GUYANESE-BORN ONYKA BARRETT IS ONE OF AT LEAST FOUR CONFIRMED FEMALE SPEAKERS to address the 19th Conference of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) scheduled for the Jamaica Pegasus next week under the theme ‘The Drivers of Capital: From Concept to Growth’
Barrett is CEO & Social Impact Strategist at Pinnacle Impact International Limited and conference organisers want participants benefit from her 16 years of expertise working with multilaterals, international and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
In her almost two decades of work, she has dedicated herself to human and economic development strategically positioning her to create and direct projects, and collaborate with multiple partners across the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa in countries such as Ghana and Kenya.
Her peers agree she is a big picture thinking female with results-oriented attitude, and blessed with the ability to “motivate others into transformative action.”
Miss Barrett has significant experience in strategising with government agencies across several Caribbean territories helping them create initiatives targeting key national priorities such as sustainable development, social enterprise development, triple-bottom-line impact, national policy and human resource developments.
In the three-year period between 2015 and 2017 she served as Co-Chair of the Social Enterprise Policy Committee, an initiative of the Planning Institute of Jamaica and then Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries. She was also appointed by the Port-of-Spain Cabinet for a 3-year stunt to serve on the Inter-Ministerial Committee responsible for monitoring the National Plan of Action for Children.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Jamaica Social Stock Exchange (JSSE). She was General Manager of the JN Foundation between 2018 to 2020.
In July 2022 she assumed the position of Executive Associate Principal in the JN Consult Research Unit, with the responsibility of supporting the long-term growth and sustainability of the JN Group. Before that, she served as Executive, Multilateral Relations, The Jamaica National Group, with responsibility of securing multilateral funding from donors for projects aligned with the work and values of the JN Foundation.
The Guyana-born professional lived also in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago before settling in Kingston, Jamaica.
The internationally recognised quintessential Caribbean woman holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Development Studies (with Distinction) from the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), University of the West Indies (UWI).
Ms. Barrett holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance, Centre for International Humanitarian Cooperation, Fordham University (USA), and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Human Resource Management from the Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom (UK).
