Watson Cesaire, Haiti
Watson Cesaire is the founder of Sante Lakay, an organization dedicated to enhancing health care in Haiti through clinics and educational programs. Sante Lakay strives to provide accessible dental and primary medical care throughout Haiti. Watson was previously the Vice President of Corps des Chirurgiens-Dentistes Volontaires. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Dental Surgery from Faculte d`Odontologie, UEH. Watson completed his fellowship with Jennifer Lloyd of Association for Utah Community Health.
Watson with host Jennifer Lloyd
Throughout his experience with Jennifer and the AUCH staff, Watson has felt aided in reaching his goals. His main focus has been working on developing a nutrition care system to be implemented in Haiti. Watson shared that he has learned valuable leadership skills. Among these include useful tactics in leading meetings in and organized and productive manner, as well as learning about organizational structures to maintain productivity and stability.
In Haiti, the volunteerism system is seemingly non-existent and lacks trust from the population. Watson has seen how heavily organizations here rely on volunteers and he hopes to integrate this mindset into his programs in Haiti. Watson is confident this experience will help him elevate his team members and the projects they work on. He plans to establish supportive partnerships with U.S. institutions, specifically AUCH, to provide trainings and webinars.
Watson with Professional Fellows, Humanitarian Project at Welfare Square
Jennifer shared with Utah Global Diplomacy how much the entire office has enjoyed having Watson here. Along with attending staff meetings and a Safety Meet Summit, Watson also met withAHEC representatives to discuss providing health care in rural areas. It has been interesting and informative for the AUCH staff to learn about Watson’s organization and the work he does in Haiti. He has brought a new perspective to the office and AUCH looks forward to future collaborations.
Utah Global Diplomacy congratulates Watson on winning second place in the YLAI Pitch Competition!
Jéssica Silva Mendoza, Ecuador
Jéssica Silva Mendoza is the Co-Founder and CFO of PLAY Business School. PLAY holds workshops, boot camps, and mentoring programs to engage participants and make learning easier. Jéssica has experience working in project management for the Secretaria Nacional del Migrante, ECU 911, and AMBEV- Cerveceria Nacional. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business from the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, and a Master’s Degree in Financial and Corporate Projects from the Universidad de Guayaquil. Jéssica completed her fellowship with Robb Kunz of Boom Startup.
Robb shared with Utah Global Diplomacy that his partnership with Jessica could not have been a better match. They were able to establish clear goals and objectives for what they wanted to accomplish during their time together. Robb has enjoyed seeing Jéssica gain confidence throughout this experience as she embraces feedback and shadows. Together they have worked on Jéssica’s business model and how to open a North American operation. Robb is confident Jessica will go back to Ecuador with a greater understanding and roadmap of how to build her company.
Jéssica in Park City
Mr. Juan Camilo Herrera, Colombia
Juan Camilo Herrera is the Co-Founder and COO of Neoland, a company that creates products out of 100% recycled rubber. This company seeks to find ways to reduce the amount of waste that tires contribute to the environmental problems of the region by reinventing them as something new. Juan has previously worked for a customs agency in Bogota where he developed his public speaking, presentation, and sales skills. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the Hult International Business School. Juan completed his fellowship with Denise Allen of Eco Green Equipment.
Juan with host Denise Allen
Juan has enjoyed being in a very efficient, yet laissez-faire environment and hopes to structure his team workspace in a similar fashion to the office space at ECO Green. He has successfully formed a very open working relationship with his colleagues at ECO Green. There are several changes he plans to implement within his own business. Some of these ideas include using quotes to create focuses for each team meeting, adopting portions of ECO Green’s business plan in his own model, reducing waste in production and making changes in the products and methods he is currently using.
Juan at ECO Green
He has participated in company-wide staff meetings as well as one-on-one interactions with professionals of various fields within this sector. During this fellowship, Juan has researched how to establish a tire-recycling plant and created a business model to present to the team. Juan plans to continue building this working relationship between ECO Green and his company in Colombia.
Juan and Denise at ECO Green
Denise shared with Utah Global Diplomacy that early on in the fellowship Juan quickly adapted to company interactions and culture. This helped him receive the support and help he needed. She looks forward to their continued partnership and growth as ECO Green increases their international outreach and Juan creates innovative products.
Utah Global Diplomacy congratulates Juan on winning first place in the YLAI Pitch Competition!
