Overview:
Three Haitian American women have made history this election cycle in South Florida by becoming the first elected officials of Haitian descent to serve on school boards there. Cynthia Alcéus Dominique, Christina Romélus and Linda Cothière won district seats in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
While Marly Métayer— in a much-anticipated Nov. 3 contest— fell short of winning the Coral Springs City Commission seat once held by her late daughter, Vice Mayor Nancy Métayer, who was slain earlier this year, three other women made history as the first Haitian Americans to win school board seats across South Florida.
Cynthia Alcéus Dominique, Christina Romélus and Linda Cothière won seats on public school boards in Haitian-heavy Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
“It would have been great if all candidates from our communities had won,” Dieudonne Joisil, a public school teacher in Broward County’s Fort Lauderdale for nearly 40 years, told The Haitian Times.
“But in politics, you win some and lose some,” she said. “It’s still wonderful to be represented on the region’s three major school boards for the first time in history. We must be happy with what we’ve got while we build on that foundation to achieve more.”
Métayer came second in the bid for daughter’s Coral Springs commission seat
In Broward County
Dominique, 41, won the School Board District 7 seat outright in the Aug. 18 primary, receiving about 60% of the vote. A registered nurse, Army Reserve veteran and educator, Dominique brings experience in health care, military service and parent and community involvement in the school system.
A Broward County native, Dominique was raised by a Haitian immigrant mother who never attended school. Yet, despite her lack of formal education, she pushed her daughter to succeed. She is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) with a Master’s of Nursing from the University of Miami. She is an adjunct faculty member at Nova Southeastern University.
Dominique is not new to the school district. For nearly a decade, she served as a volunteer and leader in different associations and advisory councils, including the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), School Advisory Councils (SAC), North Area Advisory Council (NAAC) and District Advisory Council (DAC).
On the school board, she will represent the area that includes Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Lighthouse Point, Margate, Pompano Beach and Tribal Land.
As in most South Florida school boards, the race came at a time when Broward County Public Schools faced school closures, declining enrollment and a $90 million budget deficit, prompting the board to approve cuts that affected 1,000 positions. The district lost nearly 5% of its students between the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years.
In Palm Beach County
Unlike Dominique, who won her Broward seat without needing to go to a runoff, Romélus won the District 4 school board in the Nov. 3 elections with about 62% of the vote.
Born in Port-au-Prince, Romélus, 38, previously served as a Boynton Beach city commissioner and vice mayor. Her professional background includes nursing, college instruction and government affairs consulting.
First elected in 2016 at 27, she served six years in office. Beyond her political career, she has a diverse decade-long background as a nurse and has worked as an anatomy and physiology professor at Palm Beach State College.
Married and the mother of two children, Romélus founded and leads PolitiCALM, a government affairs, policy consulting and leadership training firm.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology/Chemistry from the University of Miami and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Barry University.
On the school board, she will represent an area spanning coastal Palm Beach County from West Palm Beach to Boca Raton.
In Miami-Dade County
The third victory, last but not least, was in Miami-Dade County, where Cothière also defeated her opponent and became the first Haitian American member of the school board.
She defeated fellow educator Katrina Wilson in the Nov. 3 runoff for the county’s District 1 seat, receiving 51.6% of the vote to Wilson’s 48.4%. Cothière, a native of Cap-Haïtien who immigrated to the U.S. at 15, has more than three decades of teaching in Miami-Dade Public Schools.
She will represent communities including Miami Gardens, North Miami, North Miami Beach and Opa-locka.
Linda Cothière defeated Katrina Wilson in close runoff, months after August stalemate
Together, the victories place Haitian American women in school board leadership across three of South Florida’s largest counties, where public education decisions affect hundreds of thousands of students and families.
“This is a very exciting time and a breath of fresh air for the Haitian community in South Florida,” said Waltere G. Bien-Aimé, a resident of Coconut Creek. “It’s important for the community to know that there are people on school boards who understand our culture and children’s educational needs.”
