HACCOF welcomes new board members
The Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida (HACCOF) has announced the appointment of five new members to their Board, as part of their initiative to engage the next generation of business leaders among the local Diaspora.
The selected new members are banking executive Delleperche Joseph, former Consul General of Haiti to Miami, François Guillaume II, attorneys Kara Vaval Ferrier and Lody Jean, and community advocate Linda Julien.
Delleperche Joseph is a Commercial Banking Executive at TD Bank. With 11 years of experience in banking, lending and financial services, Joseph has also as First Vice President/Commercial Relationship Manager at Suntrust Bank in Miami and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He serves on the Education Committee for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of Directors of Family Counseling Services of Greater Miami, Inc.
Economist François Guillaume II has served as the Minister of Haitians Living Abroad of the Republic of Haiti and the Consul General of the Republic of Haiti in Miami. In his government role, he launched several business initiatives serving the Diaspora, including a customer service bureau and a re-branding strategy encouraging the Diaspora to invest in Haiti. He efforts led to a 50 percent increase in diaspora economic and social investment activities. Guillaume has continue his private investment and capital leveraging ventures through his consulting firm GuiLac, along with joining LSL World Initiative, a global consultancy firm.
Kara Vaval Ferrier, Esq is the President and founder of the Vaval Ferrier Law Group, practicing mainly in the areas of immigration law and personal injury law. She participated in the Shepard Broad Law Center Pro Bono Honors Program and interned at the Legal Aid Services of Broward County where she worked as an immigration law clerk, dealing with cases ranging from Violence Against Women Application (VAWA) to T and U visas. Ferrier’s currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Haitian Lawyers’ Association and was recently awarded the Beacon of Hope and Achievement Award by the Consulate of the Republic of Haiti in Miami.
Community development leader Linda Julien serves as the Assistant Procurement Director for the City of North Miami, dedicating her career to serving the community and mentoring school-aged children. In 2007 she was appointed as a board member of the Affordable Housing Advisory Board for the Office of Community & Economic Development for Miami Dade County. Subsequently, in 2008 she was appointed to the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee for the City of North Miami, where she later was voted in as Vice-Chair.
Lody Jean is a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County, working as the Felony Division Chief assigned to prosecute homicide cases. She now serves in private practice, handling a variety of immigration related cases and issues. She is a member of the Florida Bar’s Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, which is tasked to investigate unlicensed practice of law cases. She is also currently the President-Elect of the Haitian Lawyers Association.
Established in February 2005, the Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida (HACCOF) serves as a resource for its members, partners and businesses, dedicated to serving their needs and the economic development of the broader Haitian-American community.
