Charter Donors are those who have made a contribution of $5,000 or more to an important island initiative chosen by the Board of Friends of Islands Initiatives, Inc.
They have had a major impact on the quality of life of Islanders. We are grateful for their inspiring and ongoing support of our mission.
Our Charter Donors
Dorothea Leonhardt was a noted philanthropist whose support of Roanoke College earned her an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree. The Dorothea Leonhardt Fund at the Communities Foundation of Texas was named in her honor with her daughter, Andrea Harkins, serving as the Fund Advisor. Thanks to a grant from the Dorothea Leonhardt Fund at Communities Foundation of Texas, on the recommendation of Harkins, Friends of Islands Initiatives was able to purchase a second patient bedside vital signs monitor for Nevis’ Alexandra Hospital, providing nurses with the essential information in caring for critically ill patients. We are all grateful to the Dorothea Leonhardt Fund for the opportunity to benefit the patients and caregivers at the Alexandra Hospital.
Married for over 62 years, Jacques and Ghislaine Cramer (Jackie and Josie) began their lives together in St. Kitts and Nevis. Josie was a talented artist/craft person knitting crochet items and creating jewelry for her shop on the St. Kitts Square, as well as creating special gifts for family and friends.
Jackie was a well-respected businessman who was one of the original founders of TDC. He was also an active civic leader becoming a founding member of the Rotary Club in St. Kitts and serving on the EC Currency Commission and the Police Force Commission, for which he received the Companion Star of Merit for his contribution to Commerce and Public Service. Their generous donation benefited the Alexandra Hospital in Nevis.
Mark Pinney and his wife, Laura, are long-time residents of New York City and are charter donors of Friends of Islands Initiatives, both individually and through Laura’s family foundation. Mark is a direct descendant of Azariah Pinney of Pinney’s Estate and Mountravers in Nevis.
His career has been in the area of forming and developing early-stage venture-funded technology companies, and he has mentored entrepreneurs at New York University for several years. Laura worked in project financing at an investment bank before segueing into the art world. She is involved with her family foundation and is chair of the development committee of a nonprofit supporting a Nairobi school. Mark serves as a President of Friends of Islands Initiatives and offers his financial expertise and perspective to the Board.
Peggy Pinney was a founding charter donor board member and is Clerk for Friends of Islands Initiatives. Through her work at The Nature Conservancy and her experiences in establishing the nonprofit Featherstone Center for the Arts on Martha’s Vineyard, where she was a board member and executive director for nine years, Peggy was ideally suited to help set up Friends of Islands Initiatives to enable tax-deductible donations to support Nevis Island nonprofits.
Trained in evaluating and teaching learning-disabled children, Peggy taught for five years at the Lyn Jeffers School in Nevis and later volunteered at the Nevis International Secondary School for a number of years. Peggy has been a resident of Nevis since 2009 and considers it home. Peggy has helped direct the renovations at Mountravers for her brother, Bill Pinney, who has written six books on the genealogical history of the family and has traced their lineage to a cousin of Azariah Pinney of Pinney’s Estate and Mountravers. They are also related to Mark Pinney, as a first cousin 11 times removed.
Lee and Kent DeLucenay have enjoyed coming to Nevis for 30 years. They spent most of their working and family lives in the Chicago suburbs. Lee worked as a residential realtor in and around Lake Forest, Il. Kent spent his career working for health care companies as a Human Resources Executive. He was Vice Chair of The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago and, for 6 years, was Chair of The Green Lake Association, a 1,000-member lake association dedicated to restoring Big Green Lake, the deepest lake in Wisconsin.
Lee and Kent are parents of three, grandparents of eight, and great-grandparents of three, soon to be four.
Christine and Michael Huskisson divide their time between Kentucky and Nevis. Michael founded Central Kentucky’s leading masonry company in 1978, running it for 44 years before selling it in 2022. The company specialized in historic preservation and expanded to institutional, commercial, and equine construction. Notable projects include the Wickliff Double Investment House (1827); many University of Kentucky buildings, most notably the W.T. Young Library; over 58 elementary, middle, and high school projects in Kentucky; and their Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired home.
Christine, with degrees in Art History and Business, taught at the University of Kentucky, directed Georgetown College’s galleries, and co-founded UnderMain arts publication (2014-2023). She’s a painter specializing in thematic series, recently exhibiting at Charlestown Art Gallery.
The couple has one son, William, a PwC consultant in Brooklyn. Together, the family supports local arts and environmental conservation in Kentucky, contributing to Friends of Islands Initiatives through the husk fund.