Mrs. Carla Maheia Hart – Chairperson

Director/ General Manager, Maheias United Concrete & Supplies Ltd.

Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow- Immediate Past Chairperson

Founder/Chair, Women for Peace, Justice & Equality

Spouse of Former Prime Minister + Former Special Envoy for Women and Children

Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow, is a Belizean activist for women and children’s rights and development, a philanthropist and the wife of Dean Oliver Barrow, the 4th Prime Minister of Belize (2008 – 2020). During her tenure as First Lady, Mrs. Simplis Barrow set up the Office of the Special Envoy for Women and Children in Belize. She served in this capacity and lent forceful advocacy on behalf of women, children and adolescents with a particular focus on gender equality, children’s rights, violence against women, and legislative reform.

Mrs. Simplis Barrow has led two of Belize’s largest national resource mobilization efforts to help close critical gaps in health care for children and families. In 2005, she set up the Lifeline Foundation to raise funds to support children in marginalized communities through support in the form of nutrition, improved sanitation facilities, enhances classroom infrastructure and educational materials.

In 2014, Mrs. Simplis Barrow led the groundbreaking that would lead to the construction of the Inspiration Center – a specialized center for care of children with disabilities, and the Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care wing at the Karl Heusner national referral hospital. Today, both of these remain the only specialized facilities
dedicated to offer these services.

Advocating with private sector leaders, Gilead, Mrs. Simplis Barrrow mobilized resources for the Caribbean region and led the establishment of the first leadership network of First Ladies of the Caribbean (Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network – SCLAN), serving as its first Co-Chair and Head of SCLAN Secretariat from 2017 to 2020, and championing adolescent and child health across the Caribbean. Through her work as SCLAN Co-Chair, Mrs. Simplis Barrow helped form a public-private partnership between Gilead and the Ministry of Health to introduce pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV, establishing a basis upon which the Government could build to expand efforts to integrate this HIV prevention technology into the health services.

Mrs. Simplis Barrow is a champion for women and children’s rights and gender equality. Most notably, she set up and led an annual march against violence against women and girls in Belize, offering a platform for women to speak up and put voices and faces to the issue and advocate for greater protection through the law and social services as well as through social norm change. She was also instrumental in advocating for legislative reform in Belize leading to stronger protections against human trafficking, child sexual exploitation and non-discrimination law based on sexual diversity.

Mrs. Simplis Barrow’s work as an influential national and global advocate for cancer prevention and care is perhaps her most personal. As a cancer survivor, she has been forceful in advocating across the world for earlier detection of cancer and expanded access to care services.

Born in Cayo District, Belize, Mrs. Simplis Barrow is a proud mother of a teenage daughter, Salima Barrow. She speaks fluent English and Spanish and holds an undergraduate degree from the Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia, Mexico and graduate degrees in Hospitality and Business from Florida International University, USA.

Mr. Martin Krediet- Vice-Chair

General Manager, Francis Ford Coppola’s Turtle Inn Resort

Mr. 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, Mr. 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.

Mr. Krediet 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 has also served as a judge for the National Geographic Society World Legacy awards.

Mr. Krediet 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.

Mrs. Sharon Young- Board Member

Former Chief Executive Officer in the Ministries of Natural Resources and Labour, Local Government and Rural Development

Mrs. Sharon Young has extensive executive leadership experience in both government and non- government sectors and has spent the past 25 years working as part of the environment and development community.

Mrs. Young most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministries of Natural Resources and Labour, Local Government and Rural Development, respectively.

Among her numerous undertakings, she led the preparation of the National Land Use Policy and Planning Framework, the design and development of the Country’s first National Spatial Data Infrastructure System, chaired the National Disaster Assessment and Needs Analysis Committee, secured funding to automate the land application system and the temporary employment permit application system of the labour department. She also worked with private and public sector leaders to amend serval land related legislations aimed at improving revenues collected from taxes and strengthening the governance of the lands department, land registry, hydrology, and mining units.

Mrs. Young also served as the Executive Director of the Protected Areas Conservation Trust where she commissioned the first institutional review and successfully led the process for PACT’s accreditation by the Adaptation Fund as a national implementing entity for Belize.

