Meet The Chairs
Meet The Chairs - Past and Present
RENEE MENZIES MCCALLUM
CHAIR WLI 2019- 2021
CHORVELLE A. JOHNSON
CHAIR WLI 2017-2019
Chorvelle A. Johnson - is the President & C.E.O. of both PROVEN Wealth Limited and PROVEN Fund Managers Limited; wholly-owned subsidiaries of PROVEN Investments Limited. Joining the team in October 2011, Chorvelle has the responsibility for providing strategic leadership for the companies by working with the Board and her management teams to establish long-range goals, strategies, plans and policies to improve the performance and market share of both companies. She has been successful in advancing the vision of the companies by realizing significant growth in the customer base as well as increases in the businesses’ profitability.
Chorvelle serves as the current Chair of the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) – Jamaican Chapter (Committee of the United Way of Jamaica); the Chair of the Public Education Committee for the Pension Fund Association of Jamaica; as well as Secretary for the Jamaica Securities Dealers Association.
Chorvelle is Jamaica’s first International Women’s Forum Fellow for the period 2015-2016 where she studied Leadership at Harvard and INSEAD Business schools.
A results oriented individual who embraces competition and the fulsome development of her team, she develops and maintains strategies that carefully balance risk and rewards as a means of achieving targets and objectives with a keen sense for the roles of each member on her team. Throughout her career, she has held numerous Senior Management positions at First Global Financial Services, Scotia-DBG and Dehring Bunting and Golding Limited.
For recreation and relaxation, she enjoys swimming, walking, playing and watching tennis, listening to music; and as a published author of - Simply Vegan – The Jamaican Way, she loves experimenting with her vegan lifestyle by cooking and trying out new vegan meals which she continues to readily share.
EVA LEWIS
CHAIR WLI 2015-2016
Eva Lewis is a Director of Citi (Jamaica) with over 26 years of experience in the Jamaican Banking industry. She currently holds the position of Corporate and Investment Banking Head of Citi Jamaica, responsible for overall client management and profitability and is a former Country Treasurer and Corporate Finance Head. Eva is a member of all senior management committees at Citi (Jamaica).
Currently the designated deputy during the absence of the CCO for the Citi franchise in Jamaica. Eva mentors both within a program at the bank and in a voluntary capacity with the Women’s Leadership Initiative in Jamaica. A St. Lucian National, she holds an MBA from Temple University, Philadelphia, and a BSc. (Hons) in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.
SHARON LAKE
CHAIR WLI 2013-2014
Sharon Lake is a Management Consultant, specializing in the area of Process Excellence. She is a member on several boards including The Mutual Gallery (Chair), The National Gallery of Jamaica (Deputy Chair), United Way of Jamaica, SOS Children’s Village Jamaica and Century 21 Properties.
Sharon is an Insurance and Information Technology professional with over twenty years’ experience at a Senior Management level in the areas of Life and Health Insurance, Pensions Administration and Information Technology. She attended Georgian Court College and McMaster University and has a BA in Mathematics and several professional designations in Insurance and Informational Technology, including Fellow Life Management Institute (FLMI) and Associate Member of the British Computer Society.
Sharon is a founding member of WLI Jamaica and chaired the Education Committee from 2004 – 2012.
MARCIA ERSKINE
CHAIR WLI 2010-2013
Marcia Erskine, Managing Director of Marcia Erskine & Associates, a Caribbean communication consultancy, is a graduate of the University of the West Indies (Mona) with a BA in Mass Communication. She is also a graduate of the Dynamic Graphics Education Foundation (slide/sound AV presentation) of Peoria, Illinois. She is a fellow of International Centre for Research & Training in Major Project Management (Montreal, Canada).
Marcia is a former President of the Public Relations Society of Jamaica and the International Association of Business Communicators-Caribbean Chapter.
She has been honoured by the Small Business Development Centre of Jamaica for contribution to training and project management, Family Health International for services to the Jamaica HIV/AIDS at the Workplace Programme by the International Association of Business Communicators as a “Public Relations Pioneer”; was awarded the “Marcella Martinez Award” by the Jamaica Tourist Board for her work in promoting Caribbean tourism. A national of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, Marcia was honoured by the country’s High Commission in Jamaica for service to the High Commission and to Jamaica.
She is a founding member of the WLI.
SENATOR MARLENE MALAHOO FORTE
CHAIR WLI
2009-2010
An Attorney at law, former judge, prosecutor and lecturer, Marlene has served as State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, with responsibility for Foreign Trade and Diaspora and Consular Affairs.
She has represented Jamaica as head of delegation at numerous international conferences in Europe, Asia, Africa, Central & South America and within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), including representing the Prime Minister at Heads of Government/ Heads of State Conferences, served as chief political negotiator on various issues on behalf of Jamaica, CARICOM and the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group and was a member of several Joint EU/ ACP/CARIFORUM Committees and International Boards
Marlene has received several honors including: World Economic Forum Young Global Leader 2010 and The Outstanding Young Person 2010 by the West Indies Junior Chamber International. She is an alumna of Harvard University, Yale University, USA, and King’s College London.
PATRICIA RAMSAY
CHAIR WLI 2004-2009
Patricia Ramsay was appointed chair of WLI when the organization was launched in 2004, and served in that capacity through to 2010. A health practitioner by training, her diversified range of professions has included journalist, TV host, magazine editor (Paris and New York) and Educational Cultural Director at the University of Technology (UTECH)-Jamaica.
Pat has received numerous awards including: a National Honour by the Government of Jamaica in 2010; the International Women’s Federation (IWF) International 2012 Women Who Make a Difference Award in San Francisco International Hall of Fame; the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (AMCHAM) Business and Civic Leadership Award of Excellence – Arts and Culture, and 2012 Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) Stewardship Award.
Pat participated in the 2014 Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University as Distinguished Fellow, Chair, Edna Manley Arts Foundation; and Director on several boards including IWF International, United Way of Jamaica, and National Gallery of Jamaica.
She is the WLI Founding Chair and Chair Emerita.