“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.”
Ben Okri
Sherna Alexander Benjamin is a dedicated and value-driven professional guided by strong principles and a dedication to human-centered methodologies. She firmly believes in the power of research, evidence-based approaches, and collaborative initiatives in shaping fair and just societies. With a background in macro-level social work, organizational development, and safeguarding practices, she brings over ten years of experience as a champion for health, economic, spatial, and business equity, social sustainability, leadership development, and the prevention of interpersonal violence in all contexts.
Working in different social and institutional areas to analyze processes and systems, co-creating solutions, and improving capacities to reduce waste and boost productivity to achieve goals, address the unmet needs of clients, and develop strong, anti-fragility, resilient, and peaceful cultures to establish just, healthy, and sustainable systems and practices at different levels. As someone who has overcome severe setback in life including childhood, adolescent, and adult abuse, violence, and poverty, she is a catalyst for change, she continues to use her personal and professional experiences to improve organizational cultures and practices, prevent interpersonal violence and advocate for economic, health, and spatial justice. She also motivates, individuals from low-income and under-resourced families and marginalized communities to rise above their hardships and shape their own futures using innovative practices.
In November 2023, Alexander Benjamin was elected as the vice president of the CEVI, the governing body for the MESECVI at the OAS. She was chosen by the Trinidad and Tobago Spotlight Coordination Unit in 2023 to represent civil society at Women Deliver in Rwanda. Alexander Benjamin holds the position of a Peace Justice and Transformative Leadership Fellow at Gettysburg College’s Peace and Justice Studies Department, and she served as a 2020-2021 International Fellow at Cornel University’s Einaudi Center.
Alexander Benjamin authored chapter 14, entitled “Surviving Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence,” in the book Gender and Domestic Violence in the Caribbean, which was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2021. Benjamin has also contributed extensively to various research project and articles and has written many Op-ed pieces. Recognized both nationally and internationally for her significant contributions, Benjamin was honored with the U.S. President Gold Volunteer Award in 2021 for her commitment to addressing the intersection of Climate and Economic Justice and Violence against Women. Furthermore, she is distinguished as a Climate Reality Leader, having completed training with the esteemed Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project in 2017.
She was honored with the National Medal for the Development of Women Silver by the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 2021, along with the National Youth Ally Award from the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 2014. Additionally, she was recognized in the 2021 Femilist 100 by the Gender Security Project. In 2019, she received a Joint Legislative Resolution from the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey. Alexander Benjamin established The Center for Nonviolence, Research, and Development (CNVRD) (formerly known as O.A.B.I.: Organization for Abused and Battered Individuals, founded in 2008).
Alexander Benjamin graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and a minor in Psychology from Huntington University in the United States. Additionally, she obtained a Diploma in Development Leadership from The COADY Institute at St. Francis Xavier University in Canada, with an elective focus on Gender Justice, Citizenship, and Community Development. Her thematic specialization lies in promoting Accountable Democracies, complemented by leadership specializations in Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding, as well as Advocacy for Increasing Citizens’ Voice and Agency.
She possesses numerous professional certifications, such as Lean Six Sigma, Project Management, Bridges Out of Poverty, as well as certificates in Finance. Currently, she is undertaking an MBA on the Administration Track, with concentrations in Financial Analysis and Decision-Making, Organizational Development, and Quality Management at Huntington University, U.S.A. Additionally, she is pursuing the Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA) Certification. Her dedication to continuous and lifelong learning propels her towards pursuing opportunities leading to a Ph.D., while embracing various academic and professional development paths. These endeavors equip her with the skills and tools required to enhance the quality of her work and service to humanity, assisting her in achieving her goals.
Alexander Benjamin is a writing enthusiast, public speaker, and presenter. She is a realistic optimist with a vision for just, healthy, decolonial, and sustainable societies. Her goal is to create environments where inequity, violence, and oppression cannot thrive against individuals or groups of people. She envisions societies where systems and processes are humanized and powered is shared to enable healthy relationships, families, communities, and institutions.
She draws her guidance from the Almighty Creator Yahweh. She embraces the roles of a mother, mentor, and encourager, exhibiting a deep passion for personal growth, accountability, and responsibility. She holds in high esteem the influence of individuals in instigating change, as well as the importance of positivity, curiosity, and a problem-solving mindset. Furthermore, she recognizes the enduring impact of our ancestors on the shaping of societies and the world, along with the value of culture, diversity, literature, and knowledge. She has a keen appreciation for nature, water, and instances of substantial transformation that provide opportunities for continual advancement promoting radical paradigm shifts.
Never give up on believing you can thrive to create your own story! The significant life challenges that placed you one hundred yards behind the starting line, the doors that decision-makers shut in your face, the instability of porus family structures, and the questioning of your reason for living all converged at different moments in time, creating paths that birthed your various achievements thus far your ability to create and your achievements are not a result of despite of. However, your achievements express the deep longing of your human spirit to create a purpose-driven and extraordinary life in spite of it all.
Sherna Alexander benjamin
Act Justly!
Micah 6:8
Show Mercy!
Walk Humbly!
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