The Jamaica Foundation of St. Croix has elected Trisha Harris, M.S., PA-C, a bilingual physician assistant (PA), to be president of the Jamaica Foundation of St. Croix for the 2020 inaugural leadership year. She is currently employed with the Department of Surgery at Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center and Frederiksted Health Care.
Among the new seven founding board members are President-elect Trisha Harris, Vice President Dr. Wayne Marchant, Treasurer Lovine Johnson, Secretary Deletta Ebbesen, Director-at-Large Victor Barnes, Director-at-Large Angela Frederick and appointed Historian Ferdinand Treasure. The previously informal group consisted of local Jamaican residents that were born, raised or migrated to St. Croix, who met annually with a common interest in support of their Jamaican culture.
Trisha Harris, the youngest child of Jamaican immigrants, relocated to St. Croix in March 2017, just prior to Hurricanes Irma and Maria. During the annual Jamaica Independence Celebration at Altona Lagoon Beach on Sept. 1, Harris said, “It is time to make the status of the organization official!” Harris’ statement refers to the need to offer Jamaicans local representation, mentorship, scholarship and collaborative efforts for business opportunities in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Leadership and community outreach are not foreign to Harris, who has previously served as president to seven professional organizations. Most recently, she has served as president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Academy of Physician Assistants (USVIAPA), 2018-2019; just one year after arriving on St. Croix. She continues to sit on the USVIAPA Board of Directors as the immediate past president and member of the executive committee.
Community outreach efforts on both St. Croix and Jamaica were also a topic of interest; Harris recently coordinated a medical mission to the Parish of St. Ann Jamaica in June 2019 with residents of St. Croix.
Harris brings a new depth of vision to leadership, entrepreneurship and community outreach for the Jamaican residents of St. Croix. She has a passion for service and moves effortlessly from leadership position to leadership position, often excelling at several at the same time. Her personal strengths of being highly motivated, dedicated, well-organized, efficient, the ability to multitask and the ability to maintain composure in stressful situations makes her a valuable asset to any organization.
For more information about the Jamaica Foundation of St. Croix, email www.jamaicafoundationst.croix@gmail.com.
