Jewels of the Virgin Isles is a feature series profiling Virgin Islanders in the diaspora who are excelling in their respective fields and/or positively representing the USVI abroad.
Sometimes it is the quiet ones who make the loudest noise through their work and the impact it has on those around them. That would be the case for Bernard Dyer, a St. Croix native with a dual passion for technology and his home, the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Born on St. Croix to a Crucian father and a St. Thomian mother, Dyer enjoyed an active upbringing playing sports on various leagues in the territory while attending the Free Will Baptist Elementary School and John H. Woodson Junior High School. He left the Virgin Islands to attend high school on the mainland and later received his bachelor of science degree in information systems management from the University of Maryland.
A self-proclaimed builder, Dyer admits that he fell in love with technology as a young boy. When he was 12, his mother, also a technology professional, gave him and his brother a computer to use. Much to Dyer’s chagrin, it was not programmed, so there was no way to even get the cursor to work. After many weekends of tinkering and dissecting the machine, they were able to teach themselves the computer program that would bring the computer to life and, without knowing it, he was bitten by the bug that would determine his career path in information technology management.
Today Dyer is a lead technologist with the renowned management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton in Rockville, Md., where he manages projects for clients in the U.S. government, corporations and the nonprofit sector. He previously worked with the U.S. Department of Interior on a team that reengineered business processes to improve performance throughout the territory.
Although his desire as a child was to become an airline pilot, Dyer learned early on that in order to succeed and be fulfilled professionally, you have to love what you’re doing. “My father worked for American Airlines and is good friends with former American Airlines pilot Bill Bohlke, who lives in the territory, so he arranged for me to speak with him,” he says.
“During our conversation, he told me that you have to want to fly in good and bad conditions, and it hit home that I needed to have a passion for everything that I did in my life. I also realized that I did not want to fly that badly,” Dyer said.
Dyer said he is thankful to have learned that lesson early and it is one that has guided his actions as an adult. He credits his success in life to his parents and the values they taught him of not only having big dreams, but also working each day to fulfill those dreams.
“I spent many days after school at the American Airlines St. Croix office with my dad, and I would observe with absolute amazement how he always found a solution to the problems facing him,” he recalls. “My mother also shattered many glass ceilings in her career and opened the door for numerous Virgin Islanders in the technology arena.”
Dyer also includes his immediate and extended family as part of his support system, including his Little League manager, Leroy “Dido” Simmonds.
Playing in the league not only taught him about baseball, but it prepared him for life, Dyer said.
Having spent much of his early years in the Sion Farm and East End areas of St. Croix, Dyer considers his childhood to be like many other boys during that time, playing a variety of sports and competing at everything. These qualities, along with the brotherhood he built with his friends, developed his character and taught him endurance and leadership skills, lessons that are at the cornerstone of his drive and tenacity today.
Another passion for Dyer is his love for the Virgin Islands. Although he left the islands after middle school, his parents ensured that he and his siblings stayed connected to their roots by actively participating in activities held by the Virgin Islands Association in the Washington, D.C., metro region. However, it is the pride that has been passed down along with the legacy of his grandfather, Valdemar Hill Sr., that keeps him engaged even today with what is taking place in the territory.
Dyer said it is a love that he and his wife, Avanell Dyer, have instilled in their two children. While Dyer resides outside the territory, he said he strongly believes that the U.S. Virgin Islands diaspora has an instrumental role to play in moving the islands forward and he does his part from his home in Maryland.
Every other Saturday for the past four years, Dyer has co-hosted the “Business Corner” radio show on WSTX 970 AM along with Abdul Ali, Collin Hodge, Edward Browne and Betina Larocque. The program is geared toward economic issues impacting the Virgin Islands, and Dyer said he is honored to use this medium to give back to his community.
“The USVI will always be the place that is home. I was born and raised on St. Croix and my family has been in the [Virgin Islands] for generations,” Dyer shares. Not only does he love the food, natural beauty and the culture, but also he mostly loves connecting with the people on island and his children have begun to enjoy carnival and other traditions whenever they visit.
However, looking at the bigger picture, Dyer desires to see an excellent economic ecosystem developed in the territory that can attract top tier industries so the islands can successfully compete worldwide. “The opportunity lies in this moment to roll up our sleeves and join as one United States Virgin Islands to become an economic leader in the Caribbean region and globally,” he said. With such a powerful vision only great things can be in store.
A Nugget for V.I. Youth: “There have been many Virgin Islanders that achieved many levels of success in variety of disciplines. However, my advice for the V.I. youth is aim to surpass the successes of the past, dream the impossible, and work extremely hard to achieve it. If you get to the proverbial fork in the road in your life, be willing to go straight and make your own path in life, but be prepared to endure until the end.”
Little Known Fact: “I am a certified scuba diver.”
__
Loán Sewer is a marketing and tourism consultant and proud Virgin Islander who resides in Washington, D.C. She is also a founding member of the USVI Alliance Inc., an organization focused on reconnecting the Virgin Islands diaspora with the local community and host of the USVI Economic Development Summit on the U.S. mainland. Follow her on Twitter @LoTalksTourism or e-mail her at info@Lotalkstourism.com.
