I am J’can to the core – Lester
Published:Sunday | January 10, 2021 | 12:16 AM
The COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed her regular visits to the land of her birth, but Jennifer Lester remains rooted in her Jamaican heritage which she believes has not only tested but solidified her resilience for hard work.
“I am Jamaican to the core,” declared the current head of the Corporate Services and Facilities Management Division of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Lester is a former University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Scholarship winner who studied German, French and Spanish for her undergraduate degree. On completion, she moved on to The UWI’s St Augustine campus in Trinidad and Tobago for postgraduate studies in international relations.
Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, Lester chronicled her journey from Sailsbury Plains in rural St Andrew through The Queen’s School, The UWI, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jamaican Embassy in Washington, Georgetown University Law School, IMF, private law practice, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and being the only black woman in one of the United States’ top 20 law firms.
She describes herself as “always fascinated by anything international, including languages. I taught myself Spanish at a very early age. I used to use my brother’s textbooks (he went to Jamaica College). I would just go through the textbook and teach myself numbers. I actually thought I was going to be an interpreter, because I found the world of books and languages and culture so fascinating.”
After St Augustine, Lester applied and received employment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jamaica in 1979 as a junior foreign service officer, which began her quest to fulfilling her dreams of travel and work in international affairs.
Five years after working in trade, economics and protocol, she was posted to Washington, DC in 1985.
Lester admitted to having strong admiration for the law and thought of switching studies while at St Augustine, but never bothered. With her US posting, however, the opportunity for full-time employment and part-time law studies became a reality.
She took it, and added “raising a family” to her growing portfolio. She beams with pride about her 36-year-old son, who is now an engineer, and 32-year-old daughter, who has followed her in law.
YEARN FOR INTERNATIONAL ARENA
Lester was pregnant with her daughter in second year at law school. After spending significant sums for the studies, she believed she should earn from her added qualifications. It was then that she joined one of the top 20 law firms in the US, a company which also had a global footprint. But she always wanted to return to the international arena. Her first stop was at PAHO, after which a position became available at IMF in 1997.
“I spent 18 years in the legal department of the IMF and rose to be assistant legal counsel, but I wanted to try something different so I then moved to the corporate services and facilities department. That is where I am now,” she said.
The COVID-19 pandemic and health restrictions worldwide have brought to a screeching halt nearly all the travelling activities of the Fund’s representatives, forcing its events and services to go virtual like much of the world.