BAHAMIAN PARTICIPANTS IN YLAI PAY COURTESY CALL ON CONSUL GENERAL ZONICLE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mrs. Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas Consul General to Washington, D.C., welcomed two Bahamian participants of the inaugural class of President Obama’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellows during a courtesy call by Tanya McFall of New Providence and Ashleigh Rolle of Grand Bahama at the Bahamas Embassy Consular Annex, 1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., on Friday, November 11, 2016.
President Obama launched YLAI last year to expand opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs and civil society innovators in Latin America and the Caribbean. The inaugural YLAI class brought 250 promising young business and social entrepreneurs from across the Caribbean and Latin America to invest in and accelerate the work of young leaders who are making their communities and countries more prosperous and secure.
The participants traveled to the United States for a five-week program, which included site visits to several US cities, that will strengthen their leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurial skills and provide networking opportunities with U.S. entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors; diaspora communities; and among each other to increase connectivity throughout the hemisphere.
Consul General Zonicle encouraged the participants to continue to pursue their respective dreams but always keep in view their responsibility to help shape the development of The Bahamas. Both participants expressed their commitment to return to The Bahamas to employ their enhanced passion and skills as a result of the Initiative for Bahamian development.
Tanya McFall is certified in Tax Administration with an emphasis on Value Added Tax. She is the Co-Founder of Global Conversations Development Centre (GCDC), a foreign language training institute that offers training in Mandarin Chinese, English as a Second Language, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, French, Haitian Creole, and other languages. GCDC caters to children and adult learners.
Ms. McFall serves as TV host and Program Manager of ZNS’s “The Youth Zone.” She has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration with a focus on Marketing and has more than six years’ experience in marketing and advertising.
Ashleigh Rolle is one of the co-founders of the company Skipper, an online platform that connects travelers to boat captains in order to make travel between the 700 Bahamian islands more accessible and more affordable. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community as well as an active ambassador with the organization One Young World. In 2015, Ms. Rolle became the country chair for The Bahamas for the organization Global Dignity, which was co-founded by Prince Haakon of Norway.
CAPTION ONE
Pictured from left to right during a courtesy call on Mrs. Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas Consul General to Washington, D.C., by Tanya McFall of New Providence and Ashleigh Rolle of Grand Bahama, two Bahamian participants of the inaugural class of President Obama’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), on Friday, November 11, 2016 are: Ms. Tracee Dorestant, Second Secretary, Bahamas Embassy; Mr. Mikhail Bullard, Second Secretary, Bahamas Embassy; Consul General Zonicle; Ms. Rolle; Ms. McFall; Mr. Chet Neymour, Deputy Chief of Mission, Bahamas Embassy; and Ms. Janine Gibson, Vice Consul, Bahamas Embassy Consular Annex.