Darryl Brathwaite
President
He is a businessman and public spirited individual having been Director on several Statutory Boards, President of the Chamber of Commerce and the Private Sector Senator in the Upper House. He came to the Trust to strengthen the project management aspect of its administration and has assembled a cadre of experts who are now ready to expand operations and increase collaboration with internationally based heritage organizations.
In his own words the President said:
“I am always amazed and encouraged by the wide range of activities and responsibilities required of a custodian of national heritage, from historic buildings to places of natural beauty and the unexpected treasures to be discovered along the way.”
“I believe I have become President at an interesting time as we rescue memories from the past centuries and face the challenges of the new while representing continuity and far-sightedness.”
“While there is an increased understanding and appreciation of precious landscape and architecture, there continues to be a growing concern about the impact of the constant expansion of urban areas, of roads and buildings. These twin concerns – the positive and the negative – are expressed in television and radio programmes, campaigns and protests, and also in the growing interest in the National Trust itself.”
“I hope that, like me, inspired by this valuable organisation, you will have the opportunity of exploring the huge variety of beautiful places in the care of the National Trust. Members and visitors will find some unexpected and new treasures, while others, I hope, discover a wealth of beauty and history on their doorstep and, as a result, perhaps be moved to support the work of the National Trust in preserving the best of our heritage for future generations to enjoy, and, you never know, even be inspired enough to understand the continuing need for an ‘organic’, sympathetic building tradition when it comes to the way we build the future heritage in our precious countryside today.”
John Albanie
1st Vice President
Background
Managing Director of CARIBBEAN ENTERPRISES, a Corporate Member of the Grenada National Trust.
Reuters – Served in UK, Switzerland, Middle East and USA. Prior to last posting of six years in the US, headed joint REUTERS-UNESCO project in support of CANA (Caribbean News Agency) based in Barbados.
Previous Career
Aero-design Studentship with de Havilland Aircraft Company, Hatfield, Herts, England. Commission in GD (Flying) Branch of Royal Air Force; subsequently in RAFVR. Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Sales Department of DH125 business jet. ‘The Scotsman’ newspaper (Fleet Street).
Interests and Activities
Member of Buildings and Monuments Committee of Grenada National Trust with special responsibility for liaison with UNESCO.
President of the Grenada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1990/2001), known locally as “Animal Man”.
Founder Member of the Grenada DULL MEN’S CLUB
Member of Fortress Study Group (www.fsgfort.com) since 1998
Owner of private site on which 18thcentury British battery known as Fort Bedford was once located in Levera, St Patrick’s (www.fortbedfordgrenada.com). The plan is to turn it into a small military museum when the planned ‘Levera Eco-Resort development’ is in place.
‘Grand Inquisitor’ of the Grenada Hash House Harriers (www.grenadahash.com) 1986/2013.
Honorary British Consul 2008/2010
Newton Alexander
2nd Vice President
Background
Specialised in Curriculum Planning and Management, Education Planning, School Improvement and Staff Development, and Special Education Needs.
Previous Career
Teacher in UK, Thailand and Grenada.
Interests and Activities
Farming. On retiring from Teaching, took over responsibility for rehabilitating family lands in St Patrick’s Parish which had been left unattended as a result of ageing family members. Fully committed to and passionate about Preserving and Protecting our Nation’s Heritage, including neglected sites and historic resources located outside the town of St George.
Peter Wallace
Executive Member
Peter was born, raised, trained and worked in UK but eventually found the good sense to leave and has lived and worked in Grenada since 2005. As an Architect he has been a principal in private practice since 1979 his practice having been listed by Building Design magazine as in the UK top 100.
Conservation work has always been important to him. His CV includes works to Tower of London, Dover Castle, a Medieval Merchant’s House, Walmer Castle (for the late Queen Mother), Hastings Battlefield, St Augustine’s Abbey, and a wide range of period houses from Medieval to Modernist and for clients such as English Heritage, Dept of the Environment and various corporations as well as private individuals. This has developed in him a thorough knowledge and deep understanding of traditional building materials and methods along with their modern equivalents. Not surprisingly this comes along with an intense interest in the history of architecture and the built heritage. He also found time to do a little commercial work too.
Currently Peter has an architectural practice Atlantic Partnership www.atlantic-partnership.com and an involvement with real estate Coldwell Banker www.propertyingrenada.com
Eugenia O’Neal
Executive Member
Eugenia O’Neal is a researcher and published writer of Caribbean history. She has also used her knowledge of our 400 years of Colonial History to publish several fictional books that paint an image of what Caribbean life was like over those centuries of change and development. Her main role in the Trust is to raise public awareness and pride in our heritage.
