Who We Are
Board Members
The UGF is governed by a Board made up of Trustees and ex-officio non-voting members. There shall be a maximum of nine Trustees along with a maximum of six ex-officio non-voting Board members. These trustees are drawn from qualified local and international Guyanese professionals, including eligible members of the University of Guyana Alumni
First Trustees are appointed by the Council of the University and thereafter by the Foundation.
A representative of the University of Guyana’s Council in the person of the Chancellor or his/her nominee is also appointed a trustee.
Prof. Edward Greene, PhD.
Chancellor, University of Guyana
Prof. Edward Greene
Former Assistant General to Caricom, UN Special Envoy and Chancellor of the University of Guyana
Professor Edward Greene PhD., a Guyanese national, is CEO of Global Frontier Advisory and Development Services (GOFAD) and member of the High Level International group, Diplomats without Borders. He is former UN Secretary General Special Envoy, Assistant Secretary General CARICOM and Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of the West Indies. He played lead roles in the establishment of the Pan Caribbean Partnership for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean (PANCAP), Caribbean Regional Health Agency (CARPHA), the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Medical and other Health Professionals (CAAM-HP) and the Consortium Graduate school for the Social Sciences in the Caribbean and has been an advisor to several Caribbean governments and consultant to international agencies. He is the recipient of numerous awards, several of which are prestigious regional and international awards and has written ten (10) books.
Prof. Paloma Mohamed BSoc, MSC, PGC, PHD. A.A
Vice-Chancellor XI University of Guyana
Prof. Paloma Mohamed
Vice-Chancellor, XI of the University of Guyana
Prof Paloma Mohamed is the eleventh Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana. She is a full Professor of behavior and communications, noted as a futurist scholar for her work on change in both humans and human systems. She is the first woman to lead the University in its 58-year history. She is also the first woman to be appointed Vice-Chancellor at any University in the Anglophone Caribbean.
Prof Mohamed had led the University of Guyana’s Transitional Management Committee as its 2nd Chair since Aug 2019. She has also been. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Philanthropy, Alumni and Civic Engagement, known as PACE, a department which she founded in 2016. UG’s eleventh Vice-Chancellor, has worked on several multi-million-dollar multi-university research projects and has been highly successful in raising over US$50 million in less than 5 years for UG, having developed specialties in strategic energy issues, complex analysis, and high-level negotiation. Prof Paloma Mohamed has been awarded two Presidential Medals in 2012 and in 2015 as well as a City of New York Award for Culture in 2013. 1n 2014 she was named by the US Embassy in Guyana amongst the top 5 most influential women in the country. In 2015, she became the first woman to receive the Caribbean Laureate for Excellence in Arts and Letters Award, which is considered to be the Nobel prize of the Caribbean. Prof. Mohamed has authored over 20 books and produced 15 films. Amongst many other regional and international bodies, she is a member of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and also an Executive Board and a member of CARICOM’s Council for Social and Human Development (COSHoD). She is a beloved teacher and humanist who has been variously referred to as a servant leader and a Titanium butterfly.
Prof. E. Nigel Harris, MPhil, MD, DM
Former Chancellor Emeritus, University of Guyana
Prof E. Nigel Harris
MPhil, MD, DM
Eon Nigel Harris has served as Chancellor of the University of Guyana (2015- 2018); Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (2004-2015); and Dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia ( 1996-2004). He is internationally known for his work as a Rheumatologist. With Doctors Aziz Gharavi and Graham Hughes in London, they defined a medical disorder named the Antiphospholipid Syndrome and devised a diagnostic test (the anticardiolipin test) for it. For this work,they were awarded the Ciba-Geigy Prize by the International League Against Rheumatism (ILAR) – 1993. He has published over 200 papers, editorials, reviews and chapters and these have been cited in several thousand publications.
Other awards include the Centennial Award from the National Medical Association of America (USA) ( 1995); The Howard University Distinguished Alumni Award (2009); the Martin Luther King International Award (2010); the Caribbean Health Research Council Award (2011) ; the Cacique Crown of Honour (Guyana, 2011); Doctor of Law(honorary)from the University of St Andrews University (Scotland) (2013). The 11th Congressional District of the USA declared February 11, 2015, the “Eon Nigel Harris Day” for contributions to Medical Research.
Mr. Fidel Hinds, FMA, FCSI
Chief Executive Officer, Meadowbank Asset Management (Guyana) Inc
Fidel Hinds
Chief Executive Officer, Meadowbank Asset Management (Guyana) Inc.
Fidel Hinds, CEO of Meadowbank Asset Management (Guyana) Inc., is responsible for the management and business development activities of the firm. Meadowbank is registered with the Guyana Securities Counsel to provide Investment Advisory Services in Guyana and is focused on providing wealth management and asset preservation solutions to qualified Guyanese investors.
Prior to co-founding Meadowbank Asset Management (Guyana) Inc., Fidel was Managing Director and Head of Transactions Banking Americas, RBC Investor and Treasury Services, with responsibility for leading the Americas Transaction Banking / Broker Dealer and Relationship management teams.
Of the thirty-five years in the financial industry, thirty years were spent at The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and the Royal Trust Company. He held various positions of increasing responsibilities, including Account Management, Information Technology, Client Service Delivery, Sales and Relationship Management.
Fidel holds the Financial Management Advisor (FMA) designation and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI).
