08/01/2026
From Westmoreland. Jamaica to New York, United States !
A Celebration of Adventist Education in the Bronx
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” — Proverbs 22:6
The Maitland Justice Foundation is proud to join the North Bronx Seventh-day Adventist Church, of the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, in celebrating tonight’s Graduation Recognition Ceremony for the Class of 2026, under the theme “Learner Today, Leader Tomorrow.”
What unites those we honor tonight is Adventist education. From the youngest child in kindergarten to the newest holder of a doctoral degree, each has been shaped by a system that teaches the mind, the hand, and the heart together — and each carries that formation into the world.
Tonight we celebrate Maurice D. K. Maitland, J.D., valedictorian and Treasurer of the Maitland Justice Foundation. As this evening honors graduates at every level, it is fitting that Maurice, having earned his Juris Doctor, speaks on behalf of them all. He was recognized for his pro bono service hours, a distinction that speaks not only to his ability but to where he has chosen to spend it. As Treasurer, he has already taken up the responsibilities of leadership, stewarding the resources that make our educational mission possible. He has given his time freely to the North Bronx community, and he is a musician — an organist and pianist whose gift has long been offered in service to his church, for the God who gave it.
We celebrate as well Dr. Sylvan Lashley, the outstanding Education Director of the Maitland Justice Foundation, who has guided our educational mission since 2019. A former President of Northern Caribbean University, Dr. Lashley carries decades of distinguished service in Adventist education. His vision has shaped our programs, his hard work has sustained them, and his mentorship has opened doors for young people across the Bronx and throughout the diaspora.
His work has been strengthened at every turn by our chaplain, Pastor Ernie Wright, the Foundation’s spiritual anchor since 2019 — offering guidance, prayer, and steady encouragement to our leadership and to the young people we serve. Together, they have kept scholarship and faith walking side by side.
We also honor two of our own: Hadia Ahmad, Associate Secretary, and Maurice D. K. Maitland, our Treasurer — both recent law school graduates and both alumni of this Foundation. They were once supported by its work, and now, by God’s grace, they carry that work forward.
We are proud that tonight’s keynote speaker is Kaydeen Maitland, Esq., RN, Secretary of the Maitland Justice Foundation. An attorney and registered nurse, and herself a product of Adventist education, she brings to the graduating class a message of faith, scholarship, and service.
Our sincere thanks to Pastor Dexter Smith and Pastor Fred Nicholas for their faithful shepherding of the North Bronx church and community, and for their commitment to education among our young people. We also salute the Education Department of the Greater New York Conference, whose teachers and principals make Adventist education a living reality for the children of this city.
Warmest congratulations to Dr. Balvin B. Braham on his appointment as President of Northern Caribbean University, effective September 1, 2026 — a leader shaped by Adventist institutions who returns to serve and strengthen his community.
We remember tonight, with love, Mrs. Joyce Evelyn Maitland (née Blair), grandmother of Maurice and Kaydeen, who did not live to see this day but prayed toward it. Her faith and her quiet insistence on education shaped this family long before this Foundation existed. “Her children arise up, and call her blessed.” — Proverbs 31:28
Congratulations, Class of 2026. To God be the glory. 🎓
— The Maitland Justice Foundation