Andrea Rapier
Executive Member
Andrea Elizabeth Rapier is an alumni of Anglican High School (AHS) and Concordia University Texas, former soldier with the United States Army, serving during the Cold War, Operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Andrea’s grit and leadership has been proven. Andrea is an education innovator who invented what many believe is the global solution to education – TransAction Learning & Coaching, TALC Education! TALC is a learning management system (LMS) providing limitless learning through a nonlinear pedagogy framed within academics, entrepreneurship, technology, talent and individual development. She has created the “Wall Street of Education” which will soon become available to students from isolated to urban communities worldwide.
Andrea Rapier is a mother of six, daughter of Evelyn Cox and former parliamentarian, Clarence Rapier, granddaughter of Lincoln Ross, who brought the ironworks industry to Grenada and invented over 20 mechanical inventions. As a business consultant and success strategist, she has helped many businesses, NGOs and individuals achieve operational efficiency & effective human resources management to improve profitability in Grenada, the United States and Europe.
John Angus Martin
Executive Member
John Angus Martin was born and grew up in St. George’s, Grenada, where he attended the St. George’s Roman Catholic Boys’ School (now known as the J.W. Fletcher Memorial Boys’ School) and Presentation Brothers’ College before immigrating to Brooklyn, New York with his family in 1978. He graduated in 1986 with a BSc in Biological Sciences and a minor in Anthropology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Long Island. He spent the next three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa, teaching at an agricultural institute and as an agricultural extension agent to subsistence farmers in rural villages. He has travelled widely in west and east Africa for work and as a visitor. He holds master’s degrees in History, and Agricultural and Applied Economics from Clemson University, South Carolina. He has worked as a Reference Archivist at the Cushing Memorial Library, Texas A&M University and a Country Desk Officer in the Africa Region of the US Peace Corps, and traveled to many countries in west and east Africa. These travels have been important in his study of Caribbean slavery and colonialism…
He is currently the director of the Grenada National Museum. His next project, ‘French Grenada: Island Caribs and French Settlers, 1498-1763′ explores the rise and demise of the French in Grenada.
Conny Herrmann
Executive Member
German-born, Conny Herrmann has lived in Grenada for more than half her life. An experienced tour guide, she brings her dedication to the preservation of Grenada’s heritage to the Trust along with her ICT skills.
Dr Ezra B Matthias
Executive Member
Ezra Matthias is an educator with experience in the end-to-end stages of educational programs and projects. He specializes in policy economics, organizational leadership, and management. With his brother, Dr Dwight Matthias, Dr Matthias founded the Matthias Group. This Grenada-based organization collaborates with the Grenada Diabetes Association to deliver crucial technical assistance to diabetes education and awareness programmes, including care management.
Ezra Matthias studied Economics at Purdue University and Policy Economics at the University of Rochester. Later, he earned a doctorate from George Washington University in Comparative and International Education. He started his career as a New York City Mayor Management Intern at the Department of Transportation as a Policy Analyst before becoming a Budget Analyst in the Department of Parks and Recreation Office of Management and Budget. Aside from running the Matthias Group as the Managing Director, Dr Matthias is a former Education Administrator. He has taught public policy analysis at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Graduate School and John Jay College, City University of New York, and Economics at St. Francis College, New York, New York.
Dr Matthias is also a published author on Education capacity building. His other research centred on rates of return to minority males’ investment in education; globalization and education reform; globalization: how nations and people connect; rethinking development strategies in the English-Speaking Caribbean; and business models in Human Trafficking. He conducted lectures, fieldwork and research in Barbados, Cuba, China, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guyana, and the Windward Islands.
In his free time, he loves gardening and travelling. When he is not helping at the Grenada Diabetes Association or performing his secretarial duties with the New Westerhall Point Residents Association., he tends his colorful garden filled with fragrant flowers, lush foliage and vines.
Dr Matthias lives in St. George’s, Grenada.
Adriana Rojas
Executive Director/Secretary/Treasurer
Adriana Rojas is a NGO management professional with a strong background in Business Administration and Non-profit Projects.
She is an NGO Consultant in research, grant writing and fundraising.
She has Masters Degrees in Development, Foreign Affairs and Tourism Management.
