Karen Lee Murphy was born in Harbour View and attended Alpha Kinder Prep school, located off South Camp road. She attended mass at St Benedict’s Catholic Church with her elderly neighbour, Mrs. Hart.

Karen moved to Portmore when she was 6 years old and briefly attended Bridgeport primary before returning to Alpha Kinder prep school. She went on to attend St Hugh’s high school for girls. Karen migrated to the US after graduating from high school where she attended Broward Community College. There she earned an associate degree then went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in Management at Florida international University.

Fun fact:  Karen and Xavier met when she was 11 years old. They reconnected through a mutual friend years after they both migrated to the US. Xavier and Karen attended FIU, studied together and became best friends. Really! Their love story was not realized until she was 21.

Karen married Xavier 2 weeks prior to graduation from FIU. After graduating and getting married, they expanded their family immediately. Karen enlisted in graduate school at Florida Atlantic university before their first child was 1. She worked and attended school full time earning a master’s degree in Public Administration within 2 years. Karen works in higher education as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and College Registrar at Broward College.

XAVIER –

Xavier Murphy was born in Kingston, Jamaica but grew up in Portmore for most of his time there. He attended Jamaica College, where he learned to be patient, persistent, and the strength of being a part of a community.

In the mid 1980’s, Xavier journeyed to the US seeking higher education. He stayed with close family friends from Jamaica when he first moved to the US, until his family migrated.

Xavier lives in South Florida which has a large Jamaican community and is less than 2 hours away from Jamaica. He treasures his wife and 3 daughters as the foundation of a lot of what he does. He and his wife Karen knew each other from their youthful years growing up in Jamaica. They both lived in Portmore.

Since moving to the USA, Xavier founded the jamaicans.com platform in 1995 and is a pioneer for web-based technology for the Jamaican Diaspora.

Xavier is very active in the South Florida community and has served in a leadership capacity for many organizations including President of the South Florida chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals.

XAVIER & KAREN –

Another fun fact:  Xavier and Karen married on Jamaica’s Independence Day, August 6th and have been married for 27 years.

The Murphy union produced three daughters – Brittany, Brianna, and Bianca who all work for Jamaicans.com in some capacity.

 

  • Brittany Khaleel is the eldest daughter. She is married and is a videographer by profession.
  • Brianna Murphy, the middle daughter, is pursuing a Master’s degree at Nova Southeastern University.
  • Bianca Murphy is the “wash belly” and is a student at the University of Central Florida.

Xavier and Karen have been active in their church and serve as leads in the marriage ministry, they have served as Presidents of their Jamaican High School Alumni associations – Florida chapters and continue to move and shake within the fabric of the South Florida Jamaican Community.

Despite the COVID pandemic, Xavier continued serving the Jamaican community through Jamaicans.com and in 2019 was recognized with the Caribbean American Heritage Award. In 2020, both Xavier and Karen each received a Proclamation by the City of Lauderhill commemorating their contributions in the S. Florida Caribbean community.

2021 continues to be an equally rewarding year for Xavier was named the Jamaica Diaspora Champion in Media in June. In August he was honored with a Cultural Icon Outstanding Jamaican American Award from the City of Miami Gardens for his contributions to the community, through Jamaicans.com