Island Icons Honors 2025

Celebrating Caribbean Excellence in Business, Culture & Innovation

Island Icons is where Caribbean excellence takes center stage. Hosted by Carib Biz Network, this annual celebration honors the fearless founders, creators, and innovators shaping culture and commerce across the diaspora. This November—National Entrepreneurship Month—we spotlight the bold and brilliant Caribbean entrepreneurs who power the U.S. economy (and beyond) with innovation, creativity, and grit.

They are the dreamers who turned ideas into impact.

The storytellers who turned culture into currency.

The leaders who turned struggle into strength.

Their work moves our communities forward—creating jobs, preserving culture, and inspiring generations to come.

This is more than an awards night.

It’s a movement to celebrate legacy, leadership, and the limitless spirit of the Caribbean.

Date: Nov 6th 2025

Time: 6:30 - 10:30 PM ET

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Get Tickets Now!

MEET OUR 2025 HONOREES

Marc Kwesi Farrell

2025 Diaspora Trailblazer of the Year

Marc Kwesi Farrell is a Trinidadian entrepreneur, beverage innovator, and founder & CEO of Ten To One Rum.

Born and raised in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Farrell moved to the U.S. to attend MIT at age 16, where he studied chemical engineering. He went on to earn a Master’s in Philosophy at Cambridge and an MBA at Harvard Business School.

Before venturing into spirits, Farrell held leadership roles at Starbucks, becoming the company’s youngest vice president, overseeing eCommerce, beverage innovation, and U.S. retail operations. He also has experience in management consulting and private equity.

Under his leadership, Ten To One has rapidly grown into one of the most awarded rum brands in the U.S., distributed across dozens of states. Farrell is passionate about elevating Caribbean spirits on the global stage, reshaping narratives around rum, and harnessing authentic cultural storytelling to drive consumer connection.

Dr. Judith Joseph

2025 Wellness & Resilience Vanguard Award

Dr. Judith Joseph MD MBA is a board-certified psychiatrist, researcher and award-winning content creator who specializes in mental health for children and adults. She is chair of the women in medicine initiative at Columbia University and professor of psychiatry at NYU where she teaches doctors how to use media to educate the public. She is also an official Masterclass and Linkedin learning course instructor. She gave the first congressional recording studios talk on Caribbean-American mental health alongside Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in June 2024.

Dr. Judith is the Principal Investigator at her own research lab in Manhattan which conducted the first peer-reviewed clinical research study in high functioning depression in the world. Her lab has conducted over 100 clinical research studies in psychiatry and neurology. Her National Bestselling Book “High Functioning” published in April 2025 is based on her original research and is now published in over 20 countries and over 17 languages. The United Nations selected Dr. Judith to teach a workplace mental health course to their employees for World Mental Health in 2025, due to the global appeal of her work.

Dr. Judith’s social media advocacy and research earned her a Congressional Proclamation award from the US House of Representatives in 2023 and she has taught workplace mental health courses at prestigious institutions including at the White House at The Executive Office of The President of the United States as recently as May 2024 under the Biden-Harris Administration. She is a NAACP top 6 Mental health champion and a 2025 CNN Gamechanger. Her focus is how to reclaim joy as a form of resilience and resistance no matter what your setting is. She has over 1 million followers across all platforms and her evidence-based mental health content has over 15 million views monthly across the world.

Marlon Nichols

2025 Founders of the Future Award

Marlon Nichols is the co-founder and Managing General Partner of MaC Venture Capital, a leading seed-stage firm renowned for backing visionary founders who redefine industries. Under his leadership, MaC has grown into one of North America’s largest seed-stage venture firms, surpassing $600 million in assets under management (AUM). In October 2024, the firm announced the closing of its third fund ($150 million), further solidifying its influence in the early-stage investment landscape.

Marlon’s portfolio includes industry-defining companies such as Airspace, Blavity, FINESSE, Gimlet Media, MongoDB, Pipe, Purestream, Thrive Market, and Shekel Mobility, among others. His keen eye for transformative opportunities has earned him widespread recognition, including consecutive placements on Los Angeles Business Journal’s LA500 (2022–2025) and Business Insider’s Seed 100 (Top Early-Stage Investors) for four years. Additionally, he ranks 25th on the Kauffman Fellows Fund Returners Index and has been featured in PitchBook’s 25 Black Founders and VCs to Watch for six years.

His expertise is frequently sought by top media outlets such as Axios, CNBC, Fortune, and more.A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Marlon serves on the board of Kauffman Fellows, working to expand representation for underrepresented minorities in venture capital. With a unique blend of technology acumen and leadership principles shaped by his athletic background, he actively mentors CEOs, fosters strategic partnerships, and helps founders scale their businesses into market leaders.

Atiba Edwards

2025 Legacy of Leadership Award

Atiba T. Edwards is President & CEO of Brooklyn Children’s Museum (BCM). Prior to his role as President & CEO, he spent four years as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at BCM, overseeing visitor experience, finance and human resources, building operations, and marketing.

Prior to BCM, he was the Director of Operations at a middle school within the Uncommon Schools network. Atiba began his career as a Fixed Income Research Analyst at JPMorgan’s Investment Bank, where he covered the automotive sector and was ranked #1 each year by Institutional Investors. Following JPMorgan, he transitioned to Nomura Securities to assist with the build out of the firm’s high grade and high-yield fixed income research divisions. While in college, Atiba also co-founded and still runs FOKUS, a non-profit organization that connects and builds community through arts.

Atiba was born on the island of St. Vincent & The Grenadines, grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn and still lives in Brooklyn. He graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in Industrial Operations & Engineering and Liberal Arts, with a focus on poetry and musicology.