When we published the first edition of the Haitian Times on October 1999, few people thought that it would have lasted this long. The truth is, it shouldn’t have. We started this paper at a time when the evident woes inflicting newspapers were beginning to show. Advertising was not as robust as it had been and a new generation was getting a taste for the Internet.
But what people couldn’t see was the heart and desire that the entire staff had to make this a success. While we’ve had our share of knocks, we’ve managed to do quite well. The newspaper business has changed considerably, and we’re proud to say that we’re keeping with the times. We have a strong presence on the web and if you google Haitian news, Haitian newspapers, we’re likely to be the first name to come up. We’ve raised the bar as far as covering news in Haiti and the Haitian communities. At times, we’ve been unable to do it as well as we wish because of lack of resources, but we’ve persevered and that is a good thing. We’re quite optimist about the future because we believe that the Gap that we set out to bridge is made much easier with the rapid growth of the Internet. It is costing us considerably less to reach people in Haiti and across the Diaspora.
Our news is now more instant and we no longer consider ourselves a newspaper. We’re a multi platform media company. While many news organizations are retracting, we’re expanding. Our Haiti bureau, closed after the upheaval of 2004, has been reopened. We’re looking for correspondents for New York, Boston and South Florida.
In addition to the newspaper, we’re pleased with the countless events we’ve sponsored in the community. We’re particularly proud of Kreyolfest, a one-day outdoors festival held the last weekend of June at Wingate Park. Kreyolfest, is celebrating its 10th edition in 2010 and we promise that it will be the best yet.
But all of this will not be possible without a devoted staff, tireless columnists and supporters who have remain in our corners while others were cheering for our demise and failure.
We thank all of our advertisers and readers and above all, the staff that has made it all possible for a decade. Seat back and enjoy the information that we’re about to present to you. Haiti remains at a crossroads and we’re still striving to remain the most authoritative and informative source of information, not only about Haiti, but about news and views of Haitians all over.
1-Garry Pierre-Pierre
Publisher
Garry is the founder, editor and publisher of the Haitian Times. Mr. Pierre-Pierre began his career at the Lakeland Ledger and within months was recruited by the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. After a couple of years in South Florida, covering local news as well as assignments in Haiti, Bahamas and Jamaica, he was hired by the New York Times in 1992 where he spent eight years on the Metropolitan Desk. He distinguished himself with enterprise reporting and is considered among the top reporters that covered Brooklyn during the 1990’s. He covered the fall of Mobutu, the Congolese dictator and covered numerous stories from Haiti for the New York Times.
2-Ilio Durandisse
Columnist Ilio’s Odyssey
Ilio is the Founder of Haiti 2015. In 2001, Ilio founded Zanmi to help other young Haitians in Massachusetts reach all their potential. He is now the interim Secretary of MACCHA (Massachusetts Coalition of Haitian Hometown Association), and a columnist for the Haitian Times. Ilio who, holds a Bachelor in Biological Sciences and minor in Political Science currently is a candidate for a Masters Degree in Molecular Biology. Ilio believes that one of his missions in life is to be a part of anything that promotes the sustainable development and welfare of Haiti and its people.
3-Macollvie Jean- Francois
Former reporter
Macollvie Jean-François covered Haitian communities across the United States, in the Caribbean and in Europe for the Haitian Times between 2002 and 2005. She then covered numerous beats for the Sun Sentinel’s various media platforms in South Florida. Among her awards is the prestigious Society of Professional Journalists’ “New America Award” for her work on a public radio documentary about New York City immigrants and their ties to home countries. Macollvie is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration at Florida International University in Miami.
4-Gerald W. Deas, MD
Columnist Dr Deas Column
5-Amy Bracken
Former Haiti Correspondent
Amy had been a reporter in the U.S. for six years, and a graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism, before moving to Haiti to report for The Haitian Times. It was a wonderful, life-changing experience for her.
