Young Caymanians join public sector
(CNS Local Life): Three young Caymanian have recently taken jobs at the Ministry of Health, capitalising on their backgrounds in public health and accounting. Policy advisor Alanis Linwood, deputy chief financial officer Kenisha Lumsden and accounts officer I Cody Ebanks are the new additions to public sector service.
Linwood has been “fascinated by medicine and health from an early age”, said a government press release, and decided to pursue a career in public health after attending the World Affairs Seminar (WAS) in 2014, as the Cayman Islands representative of the Rotary Club.
Following the WAS conference, she received a government scholarship to pursue a bachelor of science degree in health and human sciences at Durham University in the UK. She went on to complete a master’s degree in public health at Imperial College London, specialising in health services and systems.
Her current responsibilities include assisting with the development, improvement, and implementation of laws and policy arising from the health-related subject areas within the ministry’s portfolio, the release stated. There have also been opportunities for more direct engagement with the community, such as an awareness-raising photo opportunity organised with the Cayman Islands Cancer Society on World Cancer Day.
Lumsden joined the public sector for the first time earlier this year, looking for an opportunity to give back to the country while expanding her skillset. Before taking up her duties as deputy CFO for the Ministry of Health’s accounts team in February 2019, she had previously worked for private sector financial-services firms.
“I started right in the middle of the financial year-end and the budget-planning process,” Lumsden said. “As a result, I have been learning a lot in a short space of time. Fortunately, my management team and colleagues have been very supportive of my transition period.”
She recently completed her certified public accountant (CPA) certification and is licensed in the state of New Hampshire. In addition, she holds a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from Nova Southeastern University.
Ebanks, who is also on the accounts team, brings 10 years of private sector experience to his new job at the ministry, with responsibility for payment processing, accruals and other finance-related duties.
Describing himself as patriotic, the new civil servant said that working for the public sector, and hence the people of the Cayman Islands, had long been an ambition. “When the opportunity came up I jumped on it,” he said.
His self-declared affinity and aptitude for numbers have been evident from his progression up the career ladder of the accounting sector over the last several years, the release said, from assistant at an auto body shop, to accounts representative at a local bank and, most recently, a sales representative at a shipping firm.
He has a bachelor of science degree in business administration and accounting from the University College of the Cayman Islands. Within the next five years he plans to earn a master’s degree in business administration, as well as a CPA qualification.
In welcoming the three, Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn said she was extremely happy to have these well-qualified and enthusiastic young Caymanians join the ministry team, the release said.
Ahearn added that since joining the ministry these individuals have all demonstrated that they embody the civil service core values of “passion, integrity, and professionalism” that will stand them in good stead to “make the lives of those we serve better”.
Category: Civil Service, Local News, Medical and Health
