Meet our Team!

Angelique Nixon (she/her)

Director

Angelique is a Bahamas-born, Trinidad-based BlackQueer writer, activist, scholar with over two decades of experience and social justice leadership. She is a senior lecturer & researcher at The UWI’s Institute for Gender and Development Studies. As a Director of CAISO, Angelique leads operations, resource mobilisation, media & communications, education & research, and works on various projects & programmes.

Omar Mohammed (he/him)

Director

Omar is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Cropper Foundation, a leading Caribbean nonprofit organisation and has significant experience in the field of development management. He firmly believes that intersectional perspectives are central to truly sustainable development. As Director of CAISO, Omar leads operations, resource mobilisation, and works on various projects & programmes.

Cathy Shepherd (she/her)

Director

A feminist activist since 1981, Cathy has 34 years of professional experience in information services and management, and practical experience in NGO administration with the Lions Club of Port of Spain Central, Rape Crisis Society, and the Trinidad and Tobago HIV/AIDS Alliance. As Director of CAISO, she leads operations, media & communications, education & research, and works on various projects & programmes.

Alessandra Hereman (she/her)

Director

Alessandra is a Trinidad-based, Guyanese trans woman, feminist, and community-based researcher. She works with NGOs and civil society organisations across the region to advocate for LGBTQI+ rights. Alessandra is pursuing an MPhil in Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies.

Johannah-Rae Reyes (she/her)

Project & Community Outreach Officer

Johannah is an activist, organiser, and sign language interpreter. She currently works with CAISO as the Project & Community Outreach Associate, where she coordinates a number of projects, including Sign Together. Johannah is also leading community engagement across CAISO’s projects and programmes.

Rae Alibey (she/he)

Community Caseworker
Wholeness & Justice

Rae has several years of experience partnering with LGBTQI+ organisations to deliver psycho-social care to community members, develop their potential for self-advocacy, and advocate for gender equality. Rae holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is pursuing a Master’s in Applied Psychology at The University of the West Indies.

Donielle Jones (she/her)

Community Lawyer
Wholeness & Justice

Donielle was called to the bar of attorneys of Trinidad and Tobago in 2008. She has a well-rounded practice and specialises in Criminal Law, Family Law and Civil Litigation. She believes in volunteerism and offers services to several civil society groups. Donielle is passionate about obtaining equality of treatment for all persons despite creed, race, class or nationality.

Akilah Riley-Richardson (she/her)

Community Therapist
Wholeness & Justice

Akilah is a Clinical Social Worker and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Her past work with LGBTQI+ communities includes direct clinical interventions, clinical supervision as part of projects aimed at serving the needs of the population, and the provision of training to local and regional organisations that serve sexual minorities.

Psyche Gonzales (she/her)

Financial Manager

Psyche has over 20 years of experience working with SMEs and NGOs as an accountant and/or business consultant. She also holds a Master’s degree in Gender and Development Studies from the University of the West Indies. Her research is centred on Caribbean and Postcolonial Studies and Gender, Race and Ethnicity, with a particular focus on Indigenous Ethnology.

Chanel Moosan (she/they)

Content & Social Media

Chanel is a professional specialising in communications and social media, with a strong commitment to social justice. They hold a Master’s in Gender and Development Studies from the University of the West Indies and are deeply passionate about making feminist theory accessible to all.

Chinyere Brown (she/they)

Research & Programme Officer

Chinyere believes in community, education and art as powerful decolonial tools. Her experience primarily includes research that informs work on gender, race, and class justice. Chinyere is deeply committed to the Caribbean and the Black diaspora. She holds an MSc in Gender and Development Studies from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.

Conrad Mitchell (he/him)

Program Coordinator, Growing Spaces

Conrad has over a decade of experience building capacity within Caribbean public health institutions. He is the founder of the Patient Advocate Mission (PAM), an NGO that seeks to empower people living with HIV (PLHIV) by supporting greater patient involvement in their treatment and care and embracing the power of saying “I am.” He brings a deep commitment to community-centred design and Caribbean culture to everything he builds.

Cyrus Sylvester (he/him)

Hub Manager, Growing Spaces

For over two decades Cyrus has worked on various key population HIV outreach initiatives and research projects. Beyond activism, Cyrus is a prolific photographer, amassing a rich archive that forms an essential part of Trinidad and Tobago’s queer history. He also spent many years in the theatrical arena, co-producing plays with the Playhouse Company and constructing sets for numerous local production houses.
Cyrus continues his work at Growing Spaces, carrying forward a lifetime of service, creativity, and unwavering community.

Luke Sinnette (he/him)

Social Worker, Growing Spaces

Luke holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of the West Indies. He has been an HIV/AIDS advocate for over two decades and has served two terms on the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) and was the Chairperson for the Strategic Information sub-committee. He has served in leadership roles with organizations such as Friends for Life, contributing to programmes that promote equity, resilience, and social support within Trinidad and Tobago

Nikoli Attai (he/him)

Volunteer, Queer Archives

Nikoli is a Professor of Ethnic Studies with a focus on Black queer and feminist studies. He is the author of Defiant Bodies: Making Queer Community in the Anglophone Caribbean, which explores queer politics in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Toronto. He is currently building the Cyrus Sylvester Digital Archive of Queer Trinidad and Tobago.

Taylor Lutchman (she/her)

Volunteer

Taylor is a trans person of colour and her identity drives her to promote a vision of equity and protection of all. She has a BSc in Psychology from the UWI and aims to further her academic knowledge in the pursuit of irrefutable evidence-based research into the human experience as it relates to gender, sex and sexuality.

Shaden Alexander (they/them)

Volunteer

Shaden is a queer non-binary artist and designer who works with CAISO on Community Engagement and Outreach.