Management Team
Below is our list of our Management Team here at CMA
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Lyndon LaCrette
Position: Chair
Lyndon LaCrette has been involved in carnival for over 30 years. In his early years as a teenager he used to participate on the road as part of a mobile sound system. This mobile sound system evolved and developed over the years playing music for Mas Bands entertaining people around the carnival route. Lyndon also developed to become a Band Leader for a Mas Band participating in Notting Hill Carnival.
Lyndon became Chair of the Caribbean Music Association (CMA) in 2003 after being a CMA member for a number of years and Vice Chair in 2002. Lyndon has continued to develop CMA working hard with his management team to deliver goals and objectives, moving CMA forward raising the profile of the organisation. Lyndon has led on developing the CMA On The Road Health and Safety briefings raising the awareness and importance of the risks faced by Dj's and Mas Bands playing on the road at Carnivals and the controls that need to be put in place.
In 2012 Lyndon joined a team represented by the 5 Carnival Arenas and an Independent Legal Representative to organise the Notting Hill Carnival. Lyndon became one the board of directors for London Notting Hill Carnival Enterprises Trust with a lead role in Finance and Operations. Lyndon was involved in successfully organising 6 Notting Hill Carnivals from 2012 to 2017.
Lyndon has a great passion for carnival and works hard to build strategic and collaborative working relationships with other organisations and is well respected by his colleagues, members of CMA and the wider Carnival community. Lyndon has worked in both public and private sector organisations in a number of management positions and has successfully managed and delivered a number of indoor and outdoor events. Lyndon is an experienced professional who thrives on a challenge and has gained post-graduate management qualifications and a Master's Degree.
Lyndon has worked closely with other carnival arenas, stakeholders and organisations over the years providing a valuable input into the development of the London Notting Hill Carnival.
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Stephen Montgomery
Position: Vice Chair
Stephen has been a member of CMA for over 13 years and Vice Chair of CMA for over 4 years. He was elected because the members could see the potential of him being part the management team and the value he would bring.
Stephen is a Dj and has been one for many years.
Stephens's career is working for the local government in the Children Services Department. His aim is to help CMA reach its full potential and to ensure CMA members voices are heard.
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Gilbert Barnwell
Position: Treasurer
Gilbert has a background in banking and is part of the TrystarsoundwavesSound System. He joined CMA in 1998 after taking a booking through Tony(Soca Saga Boys) who has sadly passed away since, to play music for amas band around the Notting Hill Carnival route.
Since then Gilbert has been a member of CMA including the management andhas gained invaluable experience of event management, public health andsafety.
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Heather Elliott
Position: Secretary
Heather has been associated with carnival for over 25 years and has had many roles and responsibilities and is currently on the NHC Advisory committee. Heather also represents Sunshine International Arts at CMA meetings resulting in her becoming the secretary.
Being involved at this level has opened up many opportunities to Heather especially as she has mainly worked in the private sector with a background in IT and project management roles. Carnival has given her a lot of exposure to a range of educational community art projects working with a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. She has also gained experience with liaising with the Arts council and successfully understanding and completing their funding processes and touring grant applications.
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Natasha Norman
Position: Digital Communications and Project Development Executive
Natasha has been the Project Development Executive for Caribbean Music Association since 2014, a position created for the future growth association. InNovember 2017, Natasha's role evolved to "Digital Communications and Project Development" Exec., after demonstrating a proficiency in Websites (CMS), Social Media, Email marketing and basic HTML5/CSS.
Her contributions include the development of online media, event organisation, communications and general strategy including Notting Hill Carnival's "Soca Zone" proposal.
Natasha's initiatives also include managing a project development sub-committee; recently organising a 5K charity run to raise funds as an additional activity to our annual Park event for the community of West London. She has also oversaw a digital media internship programme for media students in 2019.
Background:
Natasha has been involved in the Mas element of the London Notting Hill Carnival since 1992, participating in the Kings & Queens' Competition 'Notting Hill Carnival Gala' with Masquerade 2000 making and wearing costumes. Her contribution continued as a marketing manager (2009-2015) & as Mobile Sound Leader 'Sounds Good' (2011-2016).
With over 25 years of experience in the carnival industry, Natasha has also made developments as a Songwriter/Composer (2015-present) making links with artists and songwriters in Japan and Trinidad.
She is a member of PRS, has professional qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Marketing as well as a Masters degree.
As of 2020, Natasha became a committee member for the Musician's Union , with a key focus on Live Performance and Music Writers.
