Kim Simplis-Barrow – Chair Person

Special Envoy for Women and Children

Global Ambassador, Special Olympics International

Mrs. Simplis Barrow was appointed as Belize’s Special Envoy for Women and Children in 2008. Within that same year she became the first Belizean to be designated as a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics International. However, Mrs. Simplis Barrow has been working on behalf of children long before those titles and is the Founder and Director of one of Belize’s most prominent NGOs, Lifeline Foundation. She holds two Master’s Degrees from Florida International University, one in International Business and another in Hospitality Management. In addition to a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality with a minor in Spanish from the Instituto Technologico de Morelia in Mexico City, Mrs. Simplis Barrow works tirelessly and passionately as a community activist, advocating for the rights of children. Her passion is manifested by her strong commitment and dedication to these special platforms and in turning The Inspiration Center from a dream to a reality for the children of Belize.

Carla Hart – Deputy Chairperson

Director/ General Manager

Maheias United Concrete & Supplies Ltd.

After being prompted by her father to get into the family business, Carl Maheia Hart changed course and pursued a Bachelor’s Degree from the Florida International University in Business Management instead of Marine Biology. Upon returning home she was immediately given managerial responsibilities, whilst learning the ropes to take over the family business. And while she has been very successful in that post, when asked about her greatest personal accomplishment, Mrs. Hart quickly cites her beautiful, loving family who inspires and completes her life.

Mrs. Marisela Craig

Teacher

Belize Elementary School

Mrs. Marisela Craig of Belize is a teacher at Belize Elementary School with 25 years’ experience and has a Master’s Degree in Education. She served for 15 years on the BES PTO Board of Directors and also previously served on the  Belize National Dance Company Advisory Board for 2 years.

Mrs. Marisela Craig is also the mother of two children, Aziela and Zayne. Zayne is a special needs child with Down’s syndrome. It is Zayne that inspired and propelled Mrs. Craig to first become well-informed about Down’s syndrome and by extension other Special Needs. The same drive and passion that she has for teaching became her driving force for Zayne and she quickly became an advocate for Special Needs Children by offering advice and help to other parents of Special Needs children. Her acquired knowledge and experience as well as her tenacity caught the attention of The Inspiration Center where Zayne was enrolled, and she was asked to take a position on the board which she did and continues to do. Her aim: to ensure that children who are in need receive the best help and are given the opportunity to see the best professionals and doctors so they may have the best chances at a productive and positive future and become fruitful citizens.

Olga Urbina-Gough

Public Relations / Consumer Affairs Officer

Public Utilities Commission 

Founder and President

United for Kids 

Olga Urbina – Gough has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from St. Louis University and a Masters Degree in Business Management from Galen University. She has over a decade of hands-on experience as a guidance counselor and social worker in the education and health care systems and has been working in Corporate Communications and Public Relations field for the last eight years.  As a result of her great love for children, she and her friends founded United for Kids, a registered NGO that caters to the needs of underprivileged and deserving children with their annual backpack drive, Easter Basket Cheer for children spending Easter in the Hospital, and Christmas Parties for several community organizations like Hand in Hand Ministries, Dorothy Menzies and Liberty Children’s Homes, among others.  Olga Urbina Gough is a proud Orange Walkeña, is married and has 3 children. 

Estevan Perera, Esq.

Partner/Attorney at Glenn D. Godfrey & Company LLP

Belize Legal Services

Mr. Estevan Perera has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from Saint Mary’s University, a Bachelor of Law from the University of The West Indies, and a Bachelor of Law from Hugh Wooding Law School. He has an array of experiences and expertise in law and real estate. Among Mr. Perera’s many lucrative accomplishments is his appointment as a director on board of the Social Security Board of Belize and Belize Water Services Limited, and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia in Belize. Mr. Perera is also a successful businessman as owner of Buy Belize Real Estate Ltd and Buy Belize Auto Rental Ltd.

Mr. Pete Davis

Ower, Managing Director

Davis Company

Pete Davis is the owner and Managing Director of Davis Company of Ambergris Caye Belize and has performed construction management services for a number of large scale resort developments on the Island.

Pete has over forty years of experience managing large complex construction and real estate development projects across the United State and Central America and is a certified Project Management Professional. Pete has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Liberal Arts from the University of the State of New York and a Master of Business Administration Degree from Strayer University in Virginia.

Some of his accomplishments were as Planning Commission Chairman  leading the effort to develop his county’s five years Comprehensive Plan and was the commission’s representative for a Citizen’s Planning Committee responsible for his county’s prestigious award of the National Civic League’s  All American city

Pete is very involved in efforts to the betterment of his San Pedro community. Some of his present interests have included the Rotary Club of Ambergris Caye, Belize Tourism Industry Association Treasurer, and Order of Saint George Belize Encampment Executive Officer.  In the past, he has participated in the effort to clean up after the fire in San Pedro, rebuild hurricane-damaged houses in San Mateo, assisted the San Pedro High School with Career Days, raised money for San Pedro’s Dr. Otto Rodriquez Poly Clinic and helped to manage the effort to construct the San Pedro Corona Virus Isolation Center

A principal area of interest for Pete is working with the disabled.  Pete is also a Service Disabled Veteran, a Handicapped SCUBA Association instructor, PADI adaptive diving instructor for the disabled and a BSA merit badge counselor for Disability Awareness

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Mrs. Ilse Van Keer

Project Manager

Invest Belize Partnership Ltd.

Mr. Martin Krediet

Gerneral Manager  

Francis Ford Coppola’s Turtle Inn resort

Placencia Village, Stann Creek District

Krediet was born in Holland in 1972 but was raised in Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles. He studied at De Kogge Hotel Management and Culinary School in Amsterdam from 1990 to 1993. Following school, Krediet completed mandatory military service with the Marines in Holland and Curacao, where he continued to live for an additional five years before moving to Miami. During that time, he worked in the restaurant industry and managed several establishments, including the largest beach club in Curacao. 

Since then he has served on several boards and has been a chair member for a number of charities including The Vizcayans, the Humane Society of Greater Miami, Miami Beach Chamber Pillar Board, Blue Ribbon Task Force, Miami Beach Chamber Gala, Brothers & Sisters, Peace for the Children, New World Symphony and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. He recently joined the National Geographic Society as a judge for the World Legacy awards.

Martin enjoys running, boating, scuba diving, and water sports. He lives in Placencia Village, Belize where he acquired an acre of beachfront property and is fully enjoying the peace, beauty, and serenity each morning brings.