WHO WE ARE

GUIDED BY PURPOSE

At the heart of Issa Trust Foundation is a team of dedicated leaders and advocates committed to creating a lasting impact. Together, they guide our mission with compassion and an unwavering belief in the power of community.

Our Patron

Sir Patrick Allen

His Excellency The Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen has served as Governor-General of Jamaica since 2009 and is the Distinguished Patron of the Issa Trust Foundation.

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OUR MEMBERS

Paul Issa

Paul Issa is the Executive Director of the House of Issa and Issa Hotels & Resorts Ltd., Chairman of the Issa Trust Foundation and Issa Foundation, and former Chair of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and Paul Issa Publications.

Diane Pollard

Diane Pollard has led the Issa Trust Foundation as President and CEO since its earliest planning stages in 2004.

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Howard Mitchell

Howard Mitchell is a retired attorney and current President of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica.

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Alex Ghisays

Alexandra Thomson Ghisays has worked in Jamaica’s tourism industry since 1984.

a woman with curly hair wearing a blue shirt and a necklace

Jan M. Polack

Jan M. Polack is the Chief Financial Officer for Couples.

Paul Issa was born in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of the Hon. Abe Issa and Lorraine Shaouy Issa. He attended St. George’s College in Kingston, Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, and studied drama at Tulane University in New Orleans and at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. As a young man, he taught drama and speech, worked in radio broadcasting, journalism, and publishing, and directed and acted in theatrical productions.

After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of Miami, he began working in the family business, the House of Issa Group of companies. He is currently Deputy Chairman of House of Issa and Issa Hotels & Resorts Ltd. He is Chairman of the Issa Foundation, the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, and Paul Issa Publications.

Mr. Issa serves as a director or board member for multiple organizations, including the Independent Radio Company Ltd, the Institute of Jamaica, the Spanish-Jamaican Foundation Advisory Board, and the Issa Trust Foundation. Deeply committed to philanthropy and the arts, he has been part of Jamaica’s cultural scene since the early 1970s. He is married to Spanish painter Oriente Davila Issa, and they live in Kingston with their five children.

Diane Pollard began working with children in Jamaica in 1997 and became involved in the earliest planning stages of the Issa Trust Foundation in 2004. She oversees program planning and implementation, volunteer recruitment, partner outreach, evaluation, budgeting, and strategic planning. She travels to Jamaica at least four times per year to ensure policies and goals are met.

Her career began in the legal sector at the Attorney General’s Office, followed by corporate positions in IT, staffing, and vendor management, and leadership roles in nonprofit organizations. Her focus over the last two decades has been helping underprivileged children both locally and internationally, raising more than $10 million for health and education programs.

Her passion for service was ignited during a life-changing encounter with a child in Jamaica, inspiring her lifelong commitment to the island’s children. She is a member of the Iowa Lion’s Club, the Consulate General of Jamaica/New York Medical & Healthcare Council, and United Way of Central Iowa’s Emerging Leaders Initiative. In 2017, she received the Badge of Honor for Meritorious Service from Jamaica’s Governor-General and other recognitions for her philanthropic work.

A lawyer by profession, Mr. Howard Mitchell practiced commercial law for 35 years with concentrations in mining law and taxation before retiring in 2010. He has served as Chairman of the National Housing Trust, Coffee Industry Board, Jamaica Bauxite Institute, Cocoa Industry Board, and the Council of the Institute of Jamaica, among others.

He has led private enterprises including Island Grill Restaurants and Corrpak Jamaica Ltd., negotiated mining agreements for the Government of Jamaica, and co-founded the Sports Development Foundation. Mr. Mitchell is currently President of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica and chairs several corporate boards.

He is active in philanthropy through support of charities and service on nonprofit boards. He has been married for over 40 years and has two daughters.

