The Board of Directors at Island Academy is dedicated to creating the best international school in the Caribbean. Our members are drawn from many different vocations and industries, and are all respected contributors to the community.
Island Academy’s Board of Directors are volunteers who freely donate their time to ensure the vision of our school.
Bernadette Sherman was born in Trinidad but has lived in Antigua since the age of four. She holds an Associate of Science degree in Psychology from Beirut University College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education with a minor in Political Studies from Oregon State University. At present she is a shareholder and director of three restaurants in Antigua, as well as Next Trading Company, and all the Big Banana Group Companies. She is one of the founding members of Island Academy.
Dr. Lowes is currently Director of Research and Evaluation at the Institute for Learning Technologies and Adjunct Professor in the Program in Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she has directed many research and evaluation projects at both the university and K-12 levels. She has a long association with the International Baccalaureate Organization as a researcher of their online professional development program, their IB DP Online course offerings, and their new IB Career Certificate (IBCC) and IB Open World Schools (IBOWS) programs.
Dr. Lowes also has a long-standing connection with Antigua. She first came in 1980 as a doctoral student in anthropology at Columbia University and received her doctorate in 1994 for her study of the development of Antigua from 1834 to 1940. She has since written on the 1918 riots and on the legacies of the U.S. Bases that came to Antigua in the early 1940s. Her writing can be found on her website, http://antiguahistory.net, which also contains a large archive of historical photos of Antigua. She is married to Antiguan journalist (now retired) Milton Benjamin.
Sharon is an Attorney-at-Law practicing in Antigua and Barbuda and a partner in the firm Cort & Cort, Attorneys-at-law, Antigua.
In addition to her Bachelor of Law’s degree obtained from the University of Westminster, London, England and her Master of Law’s degree from University College London, she holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Saint Mary’s University, Nova Scotia, Canada. Sharon also qualified as a Barrister in England and Wales and has also been called to the Bar in Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda and the British Virgin Islands. She is a member of the Antigua and Barbuda Tax Appeal Board and the St. John Association Board.
Anne Hamilton is a recognized highly active philanthropist and volunteer whose contributions have profoundly benefited children, education, arts and culture, animals and countless other worthwhile causes.
A devoted mother of five, Mrs. Hamilton, her husband Matt and their family reside in Bryn Mawr, PA. She is a 1974 graduate of Agnes Irwin School and a 1978 graduate of Boston University.
Mrs. Hamilton has received many honors for her tireless efforts, including the Agnes Irwin School Alumnae Award in 1999, Philadelphia Magazine’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2001, The Heart of Philadelphia Award in 2002, and Fundraising Volunteer of the Year Award in 2007 from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She has also received the Liberty Award on 2008 from the National Liberty Museum and the Great Friend to Kids Lifetime Achievement Award from the Please Touch Museum in 2009.
Dyna Harney-Barnes attended Florida International University where she obtained her Bachelors Degree in Finance and International Business graduating Magma Cum Laude “Great Honours” For graduate school, she went on to the University of Miami to obtain her Master in Business Administration with a concentration in Strategic Management.
Upon completing her studies she returned to Antigua and worked at Harney Motors Limited, the oldest car dealership on island (50 years old), as Sales Manager and eventually General Manager. She has also managed Ace Enterprises Ltd. ( a subsidiary dealership) for the past 22 years. Simultaneously, Dyna owned retail clothing stores in St. John’s for 17 years and now owns and manages commercial and residential properties in Antigua and Barbuda.
Patti Schear, resident of Dayton, Ohio, USA, has been part of the Antiguan community for 18 years. Mother of four, grandmother of two, she has been a volunteer community leader for many years. Most recently, she chaired a 9 million dollar campaign to renovate The Miami Valley School, a nationally known independent school in Dayton. Prior to that she served for 14 years on the board of Dayton children’s Hospital. She was chair of the annual children’s auction, chair of the campaign to raise funds for the new pediatric emergency room and chair of the Dayton children’s foundation board.
She and her husband Lee founded Sinai Scholars, a scholarship program for over two hundred Jewish children to help them attend private school. She is dedicated to children and education. When she was asked to join the Island Academy Board, it was in perfect alignment with her passion.
Norma Holder, a Barbadian by birth and a citizen of Antigua which has been home for more than 20 years, is currently the Financial Controller of Curtain Bluff Resort. A graduate from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, New York, Mrs. Holder has over 30 years of experience in the Caribbean tourism industry and specializes in finance and operations -particularly in the luxury market segment. She is passionate about designing and delivering financial strategies, systems and processes which ultimately aid in revenue generation and increase profitability.
Mrs. Holder is also on the Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association and holds membership with the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals, the Cornell Hotel Society and Antigua Cricket Association. She was also a past president of the Rotary Club of Antigua Sundown and in Barbados was a member of the Variety Club (Children’s Charity) as well as the Barbados Cricket Association.
When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and their friends as well as reading, watching movies and playing games.
Gary is a graduate in business and finance of Regents Business School London. He then pursued a career in forming a residential property company focusing on prime central London. Always intent on entering into his family business in the food and leisure sector; Gary worked briefly for Prestigious Properties, an international property agency focusing on second home developments in the Caribbean.
Gary then entered into the family business Randall Parker Food group in 2008 and helped form a property development company to create the $ 20m condo hotel development known as The Cove. He was then responsible for the $12m renovation and redevelopment of Blue Waters Hotel, Antigua as it stands today. He was made a Director of Randall Parker food Group in 2014 and explored opportunities to expand the business into the meat alternative sector, before being made Managing Director of the now luxury boutique Blue Waters Hotel.
