Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica Sophia migrated to The United States of America as a teenager.
Ms. Chue is the Office and Business Development Manager for Process Controls & Instrumentation
(PCI) LLC, an engineering company in Midtown Detroit. She owns and operates a Professional
Consulting firm, L&M LLC that provides event planning, promotion, business strategic planning and
development consulting, in addition to other services.
Sophia serves as the Executive Director of the Caribbean Community Service Center, current
Secretary for the City of Detroit Entertainment Commission (DEC), chair of the Michigan Black
Leadership Advisory Council’s (BLAC) African Diaspora Committee and former Co- Chair City of
Detroit Immigration Taskforce.
An eight-year Veteran of the United States Army Sophia currently resides in Michigan and is the
mother of two adult sons. A self-published author and poet, Sophia also provides services as Mistress
of Ceremony, host, and Speaker.
Wayne A. Ramocan, Sr.
Wayne A. Ramocan, Sr. was born August 6, 1962 to Dagney Merle and George Abe Ramocan in Harbour View (Kingston), St. Andrew Jamaica into a family with a long history of community advocacy and service in the political arena. He is the god-son of the first prime minister of Jamaica and a national hero, the late great Sir. Alexander Bustamante.
Wayne’s goal and aspiration was to obtain his master’s degree in political science with a concentration in political theory and international relations, then take his position on the political sage but that quickly changed in 1980 after witnessing a few unsettling incidents while attending a political rally in Jamaica, the equivalent of the RNC & DNC convention.
As a result, Wayne migrated to the USA where he decided to pursue a Computer Science degree and join corporate America. Before completion, Wayne was hired by Graphic Technology Corp., Rockville, MD, promoted within 6 months as a field service engineer, traveling the world and nationwide serving clients such as the Pentagon, Defense Mapping and IBM.
In March 1985 Wayne fulfilled his dream of becoming an entrepreneur, an example modeled by his father and in 1986 Wayne accepted his calling into the ministry as an associate pastor at Power of Faith church in Baltimore, MD and through 2009 pastored four congregations in MD, GA and MI.
Currently Wayne is the founding pastor of Promised Land Ministries International, a ministry that mentors other churches in the USA as well as in Jamaica and Ghana.
He is also the Director of Operations & Admissions at Cornerstone Schools and one of the founding members of Starr Detroit Academy, Harper Woods MI. His 40 years of experience with outstanding business and customer satisfaction with almost 20 years in the education arena makes him one of the most sought after experts in regards of school administration and student retention.
When the idea of creating the Caribbean Community Service Center (CCSC) was discussed, it was a ‘no brainer’ for me; because all that the organization embodies is who I say I am; Support, Empower and Advocate for Caribbean Nationals. At CCSC I have been involved all five working groups: Professional
Development, Educational Development, Sports, Arts & Culture, Community Advocacy and Community Service. However, where my focus is in the area of Education which came so naturally for me.
In 2019 the Let’s Be Friends Program was created to address a necessity for youths with special needs, and that is friendship and socializing.
Since then, we have met face-to-face three times and with the COVID-19 situation we have had to connect via zoom. This is a monthly program and so far we have seven participants and growing with six leaders. This program since started has been such a great success. Out of this program, it has created a parent support group.
There has been more planning, resources and support that has been identified for this program. I will continue to press forward being the advocate who will support and empower these families
Robert Shimkoski is Director of the Policy Planning and Resource Development Unit for the Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC), a Michigan Works! Agency that administers Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) Programs in the city of Detroit.
His current duties include overseeing the development of plans, and grants for the Corporation. He holds a B.S. in Public Administration from the University of Scranton and an M.A in English from Wayne State University. Before joining DESC, he worked for the city of Detroit’s Workforce Development and Housing Departments.
He has also worked as a grant writer and project administrator, and outreach supervisor for several nonprofit organizations including the Neighborhood Service Organization, the Hunger Action Coalition for Southeastern Michigan, and the United Community Housing Coalition, where he currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is also a Board Member of the Mary Turner Center for Advocacy.
He resides in southwest Detroit along with his wife and two cats. His hobbies include reading, listening to Classical and Caribbean music, rooting for the Detroit Tigers, and running or biking along Detroit’s riverfront.
Rachel Winston was born in Nova Scotia, Canada and raised in Toronto with people from every corner of the West Indies. She has played an integral role as recording and financial secretary. Her strength as fitness
professional and caring about the health and welfare of our people come at great importance to her. Rachel resides in Maryland with her family and supports us with fundraising efforts and keeping our records in line.
As a Haitian immigrant growing up in Florida, Gracie Xavier understood from an early age the need to create platforms that elevate the stories of marginalized communities. Gracie leverages her experience as a creative strategist, artist and nonprofit administrator to produce large-scale community-focused projects in
Detroit, Baltimore, New York City and Haiti exploring the intersections of art, identity and social justice.
Gracie Xavier serves as the Director of Corporate and Economic Development Strategy at Global Detroit. Gracie leads Global Detroit’s neighborhood work in Detroit’s East Davison Village and Common Bond:
Muslin Ladies Social Club, a multi-year creative engagement project bringing women from diverse cultures together through textile arts to build community and advance their economic prospects.
Gracie holds an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and dual degrees in psychology and social
work from Florida State University.
A recent German Marshall Fellow, Gracie enjoys traveling the world and photographing her adventures as a citizen diplomat. company softball game – or the industry you’re in. General business trends (think national and even international) are great article fodder, too.
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