Introducing the Class of 2023 : The 5th Cohort of the Digital Jamaica People to Watch Series.

For the past five years, Digital Jamaica has invited the community to nominate the brands, businesses and people they feel are deserving of being spotlighted for their contributions to the growth and development of digital in Jamaica.

The guiding principle behind the People to Watch Program is the recognition of honorees as legitimate contributors to this cultural evolution.

As well, it is intended to encourage the adoption of digital in Jamaica and boost digital literacy. This is especially important in our efforts to develop STEAM based aptitudes, a necessary component in preparing Jamaica(ns) for the future of work.

In this article you’ll meet the fifteen people constituting the 5th cohort of honourees and who represent a milestone not just for Digital Jamaica but for digital in Jamaica. They are the innovative, exciting and dope people you need to know and support in 2023.

Meet the Influencer Awardees

Danielle Pottinger-Cooper

Danielle is the creator behind the increasingly popular foodie brand Jamaica Foodie Chronicles, where she journeys through Jamaica, sampling the cuisine.

An avid food lover who combines her passion for food with natural creativity, she loves being able to feature Jamaican businesses and learning the story behind their restaurant.

Follow Jamaican Foodie Chronicles on Instagram.

Jermaine McDonald

Jermaine McDonald is a Christian, entrepreneur, investor, technology enthusiast, and content creator. He started the Learn Grow Invest Club in December 2017 as a way to increase his investment knowledge and help others along the same path as himself.

Since then, the Learn Grow Invest club has hosted over 100 Investor Meetings both virtually and In-person (Pre-Covid) where they discuss investments, personal finance, real estate, and many other topics, all for the benefit of understanding and making better investment decisions.

Check out the Learn Grow Invest Channel on YouTube.

Demetress Fairman

Demetress is on a mission to become a future millionaire, and he wants to take you along with him.

An engineer by day, but by night, Demetress is a budding personal finance creator sharing advice and tips on making money.

Subscribe to the Demetress Fairman channel on YouTube .

Meet the Creative Arts Awardees

Tiffany Wiggan and Ushnee Ewbanks

Tiffany and Usheen are the producers of the Off the Riff Series, the beatmaker’s story.

The series features local producers who share stories behind their most renowned beats and the beat-making process.

Subscribe to the Off The Riff YouTube channel  on YouTube.

Renée Kitson

Renee is a lecturer at the School of Arts Management and Humanities of EMCVPA and the host of the Unlimited Creative: Owning Your You-NESS podcast.

She is an alumnus of Edna Manley College, School of Visual and Performing Arts where she completed a BFA in Visual Communication focusing on graphic design.

She now hopes to aid the Jamaican art world by engaging in and facilitating community art initiatives through ” The Creative Calling” movement.

Connect with Renée on Instagram.

Hakeem ‘Uncle’ Bryan

Hakeem is an aspiring Filmmaker who currently works as a Director of Photography and Gaffer on sets. He is an enthusiastic creative who creates visuals that inspire, romanticize, and enchant.

You can find Hakeem on Instagram.

Meet the Change Agent Awardees

Opal Noble-Rhoe

Opal is a self-confidence coach hailing from Manchester, Jamaica.

Realizing low self-confidence was holding her back, she started her passion project, iLiveja, in 2019, to document her self-confidence journey and possibly to help others struggling with same.

What started as a personal journey has blossomed into a Self-Confidence Coaching Agency that is actively engaging and coaching young people in Manchester to master their confidence, iLiveja has also raised funds to assist students with CSEC fees.

Learn more about the awesome work Opal is doing over at Instagram.

Kimberly Leckie

Kimberly is the host of the Candid Convos with Kim podcast.

Through her podcast, she shares her personal experiences with mental health and interviews experts in the field to help break down the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Her mission is to provide a safe space for listeners to learn, share, and heal.

She is also the founder of Data Meets Creative, a full service digital media agency.

You can find Kimberly on Instagram.

Sabrina Barnes

Sabrina is a popular student leader and senior student mentor at the prestigious De Carteret College, in the parish of Manchester.