Alex Ghisays began her career as Public Relations Manager with SuperClubs in 1984. In 1997, she joined Couples Resorts as Executive Assistant to the CEO & President, focusing on public relations and events. She became Group Public Relations Manager in 2001 and has led successful on-island fundraising events, including annual charity golf tournaments.

She also manages on-island administration for the Issa Trust Foundation’s projects. In recognition of her charitable work, she was appointed a Justice of the Peace for St. Mary in 2006.

Ms. Polack currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Couples Resorts. With 35 years in the hospitality industry in the US and the Caribbean, she has a demonstrated ability to effectively communicate complex information to varied stakeholder groups and manage the day-to-day financial operations of a world-class company to ensure optimal performance.

Ms. Polack is an exceptional team builder and problem-solver with a wealth of experience in corporate financial planning. She is resolute in her personal commitment to the mission of the Issa Trust Foundation to promote well-being, health and development of the people of Jamaica. Her focus at Couples is to oversee financial and IT operations and facilitate company expansion through careful budgeting and planning.

Prior to her work with Couples, Ms. Polack was the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Caribbean Producers Jamaica Limited for 12 years, a publicly held company listed on the Jamaica Junior Stock Exchange. A former Director of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, she currently serves as a Director of Ironrock Insurance Co. Ltd. Ms. Polack is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Accounting from St. Leo’s University, Florida.

Advisory Board Members

His Excellency The Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, ON, GCMG, CD, was appointed Governor-General of Jamaica on February 26, 2009. A noted Christian, Sir Patrick Allen served the Seventh-day Adventist Church in various capacities for 28 years. He has served as Principal, Pastor, Director and President in the Central Jamaica Conference and West Indies Union Conference respectively. Sir Patrick is no stranger to public service in Jamaica, having taught in public schools for ten years, and while working with the church, served on the boards of the Government’s Public Broadcasting Commission, Police Civilian Oversight Authority, and the Strategic Oversight Commission. He was knighted by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II in June, 2009.

His Excellency stated, “The well being of people goes beyond the scope of material and physical structures. It includes intangibles such as care, love, service and sympathy towards others, and this, merged with the physical provisions, determines overall wellness. “Since 2005, the Issa Trust Foundation, under the auspices of Couples Resorts, has been helping to provide health care and education for children and young adults in rural Jamaica. The focus on these two areas is important as they are critical to the development and prosperity of our country.

“Your selfless service and volunteerism has helped to change the lives of many children and adolescents, who have experienced improved reading and writing skills. The access to much-needed medical services will enable many more persons to enjoy healthy, happier and more productive lives. “The Issa Foundation is a shining example of the positive results which come from acknowledging and effecting corporate responsibility in a practical way. I congratulate you and your local and international partners for the work which you continue to do. Your efforts are a true depiction of selfless love and service to others.”

“We are extremely humbled and thankful for His Excellency’s acceptance, and for his enduring support of our work,” states Diane Pollard, President & CEO, Issa Trust Foundation (www.issatrustfoundation.com). “Giving children a healthy start in life, no matter where they are born or the circumstances of their birth, is the moral obligation of every one of us. We have a global responsibility to give of the utmost of ourselves, materially and morally.”

“It is with deep gratitude that we salute his Excellency the Governor General, Sir Patrick Allen, for his willingness to serve as Distinguished Patron of the Issa Trust Foundation and his endorsement of the work of the Foundation,” states Paul Issa, Deputy Chairman of Couples Resorts. “Couples Resorts and its parent company, the House of Issa, have a long history of philanthropy in Jamaica, going back to the early 1900s when my grandfather Elias Issa became a successful merchant. He saw the need to ‘give back’ to his adopted home, Jamaica, where he settled with his father in 1893. From his humble beginnings as a pushcart peddler, he built a business empire that is still operating today, well over a hundred years later. Among the many charitable organizations he created were the Issa Scholarship and the Mary Issa Clinic. Today, as a result of the donations of many Couples guests and many other charitable entities, the Issa Trust Foundation continues in that tradition.”