Hon. Lanein Blanchette is the Speaker of the St Kitts and Nevis National Assembly. She is a value-driven Attorney-At-Law who was raised in the community of Saddlers Village but has been residing in Green Valley Cayon for the past 14 years.

In 2008, Lanein earned her Bachelor’s Degree with Honours in Criminal Justice from Monroe College, New York. Shortly after her return she landed a secretarial position in 2009 with the Government of Saint Christopher and Nevis in the Ministry of National Security. Her introduction to the public service fueled a passion for helping others while her role in the Ministry exposed her to matters that further provoked her curiosity and desire to explore her love for Criminal Law and the Justice System.

She took a leap of faith in 2012 and enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws programme at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus (Barbados). During her tenure, Lanein served as Vice President of the St Kitts and Nevis Student Association and was also elected Law Society Sports Chairperson 2014-2015 where she was able to continue to pursue her passion for sports alongside her studies. Lanein graduated with honours in 2015 and moved on to pursue an intense legal training at the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica where she obtained her Legal Education Certificate in 2017.

After being called to the Bar in November of that same year, she was able to combine her training and experience from her internships at the Attorney General’s Chambers, Intellectual Property Office and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to serve her Country as a Crown Counsel in the Office of The Director of Public Prosecutions where she prosecuted criminal matters federally in the Magistrates and High Courts until June 2022.

Lanein Blanchette is now the founder and Lead Counsel at Blanchette Law Chambers.

Complimenting her passion for Law is her love for sports; a passion she inherited from her parents. She continues to actively volunteer in community sporting activities in areas of netball and football, Ms Blanchette serves as the President of the Aces Netball Club, and is a member of the St Kitts and Nevis Sport Council. As an ardent supporter of the Cayon Football Club, she often shares with them, her time and talents. She previously served as the St Kitts Netball Association’s Constitutional Chairperson/Volunteer Counsel.

Her personal mantra is to “finish the race strong, no matter how long or hard; slow and steady at all times”.

Hon. Gervais Henrie, MNA is the Deputy Speaker of the Seychelles National Assembly.

He is an award-winning journalist with over 27 years’ experience in radio, television, print and online journalism. He started his career with the national broadcaster, Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) where he worked as a Journalist, Radio Producer & TV Presenter for 15 years. He was also a Correspondent of the Rhodes University based news agency, Highway Africa News Agency from South Africa specialising in ICT reporting.

In September 2011, he founded his own weekly newspaper – Le Seychellois Hebdo – a weekly political newspaper. As well as being adept in the Media profession, he also has an interest in reading, travelling, hiking and the arts.

He first served as a Proportionately Elected Member for the Opposition party, Seychelles National Party (SNP) in the 4th National Assembly of Seychelles which was in session from 2007 to 2011.

In September 2016, he was elected as a member of the 6th National Assembly for the district of Mont Buxton for the Opposition party, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS). In October 2020, he became the first MNA to successfully defend his mandate in the constituency and return to the National Assembly as a ruling party MNA. He was also elevated to the position of Deputy Speaker by his peers.

As well as representing the district of Mont Buxton in the National Assembly, he is also the Chairperson of the Standing Orders Committee and a member of the Scrutiny of Bills Committee.

Marianne Gilchrist is an Aotearoa/New Zealand Qualified Lawyer who consults to a range of national and international clients on legal, policy and people and culture matters. Marianne has worked with prominent organisations such as Deloitte, The World Bank, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the East-West Center.

Marianne is particularly passionate about integrating her knowledge of law with opportunities to empower women and has demonstrated thought leadership on gender issues. Marianne served as an organiser and researcher for the Women20 for the G20 Inaugural Asia-Pacific Dialogue on women’s economic empowerment and conducted research on women’s rights in ASEAN.

Marianne is currently focusing her time on creating global partnerships and convening multi-stakeholder coalitions to advance climate, sustainability and gender equality issues at the Arizona State University (ASU) Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. She leads the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge (global competition for women entrepreneurs who are advancing the SDGs through sustainable business practices) and SDG Training for Parliamentarians (videos and materials to educate key decision makers on advancing the SDGs 5/13).

As a university student, Marianne was an integral member of the Student Volunteer Army, an internationally recognized movement that mobilized students following the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010–2011.