The CARAH Awards are the premiere recognition awards in the Caribbean American community. The 2009 Gala is chaired by Congresswoman Donna Christensen (D-USVI) and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and held under the patronage of the Caribbean Diplomatic corps, and honors and celebrates individuals of Caribbean heritage who have been standard bearers of excellence, and who have made positive contributions to the American and international landscape.
With over 30 years experience in the field of Medicine, Dr. Anthony Nicholas Kalloo stands as a pioneer in the field of gastroenterology. Dr. Kalloo is a distinguished professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, division of gastroenterology. He is the director of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology, having special interests in natural orifice surgery, therapeutic endoscopy, biliary and pancreatic diseases and sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. As a son of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Anthony Kalloo has been instrumental in the creation of Natural Orifice Surgery, a technique that will enable abdominal surgery without the use of incisions. Dr. Kalloo strives to improve the understanding, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal and liver disease worldwide by sharing his knowledge through multiple scientific papers and book chapters. He has also served as Associate Editor of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Dr. Kalloo is the distinguished avant-garde behind several patents including the use of Botulinum Toxin in the gastrointestinal tract, endoscopic cryotherapy and the winged biliary/pancreatic stent. He is a past Panel Chair for Gastroenterology and Urology devices with the United States Food and Drug Administration and a member of the Apollo Group, a think tank endoscopy group. Dr. Kalloo is also the founder and immediate past medical director of The Hopkins Gastroenterology and Hepatology Resource Center (www.hopkins-gi.org), a 3000 page multilingual web resource for patients and physicians. He has received numerous scholarships and honors including: voted Baltimore's Best in Gastroenterology by Baltimore Magazine Faculty, "The 13th Endoscopy Masters Form in 2002," inducted Life Member-Kingston's National Registry of Who's Who in 2002 and in 2009 awarded Educator of the Year by the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Other Honorees include: Hon. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam, Member, Maryland House of Delegates; Willard Wigan MBE, MicroSculptor and 'Icon of the Impossible'; Bert Mitchell, CEO, Bert Smith & Co.; Lynton Scotland, VP Operational Excellence, NRG Energy and Alison Hinds, Soca Diva.
The Gala will be co-hosted by John Blake, Host, Caribbean Experience, WHUR FM 96.3 and Maureen Bunyan, Anchor, ABC TV7.
Past keynote speakers and honorees include: Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados; Black Enterprise publisher Earl Graves, legendary actress Cicely Tyson; Hon. Eric Holder, US Attorney General; Dr. Cato Laurencin, Vice President, University of Connecticut Hospital; and Dr. Velma Scantlebury, Kidney Transplant Surgeon.
