
EDGE Academy Workshop
Pan-African Caribbean
Youth Leadership Workshop
August 3rd-30th



Ages 15–19 · Virtual · Group & Individual Work · Live Facilitation · August 3rd - 30th
Your Voice
Your Heritage
Your Time to Lead
Overview:
This is not a program about someday. This is about right now.
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The Pan-African Caribbean Youth Leadership Workshop was born from a simple but powerful truth — that the young people of the African and Caribbean diaspora are not leaders in the making. They are leaders already. What they need is a space that sees them, challenges them, and connects them to each other and to the world.​
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Rooted in Ubuntu, “I am because we are," this workshop is a four-week journey that bridges Africa, the Caribbean, and the diaspora. It affirms identity as a source of strength, builds the skills to communicate, advocate, create, problem-solve, and lead, and connects young people across borders who share a common heritage and an uncommon future.

Who this
is for?
Ages 15–19 August 3rd - 30th · Virtual · Group & Individual Work · Live Facilitation
Ages 15–19
Future Leaders
(Now recruiting)​​
You have something to say. This is where you learn to say it — and where the world starts listening.
Ages 20–35 — Rising Leaders (Launch in 2027)
You are already moving. This workshop gives you the tools, the community, and the confidence to lead with intention — not someday, but now.

What will
you gain?
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A deep understanding of who you are and where you come from culturally as a leader
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The skills to communicate powerfully across cultures and social contexts
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The confidence to pitch ideas, advocate causes, and move people to action
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Ability to identify and solve community problems
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A global network of peers who are rising alongside you
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A meaningful certificate that reflects real job skills and critical thinking
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The opportunity to become an Ambassador for the program (This is a link that explains the role of the Ambassador CLICK HERE)

Workshop Components
Week 1 — Roots:
Who Am I?
Identity, culture, values, basic assumptions, and self-concept are foundational to leadership. Select your work group. Reflective journaling, community circle discussions, and Ubuntu-centered activities that connect inner strength to outer impact.
Week 3 — Connection: How Do We Rise Together?
Collaboration, conflict resolution, and building across differences. Ubuntu in action — learning how to lift others while you rise. Community engagement. Research. Data collection.
Week 2 — Voice:
How Do I Speak?
Communication skills across contexts: public speaking, advocacy, intercultural dialogue, and storytelling. Because your voice is your most powerful leadership tool. Identifying a community problem within the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Problem-solving model.
Week 4 — Action:
What Will I Do?
Implementation & presentation. Leadership planning, pitching ideas, and committing to a next step. Participants leave with a personal leadership statement and a plan they can actually use.
DELIVERY
Virtual · Live Facilitator · Live Coach Interactions · Cohort-Based Learning
Full Scholarship Available · Certificate Upon Completion
THE UBUNTU PROMISE
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I am because we are.
When you join this workshop, you don't just gain skills. You join a circle. A growing community of young leaders from Ghana to Barbados, from London to Maryland, who are choosing to lead now, with their whole selves, their full heritage, and each other.


Coaches
& Facilitators

Janine T. Hackshaw
Organization Development Consultant and Executive Coach at Harvard University, where she serves as a thought partner and strategist to senior leaders, advising on and designing interventions that build high-performing, cohesive organizations. Her areas of expertise include organizational design and effectiveness, human-centered change management, and workplace culture.As a certified executive coach and certified group coaching coach, Janine guides leaders through transitions and facilitates safe spaces for groups to explore and engage in critical conversations, creating meaningful and sustainable change. She holds an M.S. in Organizational Learning and Development, an MBA, and a B.A. in Communication Studies. She is originally from Trinidad and Tobago.

Tehillah Mimi Aernan
lives at the intersection of mind, stage, and sustainability. A Psychology and Theatre Arts major, she’s drawn to storytelling and hands-on creation skills she applies as Vice President of a recycling company and in her work in social and digital media marketing. Equal parts analyst, storyteller, and builder, Tehillah blends psychological insight with creative instinct to craft content and initiatives that connect, communicate, and make a real-world impact. Mimi is from Ghana.

Linda M. Deane
is a Barbadian literary artist and activist known as The Summer Storyteller.Independently, and as one half of the publishing and cultural resource ArtsEtc (artsetcbarbados.com), she has spearheaded collaborative projects including Green Readings, Saturday Storytellers, Read2Me-Write4Me, and 4 Love of Barbados. Recipient of multiple Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Awards and Barbados’ Governor General’s Award for Literary Excellence, Linda is the author of the poetry collections Cutting Road Blues and The Firefly Dreams.

Joseph Afatordzi
Who hails from Ghana, is a communications and event coordination professional with experience in project support, stakeholder engagement, digital communications, graphic design, and conference management. He has coordinated international events, built partnerships, managed communications, and created engaging visual content using Canva. Passionate about community development, Joseph combines creativity with strong organizational skills to deliver impactful results. He values collaboration, continuous learning, professionalism, and meaningful contributions that empower organizations and communities to achieve lasting positive impact together. Always.

Dr. Amber PaloSanto
Amber PaloSanto, Ed.D. (they/them) - Director, Stouffer College House & Pre-Major Advisor, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania; Board of Directors, Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center; Group Relations Practitioner and Consultant; Restorative Practices Circle and Conference Facilitator. Amber is an experienced and energized higher education professional with a varied background in the field. They also have a passion for human development and exploring unconscious group and organizational dynamics.

Dr. Omowale Elson
a Barbadian American, is dedicated to developing the next generation of leaders, embodying the spirit of Ubuntu, "I am because we are," in his teaching, systems design, and leadership development. He holds a doctorate from Howard University and an executive certificate in Design Thinking from MIT. Since 2001, he has shaped emerging leaders at the University of Maryland Global Campus and three other universities, fostering critical thinking and belonging. As Chief Strategist and Design Lead at Elson Consulting Group, he helps organizations navigate transformation with clarity, courage, and purpose. His research bridges decolonial leadership, gender equity, and Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Practices.

Mechell Marshall
Iyanifa Abeni Osunyemi Falokun), RN, RM, PHS Public Health Sister with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Barbados, nurse leader, educator, and researcher. Her work explores African Indigenous Knowledge Systems, decolonization,feminist perspectives, and culturally grounded approaches to health, leadership, and wellbeing. As Chairperson of the Midwives Special Interest Group of the Barbados Nurses Association and Chair of the Nurses Division of the National Union of Public Workers, she advocates for equitable, community-centred care rooted in the Ubuntu philosophy of shared humanity.

Chelsea Rose
is a young Barbadian professional passionate about youth development. A graduate of the University of the West Indies with a degree in Management and a concentration in International Business, she has worked closely with young people from diverse backgrounds, fostering environments where they feel confident and supported. As Program Director for the Pan-African Caribbean Youth Leadership Workshop, she serves as the primary point of contact, helping participants transition into the program and guiding teenagers from African, Caribbean, and Diaspora backgrounds to lead, share their perspectives, and self-represent.
