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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Embassy of The Bahamas in Washington, D.C., continues its highly acclaimed “YOUNG BAHAMIANS CONVERSATION SERIES” on Friday, October 2, 2015, at the Embassy, 2220 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., with a presentation by Dr. Peter Blair, Assistant Professor of Economics at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.
Presented under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, the “YOUNG BAHAMIANS CONVERSATION SERIES” is an initiative aimed at providing a forum for young Bahamians in the diaspora “to present and dialogue on their research or work and cultivate ideas for the betterment of The Bahamas.”
Previous presentations have been made by Ms. Aisha Bowe, a Bahamian aerospace engineer, who has worked as a researcher at the NASA Ames Research Center and is currently is CEO and Founder of STEMBoard, and Ms. Tenaj Ferguson, Founder and CEO of Lady Epicure Gourmet.
Dr. Blair will present on the topic: "In Between The Bahamas and Baha Mar: How Important is Foreign Direct Investment for Economic Growth?"
The son of seven boys born to Leslie M. Blair and Judith C. Blair of Nassau, Dr. Blair’s intellectual curiosity for economics developed from his experience as a young entrepreneur. On weekends, along with his mother and six brothers, he sold fruits and vegetables in the Nassau Straw Market, and these fledgling experiences with economic tools in a business context motivated him to study the role that economics plays in the day-to-day lives of households.
Dr. Blair received his early education in Nassau at Oakes Field Primary School, the Government High School, and St. Andrews School, where he was the Head Boy and Valedictorian.
He earned his PhD in Applied Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in the Wharton School, his MA from Harvard University in Theoretical Particle Physics, and his BS from Duke University in Physics and Mathematics, with dual minors in Economics and French. He also pursued studies in Economics and Physics as a student at the College of the Bahamas as the All Bahamas Merit Scholar (2001-2002).
Dr. Blair’s other awards include being named two-time finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, a recipient of the Harvey Fellowship, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the Graduate Prize Fellowship at Harvard, the Amy Morse Prize at Wharton, the Minister's Cup and Gentleman of the Year (2001).
His award-winning research on the relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth in the Caribbean has earned him invitations to speak at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (UWI, Mona), the Bank of Jamaica, the Central Bank of Barbados, and at the Caribbean Science Forum on Science Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Trinidad & Tobago).
In addition to his speaking engagements in the Caribbean, Dr. Blair has given talks at the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, Emory University, Purdue University, the Federal Reserve Bank (Cleveland), the Korean Military Academy (Seoul, Korea), and Lovely Professional University (Jalandhar, India) on his research work on residential segregation in the US. In 2007, he gave the lunch keynote at the Bahamas Business Outlook Conference.
Dr. Blair’s resume notes that he is “as committed to service as he is to academic and professional excellence.” In 2006, along with main sponsor ColinaImperial, students and faculty of the College of the Bahamas, teachers and administrators at St. Andrews School, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Blair co-founded the Innoworks Bahamas Science Summer Camp.
Over a three-year period, the camp provided world-class mentorship and scientific exposure to 150 students. This diverse group of campers represented 40 junior high schools and 10 distinct islands in the Bahamas.
In 2013, Dr. Blair founded a nonprofit, Hill Top Experiences, which provided college coaching to 40 high school students from seven islands of The Bahamas, including the Berry Islands and Andros.
Dr. Blair also served on the board of the Angoon Alive Project, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit founded by his home church Antioch Calvary Chapel, which is devoted to economically empowering the Native-American Tlingit tribe of Angoon, Alaska.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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