6-Edgard Lafond
Photographer
7-Anna Wardenburg- Ferdinand
Former Haiti Correspondent
Anna lived and worked in Haiti between 1995-2004, writing for Reuters and the Haitian Times. She was associate producer for In Misery I Sing, a documentary, which followed the music and politics during the 2004 fall of Jean Bertrand Aristide. She also worked briefly for the BBC, ZDF and Channel Four News out of London. She graduated from the Gallatin division of NYU with a concentration in Journalism and Latin American studies. She currently is working as an instructional assistant at a school north of Seattle, WA and writing for the La Conner Weekly News as well as coaching Gymnastics.
8-Hugues Saint Fort
French Columnist Du Cote de Chez Hugues
Hugues earned a doctorate in Linguistics and had taught Linguistics and French in Mauritius, then at Queens College and City College of NY. He teaches French now at Kingsborough College (CUNY) in Brooklyn, NY. His research centers on the phenomenon of code-switching in Haitian Creole, issues of lexicology and lexicography in Haitian Creole and the evolution of Haitian literature in the diaspora. Since January 2002, he has been writing a weekly literary and cultural column entitled “Du côté de chez Hugues” in The Haitian Times published. He is the Secretary general of “La Société des Professeurs Français et Francophones d’Amérique” (SPFFA) and co-editor of “Nouvelles Francographies”, the scholarly journal of the SPFFA. In January 2005, he was awarded the distinction of Chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes académiques for services rendered to French Culture by a decree from then French Prime Minister, M. Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
9-Rozevel Jean Baptiste
Kreyol Columnist
Rozevel is a New York City Public School Teacher since 1998. He is the author fof Deye Pawol gen Pawol a creole column in The Haitian Times. He has a PhD in Linguistics in June 1992, Université Paris V – René Descartes and has been a Research Associate at the Creole Institute, Indiana University from Sept. 1990 to August 1993: He is an independent Researcher in the Field of Specialization Lexicology and Lexicography, Lexicology /Lexicography
10- Muriel Fenton
Executive Assistant/ Special Event Coordinator
Muriel has been a valuable member of the small Haitian Times staff. She had handled many aspects of the management before working mostly in the special event area.
11-Gina Gervais
Office Manager
Gina as the other staff plays a great role in providing support to the staff in all aspect including Kreyolfest.
13- Darlie Gervais
Darlie moved from Haiti and has been a part of the Haitian Times since its inception. As is customary for small newspaper, Darlie handles just about every aspect of the Haitian Times – from reporting to selling ads, to production design. A career journalist, Darlie has a passion for reporting and has yearned to do more reporting for the newspaper. Among other positions she was a reporter for Television Nationale d’Haiti and at Radio Kiskeya, one of the top stations in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Natalie Pardo
Natalie served as copy editor and page designer for the Haitian Times from 2002 to January 2009, until she turned her focused to teaching English language arts to high school students at the Academy Urban Planning in Brooklyn’s neighborhood of Bushwick. Pardo’s career in journalism span 18 years, including reporting and editing stint at the Chicago Defender, the Chicago Reporter, Newsday and The Advocate in Stamford, Conn. Pardo is a member of Nadia Dieudonne’s Feet of Rhythm folkloric dance troupe and Oyu Oro, an Afro-Cuban-Haitian dance company. Pardo is scheduled by June 2010 to receive her teacher’s certification and a master’s degree in English education at Brooklyn College.
Page 9
12- Rodrigue Vital
Former columnist The Public Debate
Rodrigue ‘Rod’ is the author of “The Years of Haiti in the Shade of the American Empire”. His journalist career started in Port au Prince following the departure of the Duvalier in the mid 1980s. Vital was awarded a scholarship to study journalism at the Berlin International Institute of Journalism. He later immigrated to the US, where he completed graduate studies in International Affairs and Public Policy at Georgetown University. Vital was the author of the Public Debate weekly column in the Haitian Times from 2004-2006. His book is available on amazon.com.
