In a world where representation often stops at visibility, Trinidadian-born Marcelle Lashley-Kaboré is pushing the boundaries.
As a five-time New York Emmy® Award-winning producer, global strategist, and tireless youth advocate, Lashley-Kaboré, a Queens resident, has emerged as one of the more innovative voices redefining what empowerment truly looks like in action.
With a career that spans continents and industries, Lashley-Kaboré told Caribbean Life on Monday, July 21, that she has dedicated her life to building spaces where underserved youth — especially Black and Brown youth — can tell their own stories and build their legacies.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago to parents of Guyanese descent, Lashley-Kaboré said she carries her Caribbean heritage into every space she enters—infusing her work with “vibrant culture, deep-rooted values, and a global perspective.”
Lashley-Kaboré said her journey began in the “fast-paced world of experiential marketing”, where she created “dynamic brand activations for some of pop culture’s biggest names.”
But for her, storytelling was never just about product placement — “it was about people, power, and purpose.”
Lashley-Kaboré said that mindset led her to transform her creative production skills into “equity-driven platforms” for youth.
As the founder and CEO of the New York-based Girls With Knowledge, Inc. (GWK) and GWK Global, Lashley-Kaboré said she leads initiatives that empower at-risk youth through immersive education, multimedia storytelling, financial literacy, entrepreneurship training, and cultural exchange.
Rather than delivering charity, she said she offers agency — “helping young people see themselves as leaders, creators, and changemakers.”
Lashley-Kaboré said that commitment was on full display during a recent celebration marking the culmination of GWK Global’s afterschool programming at P.S. 287, also known as Bailey K. Ashford, located at 50 Navy St., Downtown Brooklyn, within New York City Geographic District No. 13.
She said the End-of-Year Pop-Up & Business Launch, in partnership with M&T Bank, showcased “students bringing their business dreams to life.
“The event took on a lively, hibiscus-themed carnival atmosphere”, said Lashley-Kaboré, adding that it was a nod to her Caribbean heritage, where the hibiscus flower is celebrated for both its beauty and its cultural and nutritional significance.”
She said the event featured student-run brands selling teas, skincare, and fashion.
She said some even showcased carnival costumes designed by GWK’s young fashion entrepreneurs.
Lashley-Kaboré said more than $500 in student-created products were sold, with proceeds deposited into each student’s custodial savings account, alongside a matching seed investment from GWK Global.
“This is bigger than entrepreneurship—it’s about teaching self-sufficiency, sustainability, and the power to build something of your own,” she said. “We’re not just preparing kids for the future—helping them fund it.”
Through GWK’s agribusiness and financial literacy curriculum, Lashley-Kaboré said students aren’t just learning in theory — “they’re gaining real-world, revenue-generating experience, and growing into confident, community-minded change agents.”
Lashley-Kaboré said she has received 16 New York Emmy® nominations for her transformative storytelling, including the acclaimed documentary What Happened to Black Wall Street and the youth-produced anthem Work Hard.
“These projects challenge systems, amplify youth voices, and turn activism into art — and art into opportunity,” she said.
Lashley-Kaboré said her global reach is “deeply personal.”
A proud alumna of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Lashley-Kaboré said she has studied and traveled across Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean, “intentionally building programs that connect local impact with global understanding.”
She said her work has earned her accolades as a SheMedia Community Trailblazer, BlogHer’s 2019 Voices of the Year, a Schneps Media Power Women of Queens honoree, and one of Obvious Magazine’s “20/20 Visionaries to Watch.“
Still, Lashley-Kaboré said her mission remains grounded: “creating platforms where young people are not only seen, but heard, invested in, and equipped to lead.”
Through Girls With Knowledge, she said she builds “futures — not for youth, but with them.”
In her world, Lashley-Kaboré said, “production meets purpose, magic meets metrics, and the result – a global movement rooted in culture, fueled by knowledge, and led by the next generation.”
In 2013, inspired by her first visit to Africa, she added social entrepreneur to her already successful career path as an experiential marketing content curator and producer.
Lashley-Kaboré said her purpose is to advocate and curate a multimedia platform of empowerment “to redefine narratives and disrupt historical patterns.“
She said she desires to help equip youth to rewrite their narrative and rise against injustices.
In her youth development work to date, Lashley-Kaboré said she has used multimedia to create “a voice and choice platform for youth,“ which has garnered 12 New York Emmy® nominations and won three New York Emmy® Awards at the 64th & 65th Annual Awards Show for social justice, documentary, and “Edutainment“ film pieces.
She said her goal is to be impactful globally and become a multimedia mogul in media arts in communities of color.
Through the vessel of experiential entertainment, Lashley-Kaboré said she will continue to reach young women and girls in underserved communities around the world by creating content that is “a powerful haven for them to grow, learn, and literally change the path of their life.”
Whether through film, song, or animation, Lashley-Kaboré said she is creating “edutainment“ to help rewrite the narrative of today’s young people.
“Our youth are faced with constant hopelessness, especially in today’s media,“ she said. “I want to create vehicles and platforms that will let the world know that the younger generations are going to lead us into a new future as long as we continue to have an effective hand in molding them.”
