About Rose October
The Artist
Rosalind October, fondly called “Rose” is no stranger to community work. In fact, this began as a child in Guyana where she was born. She has a balanced community life in both theater/culture and academia.
Rose is a well-traveled dancer, choreographer/instructor who has her roots in Guyana. The year 2022, she celebrated 50 years in theater arts. Her community service began as a child when she was a student at the Guyana National School of Dance (GNSD), initially under the tutelage of Madam Lavinia Williams. Later, upon completion of high school, she taught dance at the GNSD and became a member of the Guyana National Company (GNDC) with which she toured as an accomplished soloist.
In addition to her life as a dancer, Rose has highlighted her abilities as an actress. Some of her appearances were in "Manaka," "Zingay," "Standpipe," "Til Ah Fine Ah Place," "Mayor of Susanburg, and "Freedom Trail". These plays were penned by Guyanese and Caribbean playwrights. She was also involved in the choreographic elements of some of these productions. In addition, she has stage managed many theatrical production in and out of New York City, and in theaters overseas.
The Cultural Enabler
Rose is a cultural enabler who has held many leadership roles in community organizations. In the early 90s, for a decade, she volunteered as the choreographer and cultural director for the Miss Guyana/New York Pageant. Furthermore, she has had the privilege to serve her community in many leadership roles, including and not limited to the chairperson of the Cultural Committee for Guyana’s Jubilee Independence celebration here in New York; former President of the alma mater’s alumni association (Christ Church Secondary School); collaborator with other countries such as Trinidad, Jamaica, Haiti, and Grenada to showcase similarities and differences in our culture; community/folk arts panelist of Brooklyn Arts Council, and moderator for Caribbean Cultural Theatre’s literary forums. As a dancer/choreographer, she represented Guyanese traditional dances through a collaborative initiative with Caribbean Dance Collectives. During this venture, she taught a master class on Guyana Masquerade, which was followed with a discussion about Guyanese traditional dances.
For over two decades, Rose has been a member of the Guyana Cultural Association (GCA) where she was an assistant cultural director, and the co-chairperson of the Kweh Kweh Committee. She is a free-lance dancer/choreographer known in the Guyanese and Caribbean communities, in and out of the Tri-State area in the U.S.A.
Volunteer
Proudly, for a few years, Rose has had the opportunity to serve her community in another capacity as a New York City Auxiliary Police Officer. She got to learn about the functions of, as she lent support to officers of NY Police Department.
The Caribbean American Social Workers Association (CASWA) was another organization with which Rose volunteered her services. There, she served as the Education Officer who was responsible for planning educational programs.
Rose has received many awards for her community involvement, in addition to Proclamations and Citations from NY Senators and Council Members, in recognition for her work that continues to uplift and advance communities. On some Saturdays, she has volunteered at the Calvary Mission Food Pantry in Richmond Hill, NY.
Mistress of Ceremonies
For over 20 years, Rose has become an actively sought-after MC. For almost two decades, she has been the MC for the Guyana Cultural Association’s Family Fun Day at Folk Festival in Brooklyn, New York. Her resume is extensive to include hosting national and international cultural shows and educational forums. Gatherings at these events range from less than 100 to thousands of people.
Social/Human Services Agencies Director
Rose has been involved in the social/human services – specifically in the field of addiction, for 19 years before transitioning to academia, where she spent over eleven years, before returning to the field. She spent six of those 19 years in clinical positions, and the other 13 in directorship positions at multiple agencies. As a director, she not only managed agencies, but also spearheaded in-service trainings, and specifically engaged in agencies’ quality assurance activities in preparation for audits. She is also skillful in handling referrals and has experience in consultancy in the areas of addiction treatment, mandated populations, and human services management trainings, to list a few. Currently, Rose works for a NY city entity in the area of Mental Health.
The Academician
Academically, Rose holds an associate degree in Human Services from the Borough of Manhattan Community College, a bachelor’s degree in social work from Herbert Lehman College, a master’s degree in Social Work from Fordham University, and a Ph.D. in Advanced Behavioral Studies from Capella University. Her credentials include a Licensed Masters Social Worker (LMSW) and a master’s level Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC-M). For over eleven years, Rose served as an assistant professor in the School of Human Services at a State University of New York (SUNY), where she taught and mentored. She actively participated in academic conferences, nationally and internationally, and her conference presentations mostly focused on issues of addiction, and those of the Caribbean population.
For years until 2016, Rose has been a visiting lecturer at University of Guyana, the Social Work Unit. In addition, she has served as a consultant for trainings at the then Ministry of Human Services, and the Ministry of Social Protection in Guyana, South America.