Executive Leadership Team

Dr. Gillian Paul

Vice-President, Sponsored Research and Innovation

Dr. Gillian Paul is the Vice President, Academic Affairs. She served as interim Chief Executive Officer of COSTAATT from September 2002 to June 2004 when the College’s first President was appointed.

Dr. Paul is a Fulbright scholar who holds a doctorate in Higher Education Administration and a Master’s degree in Education from Columbia University, New York, an M.A. in French from the University of South Carolina, and a B.Sc. in French and Spanish from Georgetown University, Washington D. C., U.S.A.

Dr. Paul formerly served as Director of the NIHERST School of Languages and was instrumental in the early development of the College, having been part of the NIHERST team that was given responsibility for the establishment of COSTAATT.

She has served on several national committees including the Task Force on a Seamless Education System, and currently serves on the Steering Committee for the implementation of Spanish (SIS).

Ms. June Alexis-Matthew

Vice President, Institutional Advancement

Ms. June Alexis-Matthew was appointed to the position of Vice President, Institutional Advancement in November 2006.  She previously held the position of Director, Marketing and Public Relations.

She possesses many years’ management and leadership experience in both the private and public sectors within the service industry with emphasis on the travel, hospitality, tourism, marketing and public relations, training and higher education sectors.  She was Managing Director of Hospitality and Events Management Services (HEMS) consulting firm.

Ms. Alexis-Matthew holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Training and Performance Management from Leicester University, UK and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Management Science from Bernard M. Baruch College, New York.

She is an assessor for City and Guilds, UK, a professional development trainer and has also lectured in marketing, tourism and hospitality education. She has served on the boards of the Trinidad Hotels and Tourism Association and the Association of Caribbean Higher Education Administrators (ACHEA) and the Association of Female Executives of Trinidad & Tobago (AFETT).

Ms. Geneva Sampson

Vice President, Finance and Administration

Ms Geneva Sampson brings to the College a wealth of experience in Financial and Cost Accounting having held senior positions in the field including, Finance & Accounts Manager, Chief Accountant and Audit Senior at various state and private enterprises. She last held the position of Chief Financial Officer at the Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Company Limited.

Ms Sampson specializes in Finance and Treasury Management. She is a Member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (ACCA) and possesses an MBA for Financial Managers & Finance Professionals from the Manchester Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of the West Indies.

Dr. Camille Samuel

Vice President, Student Affairs

Dr. Camille Samuel currently holds the position of Vice President Student Affairs.  She possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience in both academia and enterprise management, having held several senior academic positions at the University of the West Indies. Dr. Samuel has led many strategic management interventions at both public and private institutions, locally and regionally, and also serves as academic advisor to Masters’ students at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business and is a member of the school’s adjunct faculty. She is also an academic supervisor at the University of the Netherlands.

Dr. Samuel has an extensive and diverse background in strategic leadership and has anchored many student-centred initiatives at the University of the West Indies.  She is profoundly committed to student development and the deepening of linkages with industry partners.

Dr. Samuel holds a Ph.D. in Corporate Turnaround and Gendered Leadership from the University of the West Indies; an MBA in Corporate Strategy and Economic Policy from the Maastricht School of Management in The Netherlands; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and Management from The University of the West Indies.

Mrs. Naseem Koylass

Vice President, Academic Affairs

Mrs. Naseem Koylass was appointed Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs in November 2009. She holds a M.Sc in Economics, a Diploma in Educational Administration and a B.Sc. Economics from the University of the West Indies.

She has considerable experience in teaching and in higher education administration both in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region. She was a senior lecturer (economics and mathematics) and department head at the St. Arthur Lewis Community College in St. Lucia until 1998 when she joined NIHERST and spearheaded the development of the Business Studies Department which has since grown to be one of the largest departments within COSTAATT. Mrs. Koylass is current a doctoral learner pursuing studies in educational leadership, curriculum and instruction.

Dr. Merle Hoyte

Dean of Students

Dr. Merle Hoyte is the Dean of Students for all COSTAATT campuses. She brings to the College a wealth of experience gained from teaching, counselling and educational administration acquired in the United Kingdom, the United States and in Trinidad and Tobago.

