed actress and a Poet Laureate of Port of Spain. In 1996, she was awarded the Humming Bird Silver National Award for her contribution to the Arts and Culture in Trinidad and Tobago.