Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Young Entrepreneur Award - Rayonne Caesar-Chavannes
It is said that disappointments can often become blessings in disguise.

After high school, Rayonne was determined to complete her degree at the University of Toronto and become a medical doctor. However, after failing to graduate with her class in 1996, taking six years to finish her degree, and tarnishing her academic record, her dream seemed to be slipping away.

After getting married in 1999 and giving birth to her first of two daughters, Rayonne decided to return to the University of Toronto, taking an independent undergraduate program in research. This led to a few successful positons as a research assistant, and then to a Masters program in Business Administration at the University of Phoneix.

Though she had achieved great accomplishments in her schooling and her career, she was still unsatisfied due to a desire ‘for more’.

”I finally began to really listen to my inner dialogue, trusted my spirit, and started ReSolve Research Solutions Inc. in 2005”, she explains.

ReSolve Research Solutions Inc. is a Site Management Organization that assists Pharmaceutical Companies in recruiting physicians for upcoming clinical trials. They also manage clinical programs from initiation to closeout, and are a primary contact to many companies for outsourced projects available to Canadian sites.

While working at ReSolve Research Solutions Inc., Rayonne is always mindful to advance the agenda of Black peoples in North America through her commitment to seeing greater visible minority representation in clinical drug trials; which is an issue with more implications than most people realize.

As a strong believer that, “to whom much is given, much is required” she has become involved in the community in a more official manner, with the Congress of Black Women where she is the President of the Ajax-Pickering Chapter, and the Secretary of the Ontario Region..

She adds, “Juggling my responsibilities as the owner of a corporation, the president of an established community organization, and a committed mother and wife, is not always easy, however, in the tradition of the great Black women before me, I ‘make it work’ ".

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