She is an active 6th former who holds many titles, including student council president, peer counsel president, culture Society president, and inter-schools Christian Fellowship P.R.O.

Sabrina also serves as Secretary of the National Secondary Students’ Council for Region 5 secretary.

In her spare time, she is a volunteer doing various outreach projects within her community.

Check out Sabrina on Instagram.

Meet the Business Awardees

Carey-Lee Dixon

Carey-Lee Dixon is a digital strategist, creative designer and certified Canva creative and educator who is recognized as a global ambassador.

She is passionate about creating products and services to help service-based female entrepreneurs build a profitable online presence and monetize their skills with courage, purpose, and confidence.

You can find Carey-Lee on Instagram.

Jo-Hanna Taylor

Jo-Hanna Taylor is an internationally certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, Power Vinyasa Yoga teacher, and Behaviour Change Coach that specializes in stress management and Plant based nutrition.

With over 8 years in the fitness and wellness industry, she fuses bodyweight training, Core conditioning, Stress Management, yoga principles and her background in Psychology to create balanced programmes that focus on consistency, openness, body positivity, self care and intention.

Her wellness brand, I am TaylorMade, focuses on helping persons compassionately understand their behaviour, create lasting exercise and wellness changes, and have a better understanding of vegan nutrition

You can find Jo-Hanna on Instagram.

Oprah Simpson

Oprah Simpson is the founder and creator behind the faith-based clothing brand, Surely Goodness Apparel.

The business started informally in 2020 at the start of the pandemic and is also an online community space where Christians come together to fellowship.

Check out the Surely Goodness Apparel page on Instagram.

Meet the Media Awardees

Cydon Bowen

Cydon is a budding sports content creator who focuses on athlete marketing through social media. He has built his brand on the foundation “Sports Beyond Statistics,” focused on producing content that appeals to even those who aren’t traditional sports lovers.

Follow Cydon Bowen on Instagram.

Richard Stewart

Richard is the Creator and Editor of Creative Class, a platform that aims to start conversations to end ignorance.

Creative Class explores a wide range of topics and cultural phenomena through engaging conversations and discussions. No topic is off limits, and Richard uses simple questions to find resounding solutions.

Richard is also a cinematographer and documentary filmmaker who’s work on the Beverley Manley Duncan Uncensored documentary in 2022 has garnered significant praise.

Check out the Creative Class channel on YouTube.

Meet the Tech Awardee

Christopher Gayle

Chris is the founder of Gizzada Limited, a boutique software development company in Kingston who is on a mission to create systems that empower the “common man”.

For over 15 years, Chris has actively honed his skills in leadership and development in order to bring forth the platforms he believes will catalyze a meaningful push forward and upward in our communities.

Gizzada Limited is also the company behind the SaaS based software Jamaker App, an all-in-one back-end support system with all the tools (and more) needed for effective business management.

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn

How we support

Behind the Series is a robust Program that offers awardees several entitlements all geared towards supporting their future growth.

First, awardees are treated to a professional photo shoot with Series photographer, the talented Bryan R. Smith.

They are then coached through a pitch video session that allows them to share who they are, what they do and plans for the coming year (those are the videos you see above).

This year they were invited to a participate in a network mixer where they received the award, a small but sincere token of acknowledgment and appreciation.

They also had an opportunity to meet key stakeholders and players in the local tech and digital space to encourage relationship building, investment and collaboration.

But that’s not all, awardees will receive marketing and business/brand management training from specialist and experts. They will also receive other promotional and marketing support.

The Series is about so much more

The People to Watch Program goes beyond highlighting honourees, it’s really about pushing Jamaicans to see themselves as not just users of technology but creators and innovators in that space.

I believe inspiration requires representation which is why representation matters and the hope that the honourees will be seen as reference points to motivate others to get involved.

Digital Jamaica 2023 Sponsor

Digital Jamaica People to Watch 2023 is sponsored by G5 Cyber Security, protecting your online assets from hackers.