Throughout her career, she has served on various national and regional boards notably, the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute, Solid Waste Management Authority, Social Investment Fund and played an instrumental role, as Vice President, in the growth of the Meso-American Reef Fund and the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds in Belize.

Mrs. Young shares a common agenda to support health and development of all Belizean girls and women and volunteers her time to raise funds for the fight against cancer, serve as an advisor to the Community Baboon Sanctuary Women’s Conservation Group and mentor young women as they pursue education in science, technology engineering and math fields.

Mr. Estevan Perera, Esq.- Board Member

Partner/Attorney at Glenn D. Godfrey & Company LLP

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 of the Social Security Board of Belize, Belize Water Services Limited, and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia in Belize.

Mr. Perera is a successful businessman as owner of Buy Belize Real Estate Ltd. and Buy Belize Auto Rental Ltd.

Mr. Pete Davis- Board Member

Owner and Managing Director, Davis Company

Mr. 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.

Mr. Davis has over forty years of experience managing large complex construction and real estate development projects across the United States and Central America and is a certified Project Management Professional. He 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.

Mr. Davis 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 clean up and rebuilding efforts, 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 Mr. Davis 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.

Mrs. Karen Bevans- Board Member

Former Director of Tourism, Belize Tourism Board

Mrs. Karen Bevans is a business executive with over thirty (30) years of professional experience in leadership and business management. She was the Director of Tourism at the Belize Tourism Board for seven (7) years from April 2014 to March 2021, and prior to her employment at the Tourism Board, she was the Chief Operations Officer at Belize Telemedia Limited, a company at which she was employed for 25 years from January 1989 to March 2014.

Mrs. Bevans holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in Management and Psychology from the University of the Ozarks in Clarkesville, Arkansas. Prior to travelling abroad for her undergraduate studies, she earned an associate degree in Mathematics & Economics from the Belize Technical College (now the University of Belize).

During her employment, Mrs. Bevans attended numerous training sessions and conferences that have complemented her formal education and equipped her with the knowledge, skills and expertise she possesses in Leadership, Business Management, Strategic planning, Marketing, Communications, Human Resources, financial management, Information Technology and overall organizational leadership and governance.

Mrs. Bevans has been active in the Caribbean Region, with experience being the Vice Chair of the Board for the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organization (CANTO) for 5 years and the Vice Chair of the Board of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) for 2 years. She also sits on the Board of Trustees for Galen University located in San Ignacio, Belize and on the Board of Directors for Citrus Products of Belize Limited (CPBL), a Company that is based in Southern Belize and produces Citrus products for the Region.

Mrs. Bevans is involved in several community initiatives through her membership in the Rotary Club of Belize for over 18 years and as a Director of the LifeLine Foundation of Belize for more than 15 years.

She has been Married for over thirty (30) years and has two daughters.

Mrs. Tanya McNab-Fields- Board Member

Creative Director, McNab Visual Strategies

Born and raised in Belize, Mrs. Tanya McNab- Fields is an award-winning graphic designer, publisher, and visual branding expert. Her family-run enterprise and publishing house, McNab Visual Strategies, has been offering design, printing, signage, and public relations services since 2007. As Creative Director for its three sister companies–McNab Design, Dots Per Inch, and McNab Design Studio–Mrs. McNab- Fields has taken Belize’s graphic design and
publishing fields to the next level.

Whether working with banks, tourism associations, or international organizations, Mrs. McNab-Field’s  passion for design and her love for her country drive her to select projects that are geared toward the betterment of Belize. Some of her past and present clients include the United Nations Development Programme, The European Union, The United States Embassy, UNICEF, the Belize Tourism Board and Beltraide.

She is the force behind many of Belize’s important publications, and is also the recipient of several American Graphic Design Awards (GDUSA) for outstanding work in publication design, branding, and package design.

Mrs. McNab-Fields is no stranger to the Inspiration Center. Over the past several years she, along with her team at McNab Visual Strategies, has helped to design Inspiration Calendars and Agendas for the Center as a means of procuring funds for its continued sustainability.

Mrs. McNab-Fields holds a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from Miami International University of Art and Design.