Marsha Massiah - Founder/Executive Director
Marsha's love affair with stories began as she clung to the hemline of her grandmother's skirt, the eager, young, wide-eyed receiving vessel for generations of her families' stories. Unbeknownst to her family and herself, her purpose as a repository for Caribbean anthologies was being fashioned. Much later in adulthood and after two decades in education and event management as a hobby, Marsha migrated her passions to its happy place: the intersection of Caribbean stories, culture and history.
The BCLF was born out of her fiery devotion to her heritage and the need to promote the islands to which she is eternally indebted. Yearly, she mirrors Explainer’s Lorraine and leaves NY and her career as an instructional designer in healthcare behind. She dons wings and flies south to play ah Mas in the Greatest Festival on Earth - although she despises drinking rum. She is a proud honors graduate of the University of the West Indies, lists a 3-day stint in a roti shop among her wealth of work experience, and is obsessed with proving that one can indeed, with exercise, outwork a steady diet of cake and pone.
Mellany Paynter - Founding Partner/Director of Operations
Mellany is a Creative Entrepreneur and Managing Editor with a unique blend of writing prowess and project management expertise. She is a keen wellness advocate and believes we can heal ourselves. A distinguished alumna of Howard University's Civil Engineering program, she now channels her talents into guiding and executing creative projects for individuals and companies.
As our Director of Operations, she plays a pivotal role in overseeing the festival’s logistics, ensuring that each event runs smoothly and successfully. She is the passionate force behind each project’s vision, seamlessly contributing to personal and professional endeavors.
Her additional skills include web design, marketing collateral creation, and transforming social projects into vibrant realities. With a deep commitment to excellence, Mellany is ready to help you turn your vision into remarkable success.
Tatiana Jiménez - Administrative Assistant
Tatiana Jiménez is a producer, game designer, and storyteller. She's a creative problem-solver with a deep passion for games and animation.
Most importantly, she's passionate about uniting talented teams that bring imaginative ideas to life and ensuring productions stay organized and run seamlessly.
Robert Louis De Roux - Operations Intern
Louis is a Master’s candidate in the Humanities and Social Thought program at New York University, with a vested interest in the promotion of and scholarship on the Greater Caribbean region and wider Atlantic World. He graduated from St. John’s University Cum Laude with a B.Sc. in Biology and has since transferred his research skills from Microbiology to the evaluation of British and French Colonial entanglements in the 18th century.
His current research project Glimpsing Jamaïque examines the ephemeral society of refugee St. Dominguan Creoles in Kingston, foregrounding the city as a colonial crossroads and a site of conflict and convergence between French and British societal structures.
Born and raised in Jamaica, his devotion to Caribbean literary movements drives his continued involvement in the festival, and supports through content creation, brand focus and outreach.