Island Girls Rock Podcast

Rooted: Stories of Community-Driven Change is a partnership between Island Girls Rock and the Clara Lionel Foundation. We came to this series with a question: what does it look like when change is truly driven by community?  Across Season One, we found not one answer but many, each shaped by a distinct place, a particular history, and the specific kind of courage it takes to keep showing up....

In this episode of Rooted, we are in conversation with Dr. Renée Rattray, a Jamaican educator, thought leader, and education activist who has spent more than two decades working to transform how Caribbean children are taught, how Caribbean systems are led, and how the region imagines its own future. Dr. Rattray is the founder of One Love Pedagogy, a Caribbean-rooted educational framework that plac...

A gentle note before you listen: this episode contains references to sexual violence and the experiences of women living under conditions of extreme danger. We share this with warmth and with care, and we invite you to listen in whatever way feels right for you. In this episode of Rooted, we are speaking with Florence Jean-Louis Vorbe, Executive Director of PROFAMIL, the Association for the Promot...

In this episode of Rooted, we are speaking with Gwen Chambers, Executive Director of BlacQuity, a nonprofit organisation based in Bluffton, South Carolina, dedicated to promoting, elevating, and empowering Black-owned businesses across the Lowcountry. Founded in 2020, BlacQuity delivers entrepreneurial education, coaching, and access to capital, including through Black Equity University, a twelve-...

In this episode of Rooted, we are speaking with Lorraine Mangonès, Executive Director of FOKAL, the Open Society Foundations Haiti. Known in Haitian Creole as Fondasyon Konesans ak Libète, the Foundation for Knowledge and Freedom, FOKAL has for nearly three decades been one of Haiti’s most important civil society organisations, working at the intersection of education, culture, access to informati...

In this episode of Rooted, we are speaking with Jhannel Tomlinson-Evans, co-founder of Girls Care JA, Girls Climate Action for Resilience and Empowerment. Jhannel is a scholar activist whose work is grounded in the belief that climate justice in the Caribbean must centre the voices, leadership, and lived realities of women and young people. This is a conversation about what it truly means to build...

In this episode of Rooted, we are speaking with Anna Cadiz-Hadeed, Deputy Executive Director and Staff Partner of the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute – CANARI – a regional non-profit technical institute headquartered in Port of Spain, Trinidad, that has been working across the Caribbean for more than thirty years. This is a conversation about what it truly means to put people at the centre o...

In this episode of Rooted, we are speaking with Carine Jocelyn, founder of the Haitian Women’s Collective and the Fund for Haitian Women, the first women’s fund in the entire Caribbean region. This is a conversation about legacy and the long game. What it means to spend more than 25 years building institutions rooted in the belief that Haitian women deserve to be seen, supported, and centred. And...

In the second episode of Rooted, we are speaking with Keithlin Caroo, founder of Helen’s Daughters, a regional organisation rooted in Saint Lucia that is transforming what is possible for Caribbean women in agriculture. This is a conversation about land and legacy. What it means to build an organisation around the realities women farmers actually face, and why investing in women’s access...

Welcome to Rooted: Stories of Community-Driven Change, a special partnership between Island Girls Rock and the Clara Lionel Foundation. This season, we're sitting down with women leaders across the U.S. South and Caribbean who are leading organizations rooted in culture, community, and purpose. These are the voices reshaping local power structures, uplifting traditions, and proving that the most p...

In this special season finale of the Island Girls Rock Podcast, we flip the script. Youth Engagement Coordinators Vanel Bailey and Brianné Chapman step into the hosting seats, turning the mic on the podcast’s host, Chantal Miller, for a candid and celebratory conversation. With Island Girls Rock marking its 10th year, Vanel and Brianné take the opportunity to go back to the beginning — exploring t...

In this episode of the Island Girls Rock Podcast, we sit with Brittany Suzanne Kelly (they/them), award winning Caymanian writer, producer, director, and the first Film Commissioner of the Cayman Islands, for a thoughtful conversation on Caribbean cinema, storytelling, and cultural leadership. Rooted in a deep family legacy in film, with their great grandfather owning the first cinema in the Cayma...

