Maxine A. Henry Wilson
A member of Literacy and Life’s Board of Directors, was appointed in 2012 as Chairman of the Child Development Agency in Jamaica. She is currently a visiting research fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Between 2002 and 2007, she served as the Minister of Education, Youth and Culture in the Jamaican Government. During her tenure she was responsible for the development of a blue print for the holistic transformation of the education system by a multidisciplinary task force. This has become the road map for the current process of institutional and structural transformation of the country’s education system.
Another landmark of her tenure was the legislative promulgation of an Early Childhood Commission that has been mandated to modernize the early childhood sector. This includes the legislation of standards, implementation of a process of inspection and certification of all early childhood institutions, the development of curricula for the sector and the mandatory training of all caregivers.
In recognition of the pioneering work done in the Early Childhood Sector, Mrs. Henry Wilson and her team were recognized at the presentation of the UNICEF EFA Global Monitoring Report in 2006.
As Minister of Education, Mrs. Henry Wilson was a member of the Working Group for the Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol and moved the resolution for its adoption. She has subsequently maintained a keen interest in this issue.
Prior to being Minister of Education, she served in several other ministerial portfolios from 1992-2002. This included that of Minister of Information.
Between 1994 & 2002, she served as Leader of Government Business in the Senate.
Mrs. Henry Wilson is currently a part-time lecturer in Public Sector Management and Public Policy. She is a member of the newly established Jamaica Teaching Council and provides lectures and gives advice on matters relating to education policy and reform.
She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of the West Indies and Graduate degrees in Public Administration from The University of the West Indies and Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey.