By Nelson A. King From Caribbean Life

Educator, author, researcher, community advocate and TV and radio host Dr. Janice Emanuel-Bunn was born in Guyana and migrated to the United States in 1983 and settled in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Dr. Emanuel-Bunn has always demonstrated great interest in the community by conducting mentoring, domestic violence prevention, health and youth empowerment programs for many years. She said her passion is to “sow seeds of greatness in others.”

She has served the Seventh-day Adventist church in various capacities for more than 20 years. She had served as Sabbath School and communications director of the Guyana Conference. In this capacity, Dr. Emanuel-Bunn trained leaders to carry out their duties with excellence and commitment.

After three decades, her work is still bearing fruit in her homeland, as many leaders attribute their success to the training they received from this humble servant.

Dr. Emanuel-Bunn also spent five years as Sabbath School and Children’s Ministries director of the African, Indian Ocean Division (now West African Division) in Côte d’Ivoire, formerly Ivory Coast. She has the distinction of being the first black female to serve in this capacity.

During her tenor, she is credited for creating a strong and vibrant Children’s Ministries program that transformed the thinking of leaders.

She also conducted scores of training programs in West Africa, Central Africa and the Indian Ocean islands.

On returning from Africa, Emanuel-Bunn continued to pursue her passion for teaching, serving as an adjunct professor at Medgar Evers College for many years.

She also worked at the Bushwick Community Services Society, now Family Services Network of New York, as program director for HIV/AIDS and Harm Reduction Services.

Being a fierce advocate for education, this passion inspired Emanuel-Bunn to establish the Carol Kingston Early Childhood Center in Brooklyn in memory of her best friend.

She said this pre-school is designed to establish foundations of academic excellence and has had tremendous success over the years.

Many of the graduates have gone on to excel in gifted programs in the public school, while others have been accepted in charter schools. The children receive a balanced education focused on academics, cultural diversity and principles of health, Emanuel-Bunn said.

She later went on to work at Cicatelli Associates as coordinator of the AIDS Education Training Center, which provides training to medical providers on HIV/STD prevention.

In addition, Emanuel-Bunn coordinated training programmes for municipal hospitals, in Brooklyn and Staten Island, with the city’s Health and Hospital Corporation. Later, she served as policy analyst at the Haitian Centers Council.

Dr. Emanuel Bunn has been guiding doctoral students for the past 16 years in the completion of their doctoral studies, assisting over 100 students in completing their doctoral degrees.

She is currently a professor at University of Phoenix in the school of Advanced Studies. In this capacity, she serves as chair for many doctoral committees.

“Dr. J”, as she is fondly called, currently serves as president of APC Community Services, a 501 C 3 not-for-profit, community-based organization in Brooklyn.

This organization is responsible for the first Annual Caribbean Wellness Day — a program designed to provide free health screening and health awareness for the entire community.

Last year’s wellness day, in collaboration with Brooklyn Council Members Jumaane Williams and Mathieu Eugene in Paerdegat Park, provided free health screening for the community.

Dr. Emanuel-Bunn is also the originator of the Caribbean Health Summit, which convenes in June each year at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

The summit is designed to sensitize the medical community about the Caribbean community and its culture, health beliefs and the need to reduce health disparities.

This annual event has led to the formation of the Brooklyn Health Equity Task Force, a group tasked by then Sen. Eric Adams, now Brooklyn Borough president, to examine the needs of the community and identify the health disparities.

Dr. Emanuel-Bunn also serves as president of Bunn’s Consulting Services, a full service consulting firm with more than 20 years of consulting experience.

The company offers academic advisement; business plan; curriculum development; fund development; grant and proposal writing; international projects; leadership and management workshops and seminars; program evaluation and research; strategic planning; and youth and family Life.

Having a passion for health, Emanuel-Bunn in 2009 created APC Medical team with her late husband, Frank Bunn, and serves as coordinator of the APC Medical Mission, a team of health professionals, who provide free medical services annually to Guyana.

The mission is now expanded to include the islands of the Caribbean. In March, over 35 medical doctors, dentist and nurses will, for the first time, be providing free medical and dental services to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Since the establishment of this group, Emanuel-Bunn said over 5,000 individuals have received medical and dental services, including surgeries.

Dr. Emanuel has received many awards, but most significant was the Women of Distinction 2010 in New York State – an honor bestowed on her by Adams.

She has presented at many conferences, conducted workshops and seminars in the Caribbean, Africa and United States.

Recently, she was the featured presenter at the Caribbean Union Summit in Trinidad and Tobago; the Women’s Ministry Convention in Stamford, CT; West Palm Beach, FL; and Guyana.

Dr. Emanuel Bunn hosts a programme on Brooklyn Public Access Television called “Impact 4 Life.”

She is also the host of the newly-created radio program on VOPTV, “Eat 4 Vibrant Health,” heard on Sundays from 3: 30 pm. This program is designed to help the community to achieve vibrant health the natural way, Dr. Emanuel-Bunn said.

This phenomenal woman holds a bachelor’s degree in religion from Caribbean Union College, (now Southern Caribbean University); a Master’s of Science Degree in public health from Loma Linda University in California, a Masters of Arts degree in elementary education from Adelphi University in Long Island, and a Ph. D in health services from Walden University in Minneapolis.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2014/2/2014_02_07_nelson_janice_emanuel-bunn.html