Hello, I'm Alyssa.

Haitian Preservation was born from a deeply personal place—fear, distance, and the quiet question many Haitians in the diaspora carry:

Am I Haitian enough?

My Story

I was raised surrounded by Haitians, yet standing just outside my own culture. I spoke mostly English. I hesitated to speak Haitian Creole, afraid my accent would expose what I didn’t know. I learned early that not knowing the language could invite ridicule, and so I learned to stay quiet. Over time, that silence became disconnection—not only for me, but for my children.

I knew the surface markers of culture—Independence Day, Flag Day—but little beyond that. My children did not know where their grandparents came from. And I realized that my own unhealed trauma was quietly shaping what I was passing down.

That was my breaking point.

The First Revival

In 2019, one question changed everything:

How do we create a shared space where Haitian culture forms both parent and child—together?

As a mother, I knew I could not wait to be “ready” to reconnect. My daughters were a blank slate. If I was going to learn, we would learn together.

I became insatiable—searching for our history, our rhythms, our language, our brilliance. We went to libraries, museums, festivals, and community gatherings. And then we moved from learning into embodiment.

We wore our culture.
We sang it.
We spoke it aloud.

I wrote A Time to Remember, a Haitian-American bedtime story designed to make language and history part of everyday life. I created songs that made people feel proud and nostalgic. I helped produce family-friendly documentaries that explored our African origins and challenged the narratives that had kept so many of us disconnected.

What started in my home began to ripple outward. Other parents—especially mothers—were looking for the same thing: accessible, affirming ways to preserve culture without shame.

That was the beginning of Haitian Preservation.

Haitian Preservation Today

Haitian Preservation has grown into a multigenerational cultural enterprise rooted in three pathways:

Culturally Relevant Education
Heritage-Inspired Products
Homecoming Journeys to Ayiti

This work lives within Ayiti Community Trust (ACT), where cultural revival is paired with community engagement, impact investing, and sustainable development. This is not a departure from ACT’s mission—it is an extension of it.
We believe healing, belonging, and impact are interconnected.

And we believe that remembering who we are changes how we show up for the future.

Whether you are just beginning to ask questions or are ready to take action, you are welcome here.

Come to the Revival