In this episode of the Island Girls Rock Podcast, we sit with Jamaican wellness pioneer, yoga teacher, and community guide Sharon Feanny for a generous and steady conversation on midlife, recovery, and what it means to care for ourselves while holding space for others. Rooted in ancestral Caribbean wellness practices and more than three decades of lived experience, Sharon reflects on aging with vi...

In this episode of the Island Girls Rock Podcast, we sit with actor, dancer, wellness instructor, and teaching artist Nikeva Stapleton for a grounded and generous conversation on presence, purpose, and possibility. Nikeva reflects on Nevis as her place to simply be, shares what it means to fully claim life as a multi-hyphenate, and speaks openly about manifestation and the power of naming what you...

In this episode we sit with creator, scholar and proud Nevisian, Simone Mills, known online as @everytingsimsimma , for a rich and grounded conversation on culture, Carnival, identity and the quiet ways we continue to resist. Simone shares how she tells our stories through two essential lenses: the creative and the academic. She speaks openly about “nerding out” over history, constantly tracing th...

This week, our very special guest Sherween Gonzales, brings her familiar warmth, wit, and grounded wisdom. An educator, entrepreneur, co-host of The *(Relate)able Podcast , and the vibrant spirit behind High Times with Sherween , she is well known for her blend of laughter, honesty, and those unmistakable Sherweenisms her audiences adore. In this conversation, Sherween opens up about the threads t...

This episode arrives a little later than usual because we chose to pause, to organise ourselves for relief efforts, and to honour and share the work that communities and organisations across the Caribbean and diaspora are doing to support those affected by the passage of Hurricane Melissa. In this conversation, recorded on September 16, 2025, we speak with Senator Janelle K. Sarauw of the U.S. Vir...

In this vibrant conversation, Chantal sits down with media powerhouse, storyteller and voice over artist Vanessa James,the dynamic voice behind global brands, beloved Caribbean festivals, and empowering creative spaces. From lending her bilingual voice to campaigns for Netflix and JetBlue, to founding Food, Wine & Fete and Women of Impact, Vanessa shares how she’s used her platform to celebrat...

In this episode, we’re joined by writer Cleyvis Natera, author of Neruda on the Park and The Grand Paloma Resort. Together, we explore her journey as a storyteller shaped by her Dominican roots and her experiences living between two cultures. Cleyvis reflects on belonging, identity, and history (including the complex ties between Haiti and the Dominican Republic), in a conversation filled with war...

It's the season 2 finale! What better way to end it than to have Chantal sit down with one of her idols. Sherry Ann Dixon is a multi award winning speaker, journalist and lecturer. Repping Guyana, Sherry is an absolute TRAILBLAZER in the world of black hair and beauty. She gets things done. Original Photography Credit: Beverley Rhoden (Season 1 Episode 10) @SherryADixon @Igr_love @Chantimedia @Wea...

On this month's episode, Chantal was joined by artist, filmmaker and historian Fiona Compton. It's a great conversation about Black history and fairytales. If you've ever wanted to know how to link the Haitian Revolution to the Wizard of Oz, tune in! (Season 1 Episode 9) @fiona758 @Igr_love @Chantimedia @Weareunedited Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month's episode, Chantal was joined by brand specialist and founder of Chill Create, Carolyne Hill. It's a great chat about channeling creativity, the frustration of dealing with school career advisors and more. (Season 1 Episode 8) @chillcreate1 @Igr_love @Chantimedia @Weareunedited Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month's episode Chantal had the pleasure of speaking to yogini, humanitarian and Universal Empress, Nadine McNeil. The two talked about Nadine's journey from Jamaica to Bali, the importance of self care for those who heal others and so much more. (Season 1 Episode 7) @Univempress @Igr_love @Chantimedia @Weareunedited Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back to Barbados for another episode! This time around, Chantal was joined by author of 'Loving the Brothers' Pamela R Haynes. This was a great chat about the importance of documenting our stories, domestic abuse in the Caribbean and more. (Season 1 Episode 6) @PamPamHaynes @Igr_love @Chantimedia  @Weareunedited Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this very special episode, Chantal is joined by her cousin Lea Parris-Cambridge. Lea talks about how her faith helped her through Cancer THREE times, her journey to veganism, and how outstanding treatment via the NHS compelled her to help those with Cancer on her beloved island of Nevis. (Season 1 Episode 5) @ParrisCambridge @Igr_love @Chantimedia @Weareunedited Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...