When Jamaican-born Dr. Alwyn Leiba was elected Student Government Association president at Miami Dade College’s Medical Campus in 2006, he was a dental hygiene student advocating for his peers. Today, the Kingston native leads that same campus, having achieved historic firsts while expanding opportunities for healthcare students.
Now, back-to-back leadership honours are cementing his legacy in healthcare education. Leiba has been named a 2026 ICABA BPM Global Black Luminary honouree and selected for The Nurses Magazine’s Distinguished Healthcare Education Leadership Award.
The recognitions add to a distinguished career shaped by excellence within the dental hygiene profession and a commitment to preparing a new generation of healthcare professionals.
“My Jamaican Culture Strengthened Me”
Born in Jamaica, Leiba grew up in Kingston in a single-parent household and attended Alpha Primary School before leaving the island in 1989.
As he built his career overseas, the values instilled during his childhood continued to shape his determination and approach to leadership. In a December 2025 interview with Caribbean Today, he credited his Jamaican upbringing with teaching him to give his best, even when faced with challenges.
“My Jamaican culture strengthened me to excel and be the best that I can be and do,” he told the publication.
His pursuit of higher education took him to Miami Dade College, where he earned an associate degree in dental hygiene. He subsequently completed a bachelor’s degree at Saint Petersburg College, an MBA with a concentration in healthcare management at American Intercontinental University, and a doctorate in higher education leadership at Northcentral University.
Through those years of study and professional growth, Leiba has maintained a close connection with Jamaica. He told Jamaicans.com that he returns every year, sometimes making two or three trips.
Student Rep to President
As a dental hygiene student at MDC, Leiba served as president of the Student Government Association and the Student Dental Hygiene Association, gaining experience in advocating for students and working with others to address their needs. His student government vice president, Ron Winston, would later become his colleague in academic leadership.
After completing his studies, Leiba returned to MDC as an educator, teaching in the dental hygiene programme before becoming chair of the School of Health Sciences in 2017 and dean in 2019. He was appointed interim Medical Campus president in 2024 and secured the permanent position in 2025, completing a progression from student representative to leader of the campus where he trained.
Alongside Winston, who also advanced from student leadership into teaching and administration, Leiba helped expand the opportunities available to students. Under their leadership, the School of Health Sciences developed 11 new career pathways, including programmes in clinical laboratory science, surgical technology, central sterile processing, and dental assisting technology and management.
Breaking Barriers and Addressing Gaps in Care
Leiba also made history as the first Black person to serve as president of both the Florida Dental Hygienists’ Association and the South Florida Dental Hygienists’ Association.
Jamaicans.com covered his installation as Florida Dental Hygienists’ Association president in 2018, when he expressed a commitment to collaborating with other organisations to improve access to oral care.
Those leadership roles sharpened his awareness of disparities in dental care between wealthier and lower-income communities. He told Caribbean Today that limited information and resources contributed to the gap, prompting him to raise awareness of affordable services and the importance of oral health.
Alongside his campus responsibilities, he serves as chair of the Association of Florida Colleges Healthcare Education Commission, extending his work in healthcare education across the state.
Honouring a Distinguished Career
October 2026 brings two leadership honours for Leiba, recognising his contributions to healthcare education and the wider professional community.
The ICABA World Network has named him a 2026 BPM Global Black Luminary honouree, joining accomplished Black professionals across industries. Honourees are scheduled to be celebrated at the BPM Honors event on October 17th, 2026.
“I’m truly honored and humbled to receive the 2026 ICABA BPM Global Black Luminary Award, a recognition of leadership, vision, and impact,” Leiba wrote on LinkedIn, thanking his family, mentors, colleagues and others who supported his journey.
The Nurses Magazine has also selected him for its Distinguished Healthcare Education Leadership Award, highlighting his academic leadership, development of allied health programmes and barrier-breaking service within the dental hygiene profession. He is scheduled to be honoured at its second annual Symposium & Awards, October 22nd–24th, 2026, in Orlando, Florida.
“This recognition is more than an award, it is a meaningful reminder of why I am so passionate about healthcare education, leadership, mentorship, and empowering the next generation of healthcare professionals,” he shared on LinkedIn.
For Leiba, leading the campus where he once studied also means supporting the community that helped him advance. As he told MDC’s student newspaper, The Reporter: “It supported me [and] I am going to pay it forward.”
