Carla Pestana Elected President of the Association of Caribbean Historians

Congratulations to Carla Pestana, who was elected President of the Association of Caribbean Historians at their 55th annual meeting in Santa Marta, Colombia.

The Association of Caribbean Historians (ACH) is an independent, non-profit, professional organization devoted to the promotion of Caribbean history from a multidisciplinary, pan-Caribbean perspective, and is the primary association for scholarly and public historians working in the field.  Initially formed from a 1969 colloquium under the leadership of Francophone scholar Jacques Adélaïde-Merlande. In 1973, the ACH was formed. Since then, the organization has grown to several hundred members around the globe.

Its principal activity is an annual conference, which is alternately hosted by an English, Spanish, French, or Dutch-speaking Caribbean nation.  To encourage intellectual exchange, all attendees attend each conference session and all papers and discussion sessions are simultaneously translated in English, Spanish and French.

The ACH membership includes students, graduate students, faculty, staff of public and government institutions, and independent or retired researchers.  While it began under the auspices of history, it now frequently hosts papers and panels on Caribbean literature, art, theatre, archeology, material culture, and identity.

ACH members have played leading roles in the Caribbean, most notably in public service and in academia. These include current and past service as leaders of government, national, regional, and international organizations. Many current members serve in senior positions at Caribbean, North American, and European universities. Reference