The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) is honored and excited to welcome two new members to its leadership this quarter: Nicole Lee Bayard, who joined the Board of Directors, and Charlot Lucien, who joined the Advisory Council.

Nicole Lee Bayard is a diversity, equity and inclusion expert, leadership coach, nationally recognized speaker and strategist who regularly consults with nonprofits, schools, businesses, political and social movements to improve their climate for themselves and all those that they serve. She is also the founder of Inclusive Life™, a movement centered on infusing inclusion through all levels of daily life, and a co-founder of the Black Movement-Law Project (BMLP), an organization that provides legal and strategy assistance to Movement For Black Lives affiliates and human rights organizations operating in local communities. 

Although new to the Board, Nicole has been supporting our human rights work since 2002, when she worked for the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) in Haiti after law school. IJDH collaborated extensively with Nicole during her decade as President of TransAfrica, where she worked with leaders and advocates across the globe to advocate for a just U.S. foreign policy. Nicole is a trusted spokesperson who has given testimony before the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, and other international bodies. 

Nicole has commentated on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and BBC. She has been recognized for her outstanding contributions in the private and public sectors through numerous awards, including Congressional Black Caucus, Running Starts “Women to Watch”, Black Women’s Roundtable TrailBlazer, Global Leadership, and the National Newspapers Publishers Association’s Press Champion Award.

Charlot Lucien is an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) scholar at the University of Massachusetts (Boston), where he presents lectures focusing on the historical connections between the U.S. and Haiti as part of his Master’s Degree in International Relations. He has presented for years on Haiti’s culture and history in various academic and cultural venues in the U.S., France, Haiti, and Canada, often examining the intersections between the U.S. abolitionist movement and the Haitian revolution (Mapping Haiti Onto the U.S. History). A Haitian storyteller, visual artist, and the founder of the Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachusetts, he often uses art to raise awareness about civil rights and humanitarian issues impacting Haitians in Haiti and abroad and to help change entrenched stereotyped narratives about Haiti.

He holds membership with various civic/humanitarian organizations, including the Groupe of Reflection and Action for a New Haiti (GRAHN), the West African Research Association (WARA), Société des poètes francophones, the Haitian Americans United Inc. (HAU), The National Museum of African American History and Culture, Haiti Projects, etc. He has received several awards for his cultural contributions from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Boston, the Haitian Roundtable 1804 Haitian Americans Changemakers List, and other institutions.

Although he is new to the Advisory Council, Charlot has been informally advising IJDH on advocacy strategy and politics in Haiti and the U.S. and Haiti for a decade. BAI and IJDH have been honored to appear on Charlot’s Tele Kreyol public affairs television program, and to collaborate with him on HAU initiatives to advance justice for Haitians in the U.S. and for victims of the UN cholera epidemic in Haiti. 

IJDH looks forward to Nicole and Charlot contributing even more to our fight for justice in Haiti now that they are formally on board!