Board of Directors

  • Portrait of a man in a striped shirt and dark blazer, with a beard, facing the camera.

    Johnny Celestin, President

    Johnny Celestin leads the nonprofit organization Konbit for Haiti and is a faculty member at the Studley Graduate Program in International Affairs program at the New School University.

  • Smiling person in a white lab coat with the "University of Miami Miller School of Medicine" logo.

    Dr. Yamile Blain, Secretary

    Assistant Professor in clinical radiology at University of Miami with clinical specialties in diagnostic and abdominal radiology as well as cancer imaging.

  • Smiling man in blue suit and striped tie with arms crossed, standing indoors.

    Clifford Reginald Nau

    Mr. Clifford Nau is a former Director of the economic policy division at the Ministry of Finance and former economic advisor of the government of Haiti. Mr. Nau's main task was to work with Government and private sector leaders on Private Sector Development Policies.

  • Man wearing a traditional hat and glasses, standing next to a table with a decorative bowl. He is dressed in a black outfit and has a watch on his wrist. There is artwork in the background.

    Dr. Fasominu Olukayode

    Dr Fasominu Olukayode is a Public Health Physician, Management Consultant, recognised global health security expert and public health thought leader. He is a Principal at Volte Health – a consulting firm – where he leads several engagements across Africa working with donor agencies, multilateral UN agencies and governments across different levels.

  • Man in a suit posing with a thoughtful expression

    Abdul M. Fatoma

    Fatoma is the Chief Executive for the Campaign for Human Rights & Development International (CHRDI). A Sierra Leonean human rights and social justice advocate. For nearly one and half decades, Fatoma has been one of Sierra Leone’s foremost defenders of human rights and, in particular, an anti-corruption campaigner. He is currently the Team Lead for the Election Conflict Prevention and Mediation Working Group in Sierra Leone.

  • Person with natural curly hair wearing a black top against a plain white background.

    Debbie Jean Jacques, Founder Centre NGO

    Driven by her passion and commitment to transforming the narrative of Haiti, Debbie embarked on an ambitious venture in 2016. She founded Centre NGO with a vision to foster accessibility, transparency, and a shift away from the perception of Haiti as solely a charity case.

Research Advisory Board

  • Dr. Robert Fatton Jr.

    Robert Fatton Jr. is the Julia A. Cooper Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia.  

    He also served as Chair of the Department of Politics from 1997 to 2004; and Associate-Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Virginia from 2010 to 2012.  He is the author of several books and a large number of scholarly articles.  

    His publications include: 

    • Black Consciousness in South Africa (1986); 

    • The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal’s Passive Revolution, 1975-1985 (1987); 

    • Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa (1992); 

    • Haiti’s Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy (2002); 

    • The Roots of Haitian Despotism (2007);

    • Haiti: Trapped in the Outer Periphery (2014).  

    He is also co-editor with R. K. Ramazani of The Future of Liberal Democracy:  Thomas Jefferson and the Contemporary World (2004); and Religion, State, and Society (2009).  He is the recipient of the 2011 Award for Excellence of the Haitian Studies Association for his “commitment and contribution to the emerging field of Haitian Studies for close to a quarter of a century.”

  • Dr. Lovesun Parent

    Dr. Lovesun Parent is a gender, gender-based violence, and policy specialist with nearly twenty years of experience advancing justice, equity, and the rights of women and marginalized communities.

    She is the author of The Weaponization of Sexual Violence in Haiti (Haiti Policy House, 2025). Her work spans gender analysis, GBV prevention and response, and the structural drivers of violence in fragile and conflict-affected settings, advising governments, multilateral institutions, and donors. Her earlier work includes serving as Senior Gender Advisor at USAID/Haiti, where she designed national GBV prevention programming. 

    Her academic work focuses on decolonizing aid and engaging diasporas to drive meaningful change in global development.

    Dr. Parent is also the Executive Director of Libraries Without Borders US, where she champions information access and learning as tools of empowerment, equity, and resistance for communities historically denied both.

  • Sophie Rutenbar

    Sophie Rutenbar is a policy expert specializing in international engagement in conflict settings, with a focus on UN peace operations and Haiti.

    She is a Non-Resident Fellow at NYU’s Center for International Cooperation, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and an expert consultant with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

    She previously served with the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) as Strategic Planner (2019–2023) and worked with the UN Department of Peace Operations on peacekeeping and institutional reform.

    Her broader experience includes work across Africa and Asia with NGOs, USAID, and the UK Department for International Development. She holds master’s degrees from King’s College London and the London School of Economics, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Dallas.