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Our Speakers
Ian Ross Ferguson- Executive Director and CEO of the Tourism Development Corporation and the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas received his formal education at the College of The Bahamas, The University of The West Indies, St. Johns University and has earned a Master of Science Degree in Education from the University of Miami, Coral Gables and a Master of Religion from Gordon Conwell University.
He has served the system of Education (both Secondary and Tertiary) in The United States and The Bahamas for several years as teacher, college lecturer, National Examiner, Senior Master, Vice Principal and Principal.He has also served industry as Director of Training and Recruitment in Human Resources for Kerzner International (Atlantis), Chancellor for the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce’s Training Institute, regional consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank, Director of Training in the Ministry and Executive Director of Administrative Operations.
Samantha Rolle
Ms. Samantha Rolle holds the position of Interim Executive Director at Access Accelerator, Small Business Development Centre (A)². Having served as the immediate past A² Director of External Relations she spent most of her tenure as the principal government and industry liaison, advocacy strategist, and external affairs officer, responsible for fostering and maintaining relationships with relevant regulatory agencies, corporate and community partners prior to her recent appointment.
Erin Brown
Erin Brown, a short blonde haired, black female, wearing blue tinted glasses, Grand Bahama native. She is a bone cancer (Osteosarcoma) survivor who self identifies as a limb difference individual aka an above the knee amputee. Erin’s pronouns are she and her, she continues to represent The Bahamas , regionally and internationally through Disability Inclusion Strategies fostering inclusion and opportunities for people with disabilities.
Erin serves as The Bahamas’ most influential Disability Inclusion Consultant, President of the only disability-led consulting business regionally; Erin Brown Connects, Disability Advocacy and Inclusion Management located in the capital providing national ministerial agencies, regional civil society and international bodies Disability Inclusion Strategies in areas of Inclusive Policy Reform , Inclusive Training , Disaster and Emergency, People with Disabilities ( Equal Opportunities) Act 2014 Compliance, Paralympic Development , Inclusive Education and Health Systems.
Currently leading, The University of the Bahamas, Office of Disabilities and Compliance she continues to increase access, inclusion and opportunities for students with disabilities and educators through Inclusive Education implementation.
Keturah S. Babb
Keturah S. Babb, is a native of Grand Bahama and lover of Bahamian culture, with a drive and passion for higher education, psychology, community empowerment, and outreach. Keturah received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of The Bahamas, successfully capturing the Bahamas Psychological Association Award in Public Psychology. In her pursuit of excellence, she went on to obtain her Masters of Science in Social & Applied Psychology at the University of Kent, Canterbury, England. Upon her return home to The Bahamas in 2015, Keturah became highly engaged within the Grand Bahama community through various organizations and community initiatives.
Her enthusiastic spirit and love for education led to Keturah’s recruitment to the University of The Bahamas, Oakes Field Campus in October 2017 to serve as the Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs and the Annual Fund. As an alumna herself, Keturah is passionate about the University’s growth and development. Successfully fulfilling her duties and transforming the Alumni Affairs office she made the decision to return home to Grand Bahama in 2018 to establish the Development & Alumni Affairs Office at the University of The Bahamas-North (UB-North) campus.
Khrystle Rutherford Ferguson
Mrs. Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson is serving her second consecutive term as the Chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC), the premier voice of the business community in The Bahamas. As a result of this role, she sits on numerous statutory Government Boards and Committees, including the Bahamas National Statistical Institute.
By profession, Mrs. Rutherford-Ferguson is an Attorney-at-Law and is the Chief Operating Officer of a Bahamian Asset Management firm. She has extensive knowledge in the banking industry, corporate governance and law, having spent twelve (12) years at a retail bank holding various positions including heading the legal department as Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary.
Pam Burnside
Pamela (Jones) Burnside holds Degrees in English from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and in Fashion and Textiles from St Martin’s School of Art, London, England.
Pam is a Bahamian cultural advocate. She is the owner and manager of Doongalik Studios Art Gallery, a creative exhibition space and fine art retail store founded in the 1970s with her late husband, Jackson Burnside III to expose the world to the unique elements of Bahamian art and culture.
She is also Secretary of Transforming Spaces, a registered non-profit organization which hosts an annual Bahamian art tour; and President of Creative Nassau, another registered non-profit community organization which, in 2014, was one of the first in the region to secure membership for the City of Nassau in the prestigious UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Creative Nassau ‘celebrates and promotes Bahamian Art, Culture, and Heritage from the inside out’.