Meet the Team

In May 2010, with her father’s legacy of duty to country instilled in her heart, Marie-Yolaine, a Haitian-American took action. The January 12, earthquake that struck Haïti, killing over 300,000 people, some in her own family, and displacing more than 1 million people, compelled her to move. She resigned from her position at American Express and with her experience in communications and business management created Community2Community (C2C) to help rebuild her father’s hometown of Petite Goâve. Her goal: to replicate the pilot project throughout Haïti, offering Haitians across the Diaspora and those with a heart for Haïti an opportunity to be a part of something greater then themselves.

Daughter of a Haitian immigrant, Jeanique Riché, serves on Community2Community’s Board, and leads the Economic Development effort for the C2C Haïti Restoration and Transformation Pilot Project. Throughout her 12 year career in Corporate America, where she managed a $7B portfolio of highly strategic accounts, a global marketing budget in excess of $100MM and held roles in strategic marketing, multi-cultural marketing, and project management with marketplace powerhouses such as American Express, Mercedes-Benz USA and Verizon, Jeanique consulted with entrepreneurs to grow and structure their businesses in her spare time. Discovering her passion to empower and educate entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses, she left the corporate world to run Startup Stability and Growth Consulting LLC (www.startupstabilitygrowth.com). Jeanique holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Robert "Bob" Patrick has over 30 years experience in the Financial & Operational Management of small to mid-sized publicly and privately held companies and non-profits. He is experienced in a broad range of industries drawing upon his extensive P&L, general management, finance, and accounting/operations background to drive profit and efficiency gains. His leadership role as Community2Community's CFO also includes managing strategic planning, human resources, technology, legal, business development and risk management.

Valerie is an advocate for the healthy sustainability of the people from her familial hometown of Petite Goâve, Haiti and is committed to the advancement of the innovative mission of Community2Community. As an experienced attorney in the areas of non-profit law, contract administration, compliance and non-profit governance, she provides business and transactional legal counsel to C2C. Valerie received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from St. John’s University; her Juris Doctorate from New York Law School and is licensed to practice in the state of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Presently, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.

Elona Dotson is a poet and playwright with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from New York University. Her love for the arts and humanity along with her administrative and management skills led her to Community2Community to produce its annual “Hope and A Future” Benefit Concert for Haiti held at the Apollo on the first anniversary of the earthquake. Elona has traveled to Haiti and dedicated her heart to the Haitian people committing to do all she can to see them achieve self-sufficiency. She is also founder of Psalmist Productions Inc, a multi-faceted production company engaging artists to creatively express entertainment and the arts in Christian culture.

Since joining the Community2Community team, Charles (LEED AP) has traveled back and forth between Petite Goâve and New York. A trained architect, he brought together a technical team with a broad range of expertise to work on C2C’s project initiatives: a water system, road, school building, and reforestation. His consistent contributions as project manager and as the lead designer for the school has ensured that each project be implemented with the primary goal of including the community as an invaluable contributor.

An advocate for the restoration and transformation of Haiti and a civil engineer by training, Jean brings his 12 years of expertise in health project management, disaster response training and risk management to C2C. Prior to joining the C2C-Haiti team, he was as Technical Specialist in the USAID-WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) Program in Port-au-Prince. Most recently, he coordinated C2C’s response to the resurgence of Cholera in Petit Goave by working with the community and our partners on the ground to coordinate an intervention event that resulted in the saving of over 600 lives.

From an early age Myles wanted to be an engineer, although the exact genre was not to be forthcoming until later. Fast forward to 2010 Petite Goâve, Haïti where armed with bachelors degrees in both Anthropology and Aerospace Engineering and a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, C2C Water Engineer Myles Throop leads as manager of the reservoir restoration/water system initiative of the C2C Haïti Restoration and Transformation Pilot Project. When not in Haïti, Myles is also an active member of Engineers Without Borders, through which he is also currently working on a wastewater treatment project in El Salvador.

‘Engineer Trancy’, as the community calls him, lead C2C to the village where our pilot project is now in process. Having worked for some of the major non-profit organizations on the ground, like the Red Cross, OIM and CHF, designing and contributing to the building of sound structures prior to the earthquake, Pervilus has honed his skills in project management to add to his professional experience as an architect and civil engineer. Presently, he oversees the day-to-day operations of the C2C Haiti Restoration and Transformation Project in Petit Goave.

Keith L. Forest is a public relations and social marketing practitioner specializing in event-driven publicity concerns. As C2C’s Media and Marketing Manager, Keith orchestrated our social media platform securing major national and international media coverage for our first annual “Hope and A Future” Benefit Concert for Haiti at the World Famous Apollo Theatre. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Clark Atlanta University and presently heads Urban ID - an event driven boutique marketing and public relations firm. Clients have included: Apollo Theater Foundation, Community Works, Harlem YMCA, Heritage Health & Housing, Voz Entertainment, People of Color in Crisis, Harlem Dowling, and the NY Jets.

Jami Kelmenson is a marketing consultant and writer with over 20 years agency- and client-side experience. She has provided integrated marketing and editorial services to a variety of business clients — from non-profit to media/trade to financial services serving the small business market. An original core team member of C2C, she provides brand positioning and strategy as well as online content development. In the non-profit sector, Jami has served as a member of the Hungerthon Committee for World Hunger Year (WHY). She is also on the committee for Outings for Urban Kids (AOK) for the Appalachian Mountain Club, where she organized hikes and other outdoor activities which taught valuable leadership, cooperation and team-building skills to NYC at-risk youth.

In April 2011, Dorothy visited Haiti for the first time in 25 years with C2C. The experience was life-changing. The time spent with the people of Petite Goâve solidified Dorothy’s passion for better healthcare through education, especially for Haitian women and the Haitian community at large. Her background in non-profit healthcare administration, organizational management and an ability for bringing together people and resources for the common good resulted in her coordinating C2C’s first community health assessment survey.