On Sunday, October 8th, Ambassador Paul Altidor and the Haitian Ladies network hosted the 12th annual “Haitian Ladies Brunch” at the Embassy. What started off as a small gathering of a few friends is now a memorable occasion of friendship and fellowship among hundreds of Haitian and Haitian-American women from all over the country.
This annual tradition began in 2005, when Nadine Duplessy Kearns sought to connect with other Haitian women in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area. Like Kearns and her co-organizers, many Haitian women move to the area not knowing where to connect with others who share the same culture and background. For the last twelve years, the brunch has served as an outlet to meet, network professionally and reflect on shared common experiences as Haitian women. This is the fifth year the Embassy of Haiti has hosted the Haitian Ladies Brunch.
This year Ambassador Paul Altidor was not only thrilled to host the brunch but also to reveal the ongoing projects at the Embassy. “We have surveyed people in the area and understand what they are interested in. We are hosting events and activities that can help us bring as many people as possible to the embassy and shift the Haiti narrative.”
The ladies also turned it up an additional notch hosting their first ever, 2017 Haitian Ladies Symposium on Saturday at Howard University. The Symposium created an intimate space for Haitian Ladies, to engage and learn from each other through two powerful themes: Elevating Your Personal Brand and Engaging With Haiti. The Keynote speaker was the unparalleled Karine Jean-Pierre, Senior Advisor & Spokesperson, MoveOn.Org. In an intimate conversation, facilitated by Stacey Samuel of NPR, Karine shared lessons learned on her journey to becoming a top policy influencer.
On Sunday, the brunch hosted approximately 400 women of Haitian descent from around the nation for a Haitian cultural experience and networking over traditional Haitian brunch at the newly renovated historic Chancery. Here is a look at our beautiful Haitian queens.
See more photos here and here.
Join the Haitian Ladies Network on social media at @EmbassyOfHaiti or by subscribing to our mailing list at www.haiti.org. Haitian Ladies Weekend
