Utilizing the power of technology to solve problems

Aliyah claims to have “stumbled” upon the technology industry. After applying to an internship working with a local tech startup in the Atlanta area, she was exposed to the fundamental aspects of starting and running a successful technology startup. Following several months of working under the company’s CFO, Aliyah saw the endless opportunity that could be seized just by identifying a need and creating a solution. She realized that you didn’t have to be the smartest person or have an extensive background in tech. Rather, all you needed was one single great idea and an unstoppable team that she could lean on for support. While Aliyah’s liberal arts education introduced her to technology and the world of entrepreneurship, her time spent on capitol hill led her to better understand the needs of the government and its people. These cumulative experiences are what prompted Aliyah to reflect on the type of life that she wished to pursue and the change that she could catalyze in the Virgin Islands and maybe even the world. This is how Avera was born. During her senior year at Agnes Scott, Aliyah co-founded Avera as an opportunity to stimulate growth not just in the Virgin Islands but across the Caribbean region. She aspires to play a role in establishing economic independence in the Caribbean both on a regional and personal level.

Dr. Bill Buchar, a medical provider with over fifteen years of experience in starting, growing, operating, and managing a multi million dollar healthcare organization that evolved into incorporating real estate and private equity investments.

Born on the island of St. Croix, Kemia is a product of industry-renowned Full Sail University and has worked with leaders in multiple industries on the mainland.. She is a multidisciplinary designer who has brought Avera to life with her creative talent in graphic design and her understanding of Caribbean culture. Kemia works with businesses across various industries building their brands and executing their vision. Kemia has returned to the Virgin Islands to drive opportunities in local business.

Marcus J. Carey is currently the founder and CEO at Threatcare and has 20 years of cybersecurity experience. Marcus has worked in penetration testing, incident response, and digital forensics with federal agencies such as NSA, DC3, DIA, and DARPA. Marcus has applied for a patent on prior research related to information security and earned a Masters of Science in Network Security from Capitol College.

Dr. Vincent Reid, MD is a General Surgery Specialist in Cedar Rapids, IA and has over 21 years of experience in the medical field. Dr. Reid has more experience with Breast Cancer than other specialists in his area. He graduated from University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine medical school in 1999. Dr. Reid’s extensive medical background will be of great use when it comes to medical advice and being born and raised in Jamaica he comes with a cultural understanding of the country.

Darace has been providing the technological infrastructure for the Canadian cannabis industry since 2014. The marijuana technology company he was an early executive at Ample Organics, has become a world leader in the cannabis industry under his leadership. Today, nearly 80% of the Canadian market uses the Ample Organics seed-to-sale software platform to track and report every stage of their growth, production, and sales processes. Built to facilitate compliance with the world’s most comprehensive regulations in the first G7 nation to legalize cannabis for medical and recreational use, Ample Organics, is now available in Jamaica, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Poland, and Germany. He has experience managing the technological infrastructure for a huge variety of cannabis businesses. From craft growers with small teams to national retailers with thousands of employees, he's dedicated to providing the cannabis community with reliable, sustainable, and scalable tools.
More broadly, Darace Rose has been a leading Information Technology professional for more than 15 years. As a technology leader, he’s climbed the corporate technology ladder, all the while reaching back to bring others up. Most recently, his work with TechBeach Retreat has brought technology-related events and awareness to the rapidly emerging tech industry of the Caribbean.
In mid-2019, Darace and partner George Plytas formed Oppos - a Regulatory Compliance software firm focused on ensuring Healthcare related technology companies are operating at the highest Information security standards and leverage AI-driven technology to make Regulatory Compliance frameworks and associated processes easier for SMB organizations to manage.

Chelsea Williams is a people enthusiast and a creative soul. Her unique skill set is informed by her colorful expressions in art as a commercial muralist and art instructor; and as a social media marketing expert. She has significant experience developing engaging and compelling content across multiple media platforms.
Chelsea is a native of the Caribbean islands. She was born in St. John’s, USVI and grew up in Dominica. Though she migrated to the United States in 2006, she maintains rich ties to her West Indian heritage.
Chelsea credits her deep connection to her cultural roots for her ability to be wildly imaginative. If asked, or if you’ve ever been a client, she will tell you that her creative expressions are guided by the essence of her soul. Her social media skills range from writing content, creating graphic work, self-publishing and acquiring backlinks, all valuable tools used in managing a successful boost in online presence.
Her demonstration of various online marketing skills help clients to distribute across different online platforms to reach strategic audiences or target markets. She is accustomed to creating different types of content such as infographics, social media posts, webinars, videos, and blogs.
In addition to Chelsea’s well structured life as an entrepreneur she maintains presence and supports others in their quest to find connectivity, individuality, and peace as a spiritual coach. She is a certified Reiki, and Feng Shui Practitioner, the effectiveness of these practices is widely known antidotes for maintaining Stress-free living. She practices her work in her spare time under the guidance of Pure U Coaching, Dr. Karen E Wells and Soulremember Academy.
As a people enthusiast, her attention to detail, organization, and ability to listen and interpret the needs of her clients allows her to excel at customer relations.

Les Hollis, Founder of Hollis Ventures, has two decades of experience as an investment banker, private equity investor and entrepreneur. Recently, Les has been focused on the burgeoning legal cannabis industry, investing out of his holding company (Hollis Ventures, LLC). Les has put together investor groups and applications in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arkansas and Maryland. In aggregate, Les has raised over $30 million for his medical cannabis entities. Les was introduced to the legal cannabis space in 2014 by putting together a group of investors in Illinois to form Illinois Grown Medicine (“IGM”), and from 2014-2017 served as its CEO where he oversaw operational oversight for a dispensary and a cultivation site; he currently maintains an equity stake. Notably, in 2015 IGM became the only African-American owned and operated medical cannabis company to be awarded either a cultivation or dispensary license in the State of Illinois.
Prior to joining IGM, Les served as a merchant banker for his own investment banking firm (Quaestus Capital) making investments in a range of industries. Prior to founding Quaestus in 2011, Les was a founder of Bivium Capital Partners, LLC, a fund-of-funds investment manager, and served as its chief executive officer from its inception in 2002 until his departure in 2010. During his tenure as CEO, Les was a member of the firm’s investment committee and responsible for the overall direction of the firm, which raised $1.5 billion from many of the world’s largest, most respected pension funds. His clients included the corporate pension funds for IBM and PG&E; the States of Connecticut, Maryland, and Michigan; as well as New York City, San Francisco, Alameda County and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.
Les previously was employed at Epoch Partners, a start-up investment bank backed by Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers; Benchmark Capital; and Trident Capital. Epoch Partners was sold to Goldman, Sachs & Co. in July 2001. Earlier, Les worked for the communications, media and entertainment group of Goldman, Sachs & Co., advising clients regarding capital formation and mergers and acquisitions.
Les holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Cornell University and a Master’s degree from Columbia Business School, where he was a Robert Toigo Foundation fellow and was elected vice president of the student body. Les is a member of Beta Boule, Sigma Pi Phi fraternity and resides outside of Chicago in Winnetka, Illinois with his wife and two daughters.