The Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Paloma Mohammed, is among eight outstanding female alums of the Queen’s College of Guyana who will be honored this year with the Distinguished Jubilee Award marking the 50th anniversary of co-education at the college. The awards will be at an Anniversary Gala on Saturday, May 17, at Terrace-on-the-Park in Queens.
Dr. Paloma Mohamed graduated from Queen’s College in 1986. She is currently the 11th Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana and the first woman to lead that institution in its 60-year history. A scholar and thought leader with an international footprint, Professor Mohamed has studied at the University of Guyana, the University of the West Indies, Harvard University (HIES), and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada.
She has written and edited 11 books, chaired the Research Advisory Board of the Caribbean Examinations Council, and still occasionally teaches Communication, Health Behavior, Psychology, Research, and Academic Ethics. She is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Service and the Golden Arrow of Achievement.
Other honorees include Grace Aneiza Ali, a 1995 graduate of Queen’s College. She is an internationally acclaimed curator, scholar, author, and advocate whose work is noted for elevating Guyanese narratives and enhancing the global visibility of Guyana’s rich cultural heritage. Her groundbreaking book, Liminal Spaces: Migration and Women of the Guyanese Diaspora, is the first and only anthology of its kind, offering profound insights into migration, gender, and identity among Guyanese women.
Naomi Barkoye is a 2024 graduate of Queen’s College, where her consistent and exceptional academic and sports achievements have earned her highest honors and accolades.
While competing both regionally and internationally as a member of Guyana’s Women’s Under-19 cricket team, Barkoye successfully achieved 14 Grade 1s at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) in 2022, before going on to excel at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) with 8 Grade 1s and four Grade 2s.
She is also a former captain of the QC table tennis and basketball teams and a leading member of the school’s chess, volleyball, and debate clubs and law society. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Law degree at the University of Guyana.
Moriah Hamilton graduated from Queen’s College four years ago and is now a 2025 graduate of Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering.
She is also now a newly named 2025-2026 Schwarzman Scholar, one of only 10 scholars chosen from 5,000 candidates worldwide to pursue a fully funded master’s degree program in Global Affairs at the Schwarzman College of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
Dr. Jo’Ann Jackson graduated from Queen’s College in 1992. She is the Chief Medical Officer of Advantia Health’s Mid-Atlantic Division and a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist in Washington, DC, with over 20 years of experience. Dr. Jackson is also a Managing Physician at Reiter, Hill & Johnson of Advantia, where she sees patients from puberty through menopause.
Jackson provides obstetric and surgical care for her patients at Sibley Memorial Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Her peers have named him a Washingtonian Top Doctor every year since 2018.
Melanie McTurk-Kirkpatrick graduated from Queen’s College in 1992. She is a celebrated trailblazer in tourism and conservation in Guyana, where she has dedicated more than two decades of her career to fostering sustainable practices that align economic growth with environmental preservation.
She is Chair of the Protected Areas Trust of Guyana and Managing Director of Karanambu Lodge, where she has been pivotal in promoting eco- and wildlife-friendly tourism that showcases the stunning biodiversity and unique culture of Guyana’s Rupununi region.
Yvonne Nelson Eastman graduated from Queen’s College in 1977. She is a career educator and award-winning international athlete with a Bachelor of Arts in English and History and two Master of Science degrees in Multi-Cultural Education and Education Administration.
In 1975, she was among the first cohort of young women to enter Queen’s College, where she excelled in both academia and sports, becoming its first Sportswoman of the Year for two consecutive years. She then went on to represent Guyana at several international sports events in Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, and Romania, bringing home numerous gold medals.
In addition to her prowess in track and field, she also represented the University of Guyana in table tennis, netball, and badminton.
She holds the New York City Peer Collaborative Teacher Leader (PCT) title.
Sonya Indira Roopnauth graduated from Queen’s College in 1989. She is a former Permanent Secretary in Guyana’s Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry and its Ministry of Health. She currently serves as Budget Director in the Ministry of Finance.
A Golden Arrow of Achievement recipient, Ms. Roopnauth holds a master’s degree in Economic Policy Management from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and post-graduate studies in budgeting from Harvard University. Strategic Planning and Budget Management, Econometrics, and International Development Research.
The enrollment of girls at Queen’s College occurred in 1975, approximately 130 years after the premier institution opened its doors as an Anglican Church grammar school providing an elite education for boys. Girls who had excelled at the national Common Entrance examination in 1975 were admitted to the 1st Form. Girls were transferred from Bishop’s High School into 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and Lower 6th Forms. Within two years, all forms were fully integrated. Today, the college remains one of the premier secondary institutions in Guyana and the Caribbean.
“The conferment of these awards honors the accomplishments of eight outstanding women whose exceptional achievements in their respective fields of professional endeavor and public life best exemplify the qualities of excellence, leadership, service and integrity inculcated by our alma mater,“ said John Campbell, president of the New York Chapter of the Queen’s College of Guyana Alumni Association.
“Although co-education is still a relatively recent innovation in the 180-year history of our school, the women of Queen’s College have been our greatest success story of the past 50 years, and we are pleased and proud to celebrate their outstanding contributions on this semi-centennial anniversary,“ said Campbell.
This year’s Jubilee Award honorees were selected from an international cast of eminently qualified candidates nominated for their superlative accomplishments across a wide range of disciplines, including scholarship, sports, and the professions, and for their record of exemplary service to Queen’s College and Guyana.
The hosts are Selwyn Hinds and Corinne Locke. Proceeds from the event will support ongoing development projects. To purchase tickets, please visit https://tinyurl.com/qcaany2025gala.
The mission of the Brooklyn-based, 501(C)3 not-for-profit is to support the stability of Queen’s College and its ongoing contribution to academic excellence in Guyana.
To learn more, please email QCAANY at [email protected]. You can also visit us online at www.qcguyanaalumny.org and https://www.facebook.com/qcguyanaalumny.