She holds a Masters Degree in Education and a PhD in Counseling Education from the University of Buffalo. She spent nineteen years in several senior positions at the University of Buffalo, and also served as the Associate Director of the Equal Opportunity Programme (EOP), where she worked to expand access to higher education for the underserved population from the inner cities of New York City, Buffalo and environs.

Upon her return to Trinidad and Tobago in the late 1980’s, she spearheaded the development of the NIHERST Student Services Division which was the foundation for the development of the Division of Student Affairs at COSTAATT.

Mrs. Rhonda Earle

Corporate Secretary

Mrs. Rhonda Earle joined COSTAATT in October 2006 in the position of Corporate Secretary. An Attorney at Law admitted to practice in Trinidad and Tobago in 1986, she holds a BA (Hons.) and an LLB (Hons.) from the University of the West Indies and a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School.

She has been engaged in practice as an attorney in both private and public sector enterprise at National Petroleum Marketing Company Limited (NP), Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (PETROTRIN) and Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT).

Mr. Sherwyn Millette

Dean, School of Business and Information Technologies

Sherwyn Millette has been involved in higher education for over fourteen years. Early in his career he worked at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga and joined the COSTAATT team in 2001 contributing significantly to its growth since then. He has worked in the capacity of lecturer, senior lecturer, department chair and now holds the position of Dean, School of Business and Information Technologies.

He holds a Masters of Business Administration-Marketing and is currently pursuing a DBA in Higher Education Management from the University of Bath. As an administrator in higher education, he has led diverse academic committees that have developed new programmes for the College over the years, namely the country’s first Bachelor degree in entrepreneurship.   As a pioneer in the development of Entrepreneurship at the College he leads the team to develop the Family Enterprise Development and Research Institute (F.E.D.R.I.) which will serve as a catalyst for more focused business development amongst COSTAATT’s student body.  His personal credo “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door” is used to motivate students, faculty and staff in ensuring the overall success of the School.

Ms. Anjenny Dwarika

Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs

Mr. Neil Sylvester

Dean, School of Liberal Arts and Human Services

Neil Sylvester was appointed Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Human  Services in September , 2009. He has been at COSTAATT since October, 2001 and has also held the posts of   Lecturer Transitional Studies, Senior Lecturer and Chair in the Department of Mathematics.

He is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and holds Masters Degrees in Business Administration (Finance Option) and Applied Mathematics (Fluid Dynamics), a Diploma in Educational Administration and a B.Sc. General.

Before COSTAATT, Mr. Sylvester was employed at St. Joseph’s Convent Port of Spain which he left in 2001 as head of the department of mathematics.

Mr. Sylvester has been spearheading an outreach programme to at risk youth resident at correctional facilities in this country. This is considered a major project of the School of Liberal Arts and Human Services and officially began in June 2010. It is his hope that this would assist in the transformation and rehabilitation of these young men and women who are to be reintegrated into the wider society. The project is ongoing and is heavily supported by full-time faculty at the College.

Ms. Lalita Ramlal-Chirkoot

Dean, School of Continuing Education & Lifelong Learning

Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs

Ms. Clarinda Jack

Dean, Ken Gordon School of Journalism & Communication Studies

From as far back as she can remember, Clarinda Jack has been driven by a passion for pedagogy.

She joined COSTAATT in 2005 as a Senior Lecturer, bringing more than 15 years of teaching experience. She previously taught students of diverse backgrounds and educational levels, including in private high schools and urban senior comprehensives. She spent three of those years as a secondary school teacher in Grand Cayman.

In addition to a Diploma in Education, Ms. Jack holds a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English from the University of the West Indies.

As Chair of the Languages, Literature and Communication Studies Department, Ms. Jack co-wrote the proposal for the School of Journalism and Communication Studies. Journalism was her first love and she is now the acting Dean of the College’s newly opened flagship Ken Gordon School of Journalism and Communication Studies.

Those who interface with her within the classroom or without find a warm, welcoming personality and a receptive ear.

Ms. Carla Alonzo

Vice President, Organisational Transformation / Chief of Staff