Professor Colin Ramsay
BS.PhD Professor of Actuarial Science
Prof Colin Ramsay
BS, Ph.D
Colin M. Ramsay, Ph.D. is E.J. Faulkner Professor of Actuarial Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1957; grew up in the West Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown; and attended Queens College from 1968 to 1975. After spending one year of National Service, he travelled to London to attend City University. He obtained his B.S. degree in actuarial science from City University, London, England in 1979, and completed his Ph.D. in Statistics/Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, in 1984. From 1984 to 1986 he was an Assistant Professor of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. He joined the actuarial science program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1986 as an assistant professor and was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in 1993. Professor Ramsay’s research interests include mathematical modelling of insurance systems, pensions, microinsurance, long-term care insurance, and the economics of insurance.
Professor Compton Bourne
Economist, Chairman, The Eminent Persons Selection Panel, The Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence, Former President Caribbean Development Bank
Prof Compton Bourne
Professor Compton Bourne: Professor Emeritus of Economics, The University of the West Indies. Chairman, The Eminent Persons Selection Panel, The Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence.
Compton Bourne (BSc, M. Soc. Sc, PhD) is Professor Emeritus of Economics, The University of the West Indies, past President, Caribbean Development Bank, former Principal, St Augustine Campus and Pro Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development of The University of the West Indies, and former Chancellor, University of Guyana. Board memberships included Director of the National Savings Commission of Jamaica, Director of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, Vice-Chairman, UNESCO Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is a Fellow of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences. Professor Bourne is a Member of the Order of Excellence of Guyana, the highest honour of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and recipient of several awards for his contributions to Caribbean development as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Higher Education. He has authored numerous books, scholarly papers, research reports, and advisory memoranda on economic development, monetary policy and financial markets for Caribbean and foreign governments, global development institutions, and multilateral financial institutions, and has conducted many institutional evaluations of tertiary education institutions and programmes in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom.
Mr Gabriel Cunje
Senior Management Information Technology Expert
Mr Gabe C Cunje
Senior Management Information Technology Expert
GABRIEL C CUNJE (UG Alumni 1977) takes an idea and transforms it to fruition through sound strategy development. He intuitively seeks opportunities for improvement and turn them into operations for proficiency and excellence. This help others to extend their vision and drive within the vision for organizational advantages. He is an inspirational leader whose experiences can stimulate action that is grounded in discipline that leverages the business needs. Respected as a credible voice in decision making, finding strategic partners, and establishing governance boundaries earns Gabriel a voice for any organization.
Previously, in the Corporate World, Gabriel has been a senior management Information Technology expert in the full life cycle development of systems, maintenance, quality assurance, performance enhancements, research, and development (R&D) in both the telecommunications and insurance industries in the USA. As an entrepreneur he is an experienced investor in the Oil and Gas industry. Also, he has been an owner/restaurateur, where he managed the entire operations from the ground up to opening and establishing a successful Caribbean restaurant. He has been a landlord managing rental properties.
An Alumni of the University of Guyana, Gabriel worked as a research assistant on the CARICOM Development Project for the development of the Berbice Savannahs. He also taught at Central High School, Georgetown before joining the Foreign Ministry. As a Foreign Service Officer, he was instrumental in formulating the Boundaries Division where he was involved in the drafting of treaties with both Venezuela and Suriname. The Treaties were signed for economic, trade and cultural cooperation and the establishment of joint commissions for the joint ferry project between Guyana and Suriname
Gabriel holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of Guyana, several Diplomas and Technical Training Certification in Information Technology, Information Security, Corporate Management, Personnel and Human Development and Financial Investments.
Currently retired, Gabriel oversees the operations of their family-owned business as CEO & CFO for a privately held, State Licensed education organization in Vienna, Va. USA.
Mr George Edwards
General Manager, Guyana Associates of Securities Companies Associates and Intermediaries Inc (GASCI)
Mr George Edwards
Ms. Chandrawattie Persaud
Attorney-at-Law
Mrs Chandrawatie Persaud
Attorney-at-law
Dr. Melissa Ifill
DVC For Institutional Advancement, University of Guyana
Dr Melissa Ifill
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Institutional Advancement University of Guyana
Dr. Mellissa Ifill joined the Department of History at the University of Guyana
in 1999. She has a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Graduate Diploma in
International Studies from the University of Guyana; a Master of Philosophy in
International Relations from the University of the West Indies and a Doctorate
of Philosophy in International Relations and Politics from Sussex University.
Her research specialties include Democratic Governance, Ethnic Contestation,
Gender, Crime and Citizen Security, Guyanese and Caribbean Politics, and
International Relations. Apart from teaching at the undergraduate and graduate
levels, Dr. Ifill has served the university as Assistant Dean in the Faculty of
Arts. She was an active member of the University’s Unions’ leadership, serving
as President and Vice President of the University of Guyana Senior Staff
Association and represented faculty and staff on the University’s Council,
Appointments Committee and Finance and General Purposes Committee.
Dr. Ifill is committed to advancing human rights, workers’ rights, transparency,
accountability and the development of the University of Guyana. Apart from her
University duties, Dr. Ifill has managed multiple local projects and has been a
consultant for international agencies including USAID, FAO and the UNDP and
has been chairperson of the Guyana Prison Service Sentence Management
Board for the past 5 years.