PJ Douglas Sands
PJ Douglas-Sands was born in the US and raised in The Bahamas. She joined the board in 2010 as Director of Communications and has actively spearheaded numerous brand campaigns, fundraising events and supported business development efforts locally and abroad for Seahorse Institute.
PJ Douglas Sands is a Global Brand Strategist with 19+ years experience in business coaching, organizational restructuring, business development, events and marketing strategies for SMBs (small & medium sized businesses) who has launched over 125 successful businesses in 22 countries for international clients. In 2002, Douglas-Sands formed a successful conglomerate with six (6) thriving subsidiaries, including DS3 Brand Strategies, LUXE Worldwide Travel and Douglas-Sands & Associates, Caridon Properties and A Design For Destiny Weddings.
In 2014, PJ was a Bahamian Icon Entrepreneur of the Year Award Nominee. In 2016, she was named one of Houston’s Top 40 Under 40 Professional Women To Watch. She is also a former Miss Bahamas, placing 1st runner-up in the Miss Bahamas Universe 1999 Pageant. PJ earned her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College of Columbia University, subsequently attended Law School at the University of London and attained a Sales and Marketing Certificate from Nova Southeastern University in 2014.
She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and married to Remahl Smith. They currently reside in Houston TX.
Jenna Christie MFT-MSW – Scholarship Committee Chair
Ms. Jenna Christie is a Mental Health Therapist who has experience in treating adults and adolescents facing various individual and family challenges. Jenna obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from East Carolina University in North Carolina. Upon completion, she went on to receive her Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Drexel University in Philadelphia, and her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Central Florida. She is presently working to obtain her Doctorate in Education with a specialization in Organizational Leadership.
Jenna has experience working in the education, psychiatric and healthcare systems in multiple areas of the United States. After her return to The Bahamas in 2016, she served as a Social Worker at the Willie Mae Pratt Centre for Girls under the Ministry of Social Services in New Providence. In Grand Bahama, Jenna served as the Mental Health Therapist at the Grand Bahama Children’s Home. She is currently based in Phoenix, Arizona where she supports humanitarian efforts through her work in the Integrated Services Department of the refugee resettlement division with the International Rescue Committee.
Krystynia Lee d’Arville
Krystynia Lee d’Arville was born and raised in Nassau, The Bahamas. She attended St. Augustine’s College and graduated from International Fine Arts College with a degree in Merchandising and Design. Krystynia has a strong retail and marketing background working with companies like Tommy Hilfiger, Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Today she is the Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Organizational Development at Furniture Plus and The Plus Group of Companies where she has been developing programs and solutions since 1998.
Krystynia strives to establish Furniture Plus as a leader in workplace satisfaction in The Bahamas. A core foundation of her portfolio is to help develop individual capacity in order to build and sustain the organization’s capacity and growth. This principle drives the rest of her endeavors in furniture retail, consumer finance, real estate and championing children’s causes.
Her passion for children segued into establishing the Charity of Hope Foundation in 2004. Its mission is to facilitate and advocate for building better communities and enriching the lives of children. She also enjoys reading, boating, kickboxing, painting, traveling and exploring, but her first love is writing. She is currently working on her first series of children’s books.
Krystynia is married with three children: Maverick born in 2004, Brosnan born in 2006, and Storm born in 2008. The family resides in Nassau.
Dr. Jonathan Rodgers
Dr. Jonathan Rodgers studied medicine at London University in England and specialized in ophthalmology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Rodgers became American board certified in 1982, a Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons [Canada] and a Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons [UK] in 1988.
On returning to The Bahamas in 1984, Dr. Rodgers was appointed to the post of Chief of Ophthalmology at The Princess Margaret Hospital and entered private practice the same year. Dr. Rodgers established the first outpatient ophthalmic clinic in The Bahamas in 2000 where the first excimer laser surgery in The Bahamas was performed.
Carmen Massoni
Carmen, founder of Bahama Islands Realty, was born in Chile and lived in Miami for several years before taking full residency in the Bahamas nearly 30 years ago. For the past 18 years and prior to launching Bahama Islands Realty, Carmen demonstrated extraordinary abilities as a real estate professional throughout the Bahamas. Carmen has earned many national and international real estate top producing awards placing her several times in the top 4% of a worldwide sales force of 120,000. Superior service, experience and loyal clients continued to fuel her career while receiving even higher honors and becoming a member of an elite group comprising of the top 1% of the sales associates force worldwide. She was also awarded the #1 agent in gross commission income for the Caribbean in 2005.
In 2011 Carmen used her marketing experience to introduce a new way of promoting and selling real estate in the Bahamas. Combining her passion for charitable work and love for Real Estate resulted in the hugely successful “The Streets of Wonders” event. Thousands of dollars were raised in aid of the Bahamas Humane Society and the Seahorse Institute.
Fluent in Spanish, Carmen serves as the Bahamas’ Honorary Consul of Chile to The Bahamas and is a member of the Bahamas Consular Corps. Carmen is also a member of the Bahamas Real Estate Association and the Bahamas MLS. She remains very close to her two grown children Jennifer and John Marc.
Marietta N. Janecky, M.Ed., BCBA – Ethics Committee Chair
Marietta graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts in Child Psychology and Communication Studies in 2004 and with a Master of Education in Special Education in 2011. She became a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst in 2012. Marietta has worked with children with autism and other special needs since 2003.
Marietta started her career here at Holland Center! After working here for a couple of months, Marietta moved to New York in 2004 and began working at the Carbone Clinic, under the direction of Dr. Vince Carbone, Ed.D., BCBA-D, providing one-to-one instruction using the principles and procedures of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and B. F. Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior (VB). She moved on to lead a classroom of instructors in a clinical setting specializing in the treatment of children with autism.
In 2007, Marietta began providing Out Reach consultation services to families, public and private schools, and center-based settings. She gained experience in providing consultation on the application of behavior analytic principles and procedures to parents and therapists as part of home programs as well as providing consultation to schools. She assisted teachers in setting up classrooms based upon effective ABA and VB interventions, provided recommendations for goals and objectives, trained teachers and support staff, participated in IEP and due process meetings, and developed behavior plans.
Marietta has also had the luxury of providing these consultation services around the world. She has provided consultation in more than 12 states and seven countries, including Italy, the Bahamas, and Jordan. This international experience has allowed her to gain knowledge of and work with educational systems in different countries, implement ABA and VB in various cultures, and work through language barriers with children, parents, and staff.
Marietta is currently working in the Clinic Director position at Holland Center’s East location in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. In her free time, she enjoys going to cheer on the St. Paul Saints baseball team, spending time with her family at the lake, and playing with her nieces and nephews.