Bios

Eric Leopold Edwards

CRPC Senior Associate

Leo Edwards, a citizen of Jamaica and the USA, studied at Howard University in Washington, D.C. majoring in Philosophy and Psychology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

For over thirty years he worked in Washington, D.C. in such capacities as Research Assistant, Bureau of Social Science Research; Research Associate, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at Howard University; and Senior Research Associate and Lecturer in the Urban Studies Program at Howard University.

During that period he conducted research, teaching, training and writing in fields including education, organizational development, public administration, health care and drug abuse. He has also served as a consultant to Federal, State and Local Government organizations, as well as to Private Institutions and Foundations, Private Businesses, and Civic Organizations.

From 1976 to 1988 Mr. Edwards served as Executive Director of Technical Associates, Inc., a consulting firm providing services to Third World countries with special emphasis on the English-speaking Caribbean countries. His work with Technical Associates, Inc., concentrated on problems related to the socio-economic development of the Caribbean Region with special emphasis on USA/Caribbean relations and the problems of the international debt crisis.

Mr. Edwards is the Founder, former President and former General Secretary of the Caribbean American Intercultural Organization of Washington, D.C. (1958-1978). He is also the Founding President of the Council of Caribbean Organizations, Inc., and was Chairman of the Board of Directors of TransAfrica D.C. Metropolitan Chapter (1978-2008). From 1983 to 1992 he served as Chairman of the Jamaica Independence Celebration Committee for Washington and Baltimore Metropolitan areas. In July 1991 he became a Founding Member and Secretary of the Jamaica Nationals Development Foundation; and in 1997 he became a Founding Member and Member of the Board of Directors of the National Coalition on Caribbean Affairs (NCOCA).

Since 1991 he has served on the Board of Directors of the United Nations Association: National Capital Area, and has been a member of the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C.

He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Caribbean-American Advisory Group (CAAG) to the Chief Executive of Montgomery County, Maryland.

In 1976 Mr. Edwards was awarded the Order of Distinction (Officer) by the Government of Jamaica for “the promotion of cultural relations between the United States and the Countries of the Caribbean with special reference to Jamaica”.

He has been the recipient of numerous other awards, including:

• Community Service Award (USA Africa, 1991)
• The International Alumni Recognition Award (Howard University, 1991)
• Distinguished Public Service Award (Mayor, Washington, D.C. 1996)
• Lifetime Achievement Award (Jamaican Association of Maryland, 1991; Caribbean American Intercultural Organization and Council of Caribbean Organizations, 1996; and West Indian Foundation, Inc., Hartford, Connecticut, 1999)
• Cultural Diversity Awareness Award (Howard University, 2001).