Ruth
Montgomery
Calypso Project Lead
Born deaf in a musical family, Ruth is a professional musician, teacher and flautist.
Ruth founded charity Audiovisability in 2016 to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing artists. She recognises the innate talent of deaf musicians and artists through the forging of partnerships, music education, and innovative thinking.
Bonnie
Leonce
ASL Interpreter & Campaigner
Bonnie Leonce is an American Sign Language Interpreter by profession & has been so for over 25 years. She holds an Associate of Arts Degree in Interpreter Training from Mount Aloysius College, a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in ASL/English Interpreting (Hons) & a Master’s of Science Degree in Interpreting Pedagogy, both from the University of North Florida.
Barbados Council for the Disabled
Charity Organisation
The Barbados Council for the Disabled supports persons with disabilities from all walks of life, be they resident or visitors.
An umbrella body covering a wide cross-section of persons, both disabled non-disabled, they aim to ‘effect change & champion the rights of all persons with disabilities, ensuring their full & effective integration into society’.
Lionel
Smith
Deaf Community Liason
A former pupil of Irving Wilson School for the Deaf, Lionel has worked in many different roles such as a sign language tutor and camp counsellor for the NDU. He is currently the President Advisor at Barbados Horizons Deaf Charity having served as the President for ten years. He is very involved in supporting other local charitable networks in Barbados and the deaf community as a whole.
Sean
Forbes
Rapper & Song writer
Sean Forbes is a deaf American hip-hop artist and co-founder of D-PAN (The Deaf Professional Arts Network).
In 2012, Sean released a full-length CD/DVD album titled Perfect Imperfection and toured the world to promote the record. Forbes performed in the 2022 Super Bowl LVI halftime show in ASL.
Warren ‘Wawa’
Snipe
Rapper & Music video director
Warren Snipe (Wawa) is a deaf writer, rapper, actor and performer. He was featured in the R&B artist Maxwell's "Fingers Crossed" lyric video and has completed an album called Deaf: So What. He graduated from Gallaudet and also a founding member of the Wild Zappers, an all-male deaf dance company.
Teddy
Calderon
Music producer, Barbados
Bajan Music producer and CEO of Audio Labb Studios, Teddy Calderon has been in the music business for more than 17 years. Working globally as a composer, producer, audio engineer, video-producer and entrepreneur, Teddy also works in the film industry with recognised companies such as Sony, NBC, ESPN and the BBC.
Belle
Holder
Belle is a multiple award-winning Television Producer/presenter and PR & Media Communications Consultant with more than 20 years in the business. She has worked with CBC-Barbados; Channel M, City TV, Chum and CFRO in Vancouver BC, Canada. She is a passionate media professional, who continues to exercise a committed approach to every project, large or small.
Adrean
Mangiardi
Filmmaker
Adrean Mangiardi, Founder of Mangiardi Films, is a veteran deaf filmmaker with over 15 years experience.
Adrean is known for abstract thinking, unique creative outputs, and being quick on his feet and having worked with industry giants Google and Microsoft. He has worked extensively with Sean on the production of his music videos.
Jake
Bass
Music producer
Jake Bass is one of the individuals re-defining Detroit and Music. An accomplished musician, Jake also produces and performs. Having started his journey at the age of 8, by age 13 Jake began writing and producing original hip-hop, pop and rock songs, building a large vast library of dynamic sounds, audio tracks and future-proof compositions. This project is the latest Forbes collab.
Barbados
Community College
Steel pans & percussion
BCC exists to meet the changing education, training and development needs of the societies that it serves, by providing a range of courses and programmes of study in a learning environment conducive to the intellectual, physical and social development of students and staff so that they can make a meaningful contribution to their country, region and the wider world community.
Calypso Project Producer
Alicia is a producer with many years’ experience in the business of event management. As a Cultural Officer at the National Cultural Foundation in Barbados, she has developed numerous developmental programme, productions and stage events. Alicia joined The Deaf Heart Project family in 2019 and is currently the Director of Business Development and Marketing Management for the team.
Alicia Payne
Hurley
Stephen
Iliffe
Photographer and writer
Stephen is a freelance writer/photographer whose passion is using text and images to bring stories to life.
His career spans over 30 years and includes BBC, Channel Four, The Guardian and various children’s publishers.
Stephen’s work was selected to appear in the prestigious Portrait of Britain 2018 book.
Sandra
David
Specialist Teacher of the Deaf
Sandra has over 30 years of experience in deaf education, including being a deputy head. Sandra herself is profoundly deaf, & the third generation of a deaf family. She has trained teachers both in the UK & internationally, her lifelong passion is sharing best practice promoting positive change in deaf education around the world.
Dr Penny
Moore
Researcher
Dr Penny Moore holds a DPhil (PhD) in Psychology, and MSc in Research Methods from the University of Oxford, Christ Church College. She has served as Lecturer in Psychology at University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Penny has a personal interest in the power of music since her sister is deaf, having lost her hearing to Meningitis.