Welcome back to Bring it Back to Beyond the Beach, a series where we catch up with the organizers, attendees and speakers behind our groundbreaking April 28th and 29th conference in Kingston, Jamaica. In this installment, we talk to Nedra Daugherty, EABConnect Project Manager. Nedra is a seasoned workforce development professional for a leading healthcare provider and non-profit health plan who has also worked for several Fortune 500 companies. Nedra has known our founder Martin Babinec for over 30 years—she was one of his first employees at Trinet, a professional employer organization that now has a market cap of over 5 billion dollars. 

When Martin tapped Nedra to join the team at Entrepreneurs Across Borders, she didn’t hesitate. She was drawn to our commitment to connect emerging entrepreneurs with experienced entrepreneurs, something we believe catalyzes the exchange of information and resources that leads to the creation of successful businesses and, ultimately, economic self-sufficiency. Nedra had been to Jamaica several times over the years with her friends and family, making a point on each trip to venture away from the resorts. “We wanted to make sure our dollars went into the communities,” Nedra told us. She brought that same passion for the Jamaican people to Beyond the Beach, calling the program’s mix of talks by esteemed speakers and pitch presentations by entrepreneurs, “TEDx meets Shark Tank.” 

“The day of the event, I could not have anticipated how well the program would run,” Nedra told us. “I could not have anticipated the energy in the room. I could not have anticipated the focus—everyone was absolutely focused on what was going on. Martin said more than once, there weren’t a lot of sidebar or hallway conversations going on…the presentations were obviously extremely important to the people in the room.” 

Nedra was also part of the group from Entrepreneurs Across Borders who traveled to the offices of our partner, leading Jamaican nonprofit Food for the Poor, in Spanish Town. Nedra called the opportunity to speak with the Food for the Poor staff about how we might work  together to help disadvantaged Jamaicans become entrepreneurs “extremely transformative for me.” 

Having leaders like Nedra on our team who are committed to making a difference is essential to EAB, but we also need your help. Find out how here.

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