Elliot Bastien

Elliot Bastien was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. He attended St. Mary's College, where he was awarded a House Scholarship and an additional Island Scholarship. A keen sportsman, he won the Junior Victor Ludorum and Best Athlete titles at successive school sports, breaking world record holder Michael Agostini's 100 yards' record in the process. He also played first class football and hockey for St. Mary's and taught there for nine months before proceeding to Birmingham University, England.

At Birmingham, he was awarded the First Year Essay Prize and the Institute of Petroleum Prize in his final year. He obtained a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering, a post-graduate Diploma in Petroleum Production Engineering, graduating at the top of his class, and an M.Sc. in Operational Research. He was granted a Ford Foundation Fellowship to read for a PhD in Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Elliot was Assistant to the Chairman/CEO of Sun Oil Company of Canada; Head of Finance and Commerce at the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad & Tobago; Managing Director of BusinessWise and Beacon Capital Ventures in St. Maarten; Managing Director of PKF (Pannell Kerr Forster) Consulting in St. Lucia; and Strategic Planning Consultant to the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, a World Bank-funded dam and hydro-electric joint venture project of the Governments of Lesotho and South Africa. He has undertaken consulting assignments in the USA, Canada, Europe, England, Southern Africa, India, Indonesia, the Phillipines and throughout the Caribbean.

His play, "A Nancy Story", with music by the late Andre Tanker, was produced by the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, founded by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. His poem, "Kite Aiyo", was one of 33 poems chosen from around the world for publication in the art dealer Sotheby's International Poetry Competition. His other publications include a long essay in Disappointed Guests, published by Oxford University Press (ed. Henri Tajfel); Caribbean Hotel Trends: A Survey of the Financial Performance of the Caribbean Hotel Sector, published by the European Union/Caribbean Tourism Organisation; Tourism Taxation and Investment Incentives in the Caribbean published by the EU/OECS; Investment Opportunities in Natural Gas published by the National Gas Company of Trinidad & Tobago; Europe in the Caribbean, published in Symbol International Magazine, Italy; and Prospects and Problems of Export Gas Projects, Proceedings of The World Energy Conference.

Sandra Bernard-Bastien

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Sandra Bernard-Bastien attended Gray Court Secondary school in England and Holy Name Convent in Port of Spain.

She holds a BA in English from Tuskegee University, Alabama; and Florida Professional Educator's Certificate and an M.A. in Communication, both from Florida Atlantic University.

In Trinidad & Tobago, Sandra was a Training Officer with the Central Training Unit; Advertising Account Executive with Corbin Compton; and Manager of Pubic Relations and Advertising with Royal Bank for seven years. In St. Maarten, she was Director of International Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing for the Port de Plaisance Resort, and as Contributing Editor of Today Magazine, she researched, and wrote about, the natural history and outstanding literary figures of the Caribbean. In St. Lucia, she was Sales and Marketing Manager for J.E. Bergasse; in the United States, Florida Editor of Condo Management Magazine and Language Arts Teacher in English at Parkway Middle School for the Performing Arts.

Sandra was President of the Public Relations Association of Trinidad & Tobago and has led that country's delegation at several international conferences where she has delivered papers on Communication and Public Relations.

Her first published work was at the age of 16 in the London newspaper, The Daily Telegraph. Her play, The Reunion, was produced by the Little Theatre Group in Alabama. She was co-host of the television show, Issues Live, on Trinidad and Tobago Television.

Her books include: "Who's Who in the Caribbean Media", with a foreword on, "The Role of the Regional Media in the Caribbean Integration Process", published by the Caribbean Broadcasting Union; "Soul Bubba: President Clinton's Use of the Rhetoric of Inclusion to Ensure the Loyalty of the Congressional Black Caucus", explored Clinton's skillful use of rhetorical techniques to endear himself to African-Americans.

She is currently Director of Public Affairs and Organizational Development at the Children's Services Council of Broward County.