Ashley B. Saunders

Ashley Saunders was born and raised on the island of Bimini, Bahamas. He is President of the Bimini Historical Society and Vice President of the Bimini Museum. Mr. Saunders attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison on a Bahamas scholarship, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy. He also did post-graduate work in Philosophy for Children at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

 

Mr. Saunders, an internationally recognized author and poet, was the winner of the prestigious Cacique Award in the writer category in 2000. He has written three volumes on the History of Bimini, which are the only series of history books written about a Bahamian island by a native of the Bahamas to date. In addition, he wrote four books on island poetry. Some of his poetry appears in Bahamian Anthology, a text used at the College of the Bahamas and the secondary school level.      

 

In 2014 his poem 'March of the Hermit Crabs in the Rain’ was performed by an award-winning Scottish dance troupe at Westminster Abbey. Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh attended the annual ceremony in observance of Commonwealth Day 2014.

 

Mr. Saunders retired from the Bimini All-Age School after working thirty years as a distinguished educator. During his tenure, he raised the standard of K-12 education and worked tirelessly throughout his life to educate, inspire, and uplift his fellow Bahamians.

 

Since 1993, Mr. Saunders has been building the Dolphin House Museum, which also serves as his home, and is Bimini's most unique and artistic structure that has been visited by tourists from over 60 countries.