14-Roger Savain
Tet Ansanm Column/ Editorialist
Roger is a Bilingual Education consultant, a translator-interpreter (English-French-Kreyol, and an instructor-lecturer in Haitian Language and Culture. He has been a devoted contributor to the Haitian Times during the whole ten years of its publication since January 2000. While residing in the United States since 1963, he served as director of information, public relations and development in three universities and conducted seminars on Long Rang Planning in fourteen others. In Washington, D.C., he was a writer-editor for USIA’s TOPIC Magazine. In 1981, Savain returned to Haiti, operated Impression Magique, a printing enterprise, drafted the Preamble of the 1987 Constitution, and served shortly as Minister of Information, Tourism and Public Education (1988). Since 1989, he became a champion of the Haitian National Language commonly called Kreyol and has authored numerous Haitian Kreyol learning tools.
15- Collwyn Cleveland
Former Art Designer/ Graphic Consultant
19- Trenton Daniel
Former Haiti Correspondent
Trenton is a staff writer for The Miami Herald. Since he joined the newspaper in 2003, he has covered everything from the 2004 coup in Haiti to hurricanes, cop shootings, and zoning meetings. Early this year, Trenton spent two months in Iraq, writing mainly about the provincial elections. Prior to the Herald, Trenton was a fellow with the International Reporting Project in Washington, D.C., for which he traveled to Nigeria. His first full-time reporting gig was as a Reuters stringer and Haitian Times staff writer, both in Haiti. He is a graduate of Reed College and Columbia University.
20- Ralp Delly
Columnist ‘Showbiz’
Ralph started as a broadcaster in Haiti at the age of 14 at Radio Port-au-Prince, under the guidance of late Master Dji while co-hosting Bon Appetit Port-au-Prince with Leslie Jacques. Later he was hired by Radio Metropole to present “Metropole By Night”, and after worked as an announcer and reporter. He has been a news correspondent for RFO, VOA, CIBL, Espace FM “Boulevard du Compas”, Radio Metropole, Tropic FM, Radio Haiti Inter, Melodie FM. He has contributed to Caribbean Globe Magazine, Boyo Magazine and Le Floridien. He also worked at Radio Soleil in New York hosting the first Haitian Talk Show “Jogging Mind”; Echo de la Métropole NY, Radio Carnivale, Miami; he is hosting now the ‘Showbiz column in The Haitian Times. Ralph is also a promoter, an international booking agent with more than twenty years of experience..
21-Ronald Aubourg
Contributor
Ronald is a former Health Program Administrator for the Health Research Inc. Previously he was a Migration Counselor at Catholic Charities-Archdiocese of New York. Before joining the Archdiocese of New York, Ronald was the Policy Analyst at the Haitian Centers Council (HCC), based in Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Aubourg has participated in advocacy on behalf of Haitian Refugees, People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWAs), issues relating to police brutality, human rights, education, housing, health care and immigration in the United States Congress, the New York City Council and the New York State Legislature. He has participated in several news and information for a. Mr. Aubourg is a skilled interpreter and translator in Haitian Creole-French-English. He contributes from time to time to the Haitian Times.
24- Max Antoine Joseph
Columnist ‘Under the Radar’
25- Alyssa Piervirgili
Former columnist Vanou’s Teen Hangout
Name Listing
17-Hudes Desrameaux
Former columnist My Side Column
18-Brian Stevens
Former Reporter
16-Joel Dreyfuss
Former columnist L’Affaire Dreyfuss
22-Claude Craan
Freelance Photographer
23- William ‘Bill’ Farrington
Freelance Photographer
26-Shufy Pongnon
Former Reporter
27-Jennifer Beauduy
Former Haiti Correspondent
28-Daniel Morel
Former Photographer
29- Guyler C. Delva
Former Haiti Correspondent
30- Sabine Louissaint
Former Reporter
31- Carl Fombrun
Former columnist Carl’s Corner