Alsion Roach-Wilson now sits atop Jamaica’s diplomatic service in New York

SHE EXPERIENCED homelessness in New York, rose to work on Wall Street and later being appointed Jamaica’s top diplomat in New York.

Jamaica’s Consul General to New York, Alsion Roach-Wilson’s journey began in Redwood, St Catherine, where she was born. She attended Redwood Primary School and later Guys Hill Secondary School, where she graduated early and migrated to the United States in 1980 to join her parents in Brooklyn, New York.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Roach-Wilson hopes that her story will inspire young women to realise that despite their roots they can rise to the top of their profession.

“In the symphony of progress, every woman’s voice is a unique note of courage, weaving strength into a melody of change,” she said. “Let us remember that our actions, however small they may seem, are powerful chords in the harmonisation of equality, diversity and empowerment that can inspire generations to come.”

On her arrival in Brooklyn, Roach-Wilson enrolled in Erasmus High School in Brooklyn, where she completed high school education.

Her homelessness began when she had a disagreement with her mother about her career path.

“My mother wanted me to become a nurse, but I was more interested in business and finance so with my guidance counsellor it was decided that I should pursue the career path that I love,” she told The Gleaner in an interview in her office at the new location for the Jamaican Consulate in Manhattan.

Enrolling in New York Technical College, Roach-Wilson decided to pursue nursing and accounting, which did not sit well with her mother. And when her mother found out, she put Roach-Wilson out of the family residence.

A social worker who saw the abuse meted out by her mother arranged for her to live at Convent House in Manhattan, a place for young people who had nowhere to live.

Roach-Wilson stayed there for a year and a half, during which she enrolled at American Business Institute to study business, accounting and finance.

Upon graduating, she began her journey on Wall Street, but not in the way she envisioned.

“I applied to Morgan Stanley for a position as junior accountant but because I did not have the required work experience, I was not placed in that job,” she said.

She pointed out that the only position available to her at Morgan Stanley was in the mail room, a position that she took, hoping to work her way up to where she wanted to be.

Her wait was not long in coming as after three months she was moved to the back operations on the mortgage desk doing profit and loss.

JOURNEY IN THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY

From Morgan Stanley she moved to Kidder Peabody and then it was on to Moody’s Investment/Dunn and Broadsheet.

Her journey in the financial industry continued with her move to HSBC as a supervisor and then it was on to Bear Sterns.

Roach-Wilson was to spend the longest working time at Bear Sterns, staying there for over 10 years.

At Bear Sterns she was involved in bonds, working on the capital market desk, and working on emerging markets such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominica Republic, among other countries.

In conjunction with Royland Campbell, who was with Capital and Credit Bank, Roach-Wilson started her own financial consulting firm, Alsion Road Group, that yielded much success, working with many top US financial firms as well as countries across the region.

It was while in this position that she first floated the idea of a Diaspora Bond for Jamaica.

“I looked at various models and settled on the Indian model and it closely fitted the Jamaican Diaspora needs,” she said.

The idea of a Diaspora Bond is still floating around without any concrete efforts being made to implement such a financial instrument, although government officials have expressed warmth for the idea.

In 2016, according to Roach-Wilson, she was approached by the Jamaican government to take the post of Consul General to New York, an option that she rejected at the time.

However, in 2019, she was again approached to become Consul General to New York and this time around she accepted the job, which she has held for nearly five years.

As Consul General to New York, she oversees the largest diplomatic territory, which includes 33 states in the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and Bermuda.

Since becoming Consul General, Roach-Wilson has made investments in Jamaica a focal part of her portfolio, arranging and hosting several investments seminars in New York and elsewhere and giving Jamaicans an opportunity to see the value and worth of investing in their homeland.

But she is not fully satisfied with her accomplishments as Consul General so far.

“There is so much more to be accomplished both for Jamaica and the Diaspora and I am determined to ensure that such accomplishments become a reality,” she told The Gleaner.

She has already overseen a move by the Consulate to bigger and more space, but wants to use the new location to showcase more of Jamaica’s cultural heritage.

editorial@gleanerjm.com