‘When women thrive, we all rise’

Today, for International Women’s Day and through the 2026 theme ‘Give To Gain’, the world is being encouraged to take on a mindset of generosity and collaboration, recognising that when people, organisations, and communities give generously, opportunities and support for women increase.

According to www.internationalwomensday.com, “Whether through donations, knowledge, resources, infrastructure, visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, contributing to women’s advancement helps create a more supportive and interconnected world.

“When women thrive, we all rise.”

Three Jamaican women who are thriving in the Diaspora, not only achieving remarkable success in their chosen professions of medicine, education and social services, but who continue to give back to their homeland are Dr Millicent Comrie, Dr Rushell White and Carmeta Albarus.

DR MILLICENT COMRIE

Dr Millicent Comrie is a renowned obstetrician-gynaecologist (OBGYN) who is the medical director of Maimonides Medical Center for women’s health in Brooklyn, New York in the United States (US).

She is recognised for her expertise in fibroids, high-risk pregnancies and developing uterus-preserving surgical techniques.

Comrie is also known for her community service and leadership, both in the Diaspora and Jamaica.

She is a leader of the Red Hook Charity, which gives care to the underserved community in Brooklyn.

Comrie told The Sunday Gleaner that, through Red Hook she teaches children how to improve themselves, their health and helps to set up rewarding careers opportunities for youngsters in need.

Born in Rose Town, St Andrew, she attended Half-Way Tree Primary School and later Ardenne High School. After high school, she attended The University of the West Indies pursuing studies in the natural sciences.

Comrie said that, initially, she wanted to be a teacher but, while at The UWI, she observed the doctors who were teaching student doctors and developed a love for medicine.

She said medicine called her so she left Jamaica in 1969 to continue her studies at Morgan University in the US, followed by Howard University where she completed her bachelor’s degree in three years before going on to New York State University to complete her medical studies.

The next stop along her educational journey was Columbia University where she completed her master’s degree in public health.

Comrie told The Sunday Gleaner that she moved to New York from Washington D.C. because she had got married and her husband worked in New York.

“It was not a hard choice to make, the move,” she said.

The sister of Dr Fenton Ferguson, a former minister of health in Jamaica, Comrie said the person who had the greatest influence on her life was her mother.

“The material force behind our success was my mom,” she said.

“She was one of the brightest women that I know. While she did not have the degrees and accolades, she drummed in us the benefits of having a good education.”

She said her mother was a civil servant but her charge to her children was “education, education, education”.

“When we stopped hearing ‘education’ she urged us to invest in real estate,” said Comrie.

Speaking specifically on her career, Comrie said she loves delivering babies and the happiness this brings.

“It still stays with me,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Comrie’s focus on fibroids and uterus surgery was spurred by the high number of young black women who were having their uteri removed because they had fibroids, rendering them unable to have children at a later date.

“I believed that there had to be a better way where the fibroids could be removed without taking out the uterus,” she said.

As she perfected the medical surgery techniques, her fame spread, bringing her patients from the Caribbean and across the globe.

“I have had patients from London, Africa, Europe and elsewhere,” she said.

A recipient of membership in Jamaica’s Order of Distinction, Comrie has delivered babies for the wives of high-ranking politicians across the globe, resulting in her being a special guest of George Weah, the then president of Liberia, two years ago.

She has also participated or led medical missions to Jamaica to lend her services to women in need, as well as provided medical equipment and other supplies to Jamaica over the years.

Comrie makes several trips to Jamaica annually and continues to hold aloft her ‘Jamaicaness’.

DR RUSHELL WHITE

Dr Rushell White is the highest-ranking Jamaica-born woman in New York City’s (NYC) Department of Education, ascending to the position of superintendent less than a year ago.

She is one of only three Jamaicans to have even been appointed superintendents, and who are now currently serving, as part of the NYC school system. There are currently 47 superintendents in the NYC school system.

White, who previously served as deputy superintendent in the City’s education department, oversees some 47 schools in northern Brooklyn with a student population of around 27,000. In her new position, she also oversees approximately 6,000 deputy superintendents, principals, assistant principals, teachers and other professionals in the district.

Born in Yallahs, St Thomas, she attended Yallahs Primary School before migrating to the US at eight years old in 1984.

She lived in the Bushwick neighbourhood of Brooklyn on her arrival in the US. She has come full circle as her current office is just a stone’s throw from where she first lived on her arrival in New York.

She attended Elementary School 377 but was accepted in the gifted programme. She attended IS 383 for the gifted and talented in 1985 and John Dewey High School in Brooklyn in 1990.

White earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, along with her Advanced Certificate in Supervision and Administration from Brooklyn College after nine years of studies. In December 2018, she earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership at the Sage Colleges in Albany, New York, and published her dissertation entitled Psychological Safety and English-speaking Caribbean Students in New York City Public Schools.

White has been involved in education for 27 years, beginning as an English teacher, then dean and assistant principal before spending nine years as principal of MS 226.

White has had success turning around failing schools and is considered one of the outstanding educational leaders in the New York City school system

“Over 27 years, I served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, director of continuous improvement, and deputy superintendent of Brooklyn North high schools. Each step has prepared me to lead with both head and heart to build on the momentum of progress, innovation, and equity for our extraordinary students, families, and communities,” she said.

According to her, her leadership is shaped by research in pursuit of her doctorate during which she examined the benefits of creating psychologically safe school environments for immigrant students in New York City public schools, a work rooted in her own lived experience and which continues to fuel her unwavering belief that every child deserves to feel seen, safe, and supported as they unlock their full potential.

White credits her grandmother with having the greatest influence on her life.

“She was a single mother of 12 children and, while she only left Jamaica on one occasion for travel overseas, she had dreams that were bigger and wider than you could imagine,” said White.

She told The Sunday Gleaner that her grandmother instilled in her the value of education and would continue to track her progress in the US from Jamaica.

“She was always in touch to make sure that I was doing alright,” said White.

The other quality her grandmother instilled in her, according to White, was giving back to her community.

“To this end I have partnered with other educators to give back to Jamaica, especially through STEM,” she said.

White believes that, without the influence of her grandmother, she might not have achieved all she has.

CARMETA ALBARUS

Carmeta Albarus is perhaps best known for her work with Jamaicans who have been deported to their homeland, helping them to settle back into the Jamaican community and assisting with job opportunities where possible.

However, before she got into her professional career in criminal justice, Albarus was an educator, teaching in the Jamaican school system for 13 years before migrating to the US.

She was born in the community of Fletcher’s Land in Kingston and attended St Joseph’s School for Girls on Duke Street. Later attending St Joseph’s Teachers’ College, she graduated as a teacher.

Raised deep in the Catholic faith, Albarus, who is one of five children, told The Sunday Gleaner that she was reared by a single mother and did not really have a father in her life.

Pointing to the people who made the most significant impact on her life, she listed her grandmother and the late Archbishop Charles Dufour.

“My grandmother taught me the importance of sharing and this has influenced my life to this day and can be seen in the work that I do with others,” she said.

She said Dufour, who was youth pastor at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, instilled in her a sense of loving and living an unselfish life.

In 1985 she migrated to the US and, on arriving, she began working as a babysitter while pursuing higher education.

Albarus earned a bachelor’s degree in human services and a master’s degree in social work. She is also licensed as a clinical social worker.

For the past 38 years, Albarus has worked as a mitigation consultant in the criminal justice system. She has contributed her expertise to hundreds of criminal cases across the US, many involving Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals. Notably, her involvement in the DC Sniper case, specifically with convicted Jamaican mass murderer Lee Boyd Malvo, was credited with helping to spare him from the death penalty.

Albarus has built a reputation as a fearless advocate for justice, particularly in her work with poor and disenfranchised young men of colour. She has also presented at several criminal justice seminars, where she addresses issues of race and cultural sensitivity in advocacy.

Through her assistance in numerous cases, Albarus has helped secure mitigated sentences for many individuals, including those facing the death penalty or life imprisonment. Her therapeutic work with clients and their families has promoted healing and renewal. A significant number of her clients, like Malvo, are of Jamaican or other Caribbean descent.

Albarus’s dedication to serving marginalised communities began in her teenage years when she advocated for the poor and disadvantaged residents of the Warieka Hills community. As the spiritual chairman of the Catholic Youth Organisation at Holy Rosary Church, she coordinated the distribution of groceries and necessities to Warieka Hills residents on Youth Sundays.

She also organised visits to the Bellevue Hospital and the Eventide Home during Easter and Christmas, rallying the business community to provide gifts to the residents. Under the mentorship of Dufour (now Archbishop Emeritus of Kingston), Albarus launched an adult literacy programme for the Bull Bay community in 1970 while still a student at St Joseph’s Teacher’s College, preceding the official JAMAL literacy programme established in 1974 by the Jamaican Government.

For her outstanding wok she has received recognition and many awards from organisations both in the Diaspora and Jamaica.

editorial@gleanerjm.com