Professor Elsa L. Rhynie

Professor Elsa Leo Rhynie is the first female to be appointed deputy principal(1996-2002) and principal(2006-2007) of the University of the West Indies, Mona in 1977.

She has made an indelible mark in the education system with more than a decade of experience in higher education.

Professor Leo Rhynie has served as lecturer and senior lecturer in the School of Education Psychology at the School of Education at UWI, Mona between 1977 and 1987.

Alia Atkinson Jamaican Swimmer

Alia Atkinson is a Jamaican swimmer with almost two decades of experience in competitive swimming.

Atkinson placed Jamaican on the world map of swimming when she made her Olympic debut at the age of 15 years old at Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece in 2004.

She has led an illustrious career up to her retirement in 2021. Atkinson has won a total of 124 medals with 74 being gold medals.

Paula Llewellyn

Paula Llewellyn made history in the justice system as the first female to be appointed as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Jamaica in 2008.

After completing law school in 1984, Llewellyn was appointed Clerk of Court in the St James Residents Magistrates Court. After which she was promoted to Crown Counsil at the Office of the DPP where she was later appointed to DPP after seven years of service.

The DPP is responsible for providing Jamaicans with an independent and effective prosecution which is fair and just.

Since her appointment, Llewelyn has been involved in notable cases such as the extradition of Jamaican drug lord, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke and the murder trial of Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel.

Llewellyn was the recipient of the Civil Service Long Service Medal for having twenty years in public service.

Professor Carolyn Cooper

Professor Carolyn Cooper is a notable Jamaican author and former professor of Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.

She is known for her contribution to the appreciation of the Jamaican culture through her body of work that highlights the Jamaican language, reggae and dancehall music.

According to a publication by the University of the West Indies Library, She has bridged multiple scholarly domains and reached the wider public with her work in cultural studies. 

Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce

Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce won the Women's 100m final in Zurich.

As the world commemorates International Women’s Day, it is only fitting that we highlight some of our very own Jamaican women who have made indelible contributions to Jamaica’s history.

Whether it is through sports, healthcare, education, or politics, Jamaican women have long shattered the glass ceiling to achieve several leadership roles in society while making a mark on each person that they meet.

Our Jamaican women are creative, resilient, and loving beings who display these qualities both locally and internationally.

Tessanne Chin, Singer

The Jamaican songbird Tessane Chin has made a name for herself both locally and internationally. Tessane displayed the Jamaican culture and her cultural roots to the entire world when she won NBC’s reality TV singing competition, the Voice in 2013.

Entering the Voice gave Tessane her big break to the international scene and she did not leave her cultural roots behind during the journey. During the competition, Tessane performed popular Jamaican hits such as Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff and Redemption Song by Bob Marley.

Louise Bennett 1919-2006

 If you have ever spent any great deal of time with a Jamaican, you may have noticed the British cords with which we tie our own culture together. From our obsession with tea to the extra consonants in your spelling, our parliamentary politics to our curriculum, we are truly a Commonwealth nation—and by God, we are proud of it!

Unfortunately, for many years, the “properness” of British culture often meant that Jamaicans felt the need to set aside elements of the cultural identity we had forged in times of strife. One defining aspect of this was our language. Jamaican Patois was often thought of as the language of the lower class and the uneducated, while the educated and the wealthy spoke English.

Louise Bennett despised this relegation of such an important aspect of our culture to the backseat, so she made it her goal to bring Jamaican Patois to the forefront through comedy and poetry. The more people laughed and enjoyed her work, the more Jamaican Patois became acceptable in Jamaican society.

Her poems are taught in schools, usually as a part of English Literature classes. Whether you personally enjoy her work or not, no one can dispute the impact her work had on making Jamaicans of all colors, creeds and classes once again proud of the language we forged as Blacks, Indians, Chinese, Irish and Germans working together on sugar plantations.

Edna Manley 1900-1987

Edna Manley was born to a Jamaican mother and English father in Yorkshire. She received an extensive education in the arts, both through attending art schools and via private tutoring. In 1921, she married Norman Manley and moved with him to Jamaica in 1922.

Norman Manley is another of our seven national heroes. He founded the People’s National Party, which is one of Jamaica’s major political camps and is the 1st Premier of Jamaica. He was succeeded by our first Prime Minister, Alexander Bustamante, yet another Jamaican National Hero.

However, Edna Manley is known for far more than being the wife of a legend. She is considered the Mother of Art in Jamaica. When Edna arrived on the island, visual arts didn’t rank very high on our list of priorities. Art was virtually nonexistent. However, the island life greatly inspired Edna to change her own artwork for the better, which also stirred a movement among Jamaicans.

Mrs. Manley has played a major pioneering role in the history of 20th century Jamaican art. Her works are in private collections, galleries and public buildings worldwide. Since 1924 she exhibited in many one woman and group exhibitions mainly in London, the United States, the Caribbean and in Jamaica.

In 1929 she wa[s] awarded the Institute of Jamaica’s Silver Musgrave Medal. In 1943 she became the first recipient of the gold Musgrave Medal for her outstanding contribution and leadership in the arts in Jamaica. Edna was co-founder of the Jamaica School of Art in 1950.

Merlene Ottey, Jamaican

Long before Usain Bolt, there was Merlene Ottey. When I was growing up, this lady’s name was synonymous with speed. This is because for a long time, she was the fastest woman in the world. Even today, she is still Jamaica’s most decorated female athlete.

You will find her name in songs and poetry, though not so much in everyday speech anymore. The reason for that is obvious. How many Fastest Man and Fastest Woman titles have Jamaicans held at this point? We’ve firmly settled on Bolt for the time being.

Ottey competed on behalf of Jamaica from 1978 to 2002. She then continued to compete until 2012, but for Slovenia. Believe it or not, this did not dampen the warm feelings Jamaicans have had for her over the years, both in pop culture and politics.

In fact, she was honoured with an eight-foot statue in thanks for her contributions to Jamaica. According to JIS, at the ceremony, our then Prime Minister Percival James Patterson, said the following words:

Your life is one of legendary endurance. From Moscow to Sydney, you showed the world that Jamaica is a force to be reckoned with, in athletics. You have always displayed determination and grit. Your success in track and field is unparalleled.