Derrick A Scott
Gleaner Writer

Washington, D.C:
Jamaican-born senior specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Dr. Winsome Leslie, is the recipient of the Antonio Ortiz Mena 2012 Award, which is given by the bank annually.

Dr. Leslie is one of only five IDB staff from the Caribbean over the past 23 years to receive this recognition which has been presented since 1989.

She is currently the Coordinator for the English-speaking Caribbean and Haiti in the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a grant project which is part of the IDB.

OUTSTANDING PROJECT

IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno recognised the Jamaican native for her outstanding project work in the English-speaking Caribbean and Haiti, during a brief ceremony held at the Bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., The Antonio Ortiz Mena award was named for the second President of the Bank, who presided over the institution from 1971 to 1988.

Ortiz Mena himself has established the award to recognise Bank staff who have made an outstanding contribution to the work of the institution.

When asked about the significance of this achievement, Dr. Leslie stated, “This award salutes and validates the efforts of not only myself, but my colleagues in the Caribbean and our efforts to expand the Bank’s involvement in sustainable development in the region.”

She added: “I am pleased and honored to be acknowledged in this way, and this award encourages me to work even harder as an advocate for the Caribbean in the Bank.”

Prior to her position at the IDB, Dr. Leslie worked at the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, D.C. as the Economic Attaché. She also held teaching posts at The American University and Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Dr. Leslie is a graduate of the St. Andrew High School and Barnard College and Columbia University in New York. Her parents, Astley Leslie and Sybil Leslie who now reside in Atlanta, Georgia, were former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and former Principal Lecturer at the Shortwood Teacher’s College, respectively.