The Haiti Project to Hold 14th Annual Art & Soul Gala April 16th at Vassar College
April 16, 2026 – POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The Haiti Project is honored to invite the community to its 14th annual Art & Soul Gala on Thursday, April 16th, 2026, 5:30pm to 8:00pm at Vassar College’s Alumnae House.
This year, the Medical Advisory Board nominated two extraordinary candidates to honor: Premier Medical Group and Dr. Bertrand Norvilus, for uncompromising support of and dedication to the Fiervil Clinic and the 47 villages it serves in northwest Haiti.
Since the inception of the Vassar Haiti Project, the Premier Medical Group has been a proud and steadfast sponsor of making healthcare available in rural Haiti, supporting the delivery of essential medical services to communities with limited resources and few healthcare options.
Through its continued support of the Haiti Project, Premier Medical Group extends its mission of compassionate care beyond the Hudson Valley, helping to build healthier communities both at home and abroad. Premier Medical Group, a multi-specialty medical practice serving the Hudson Valley, provides comprehensive care across an exceptional range of specialties including Urology, Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Rheumatology, Neurology, Podiatry, Dermatology, Gynecology, Plastic Surgery, and Internal Medicine, including Pulmonology, Nephrology, and Family Practice.
Founded with a mission to deliver compassionate, high-quality healthcare, the group has grown into one of the region’s leading healthcare organizations, caring for thousands of patients across diverse medical and surgical disciplines. Guided by a strong commitment to service, Premier believes that access to quality healthcare is essential—both locally and globally.
We are so proud to honor Dr. Bertrand Norvilus, Physician and Medical Director of the Fiervil Clinic. Dr. Norvilus received a full scholarship to attend medical school in Cuba, where he complemented his medical training with coursework in Hospital Management, Strategic Marketing, and French. After returning to Haiti, he gained recognition for his work at Alma Mater Hospital before assuming leadership of the Fiervil Clinic.
Despite political instability that has made it increasingly difficult to obtain essential medications, Dr. Norvilus continues to provide and coordinate care for more than 3,000 residents in the surrounding region. His leadership has been marked by extraordinary dedication, innovation and resilience. In order to reach the clinic, he regularly traverses dangerous roadblocks, unpaved roads, and riverbeds, yet remains steadfast in his commitment to ensuring healthcare access for the communities he serves.
Haiti Project Board and Medical Advisory Board member, Dr. Dan Katz, reflects: “We are so fortunate, in our lives, here in the United States. We have been given so very much. In their 40 years of practice, now as Premier Medical Group, these exemplary doctors and staff are fully cognizant of this fact. This perspective has given them the ability to see beyond their own needs and give to a greater good in the world. I am deeply proud to be associated with Premier Medical Group, whose support for The Haiti Project has been steadfast and generous for over 15 years. Premier's contributions have been vital to creating and sustaining our clinic in Fiervil. We are fortunate to be able to give so little of ourselves and yet make such a significant difference in the lives of thousands of villagers in the mountains of Northwest Haiti.”
The Haiti Project’s health initiative is strengthened by Vassar students who work alongside the Medical Advisory Board and our team in Haiti. Students cite this experiential learning as an essential supplement to their academic coursework.
Sara Neequaye ‘26, a Vassar senior who’s been working with The Haiti Project since her freshman year, says, “Being a part of the Haiti Project for the past four years has been a transformative experience. I’ve witnessed how collaboration between students, medical physicians, artists, and local churches can drive meaningful change to a community miles away in Haiti, despite the ongoing conflict. As someone hoping to launch my career in public health, I’m grateful for the learning opportunity and hope to keep up this work past graduation.”
“Working with the Haiti Project is important to me because it provides an opportunity in which I can directly help people most in need while also highlighting the beauty of Haitian culture,” says planning team member and Vassar junior Logan Watts ‘27, who hopes to be a doctor one day. “This opportunity also allows me to work within a motivating, intimate community of individuals who are dedicated to the mission of the organization.”
Paul Pesco’s fabulous band La Bonne Vie will be joined this year by special guest, Elvis Francois, MD. Known as the “singing surgeon,” Dr. Francois is of Haitian origin and has recently completed his final year of Harvard’s Spine Surgery Fellowship. Vassar’s Mahagonny Jazz Combo will regale us during the cocktail hour, and beautiful, vibrant Haitian art will be available for purchase throughout the evening. Delicious hors d'oeuvres, desserts, and beverages will be catered by Twisted Soul.
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available through the Ticket/ Sponsorship Link. The program runs from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and tickets for the event are $125. Sponsorships that help underwrite the clinic’s annual operational budget, including the physician’s salary, nurses, and medications are warmly welcomed.
The Haiti Project is a 501©3 nonprofit organization that works closely with community members, youth of all ages, including Vassar students, and like-minded organizations. Its work is rooted in experiential education, teaching student volunteers the theory and practice of global citizenship. Through the purchase and sale of original Haitian art, as well as contributions, the organization supports five initiatives in the northwest mountains of Haiti: education, reforestation, clean water access, a women’s cooperative, and health care.
About Vassar College
Vassar College–based in Poughkeepsie, New York, is a co-educational, independent, residential liberal arts college where perspectives cross, ideas intersect, and passion burns bright. Originally founded to provide women an education equal to that once available only to men, Vassar was the first all-women’s college in the nation to become coeducational in 1969. Vassar fosters an intellectual openness and independence in students, who meet each other as equals, and are encouraged to absorb diverse thought and impassioned dialogue that give them the insight and confidence they will need in a complex world where they will make important contributions. Consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country, Vassar is renowned for pioneering achievements in education, for its long history of curricular innovation, and for the beauty of its campus.
