BEYOND TOURISM:
 Terri-Ann Leslie — A Woman Fanning the Flames of Determination
Terri-Ann Leslie heads the Hanover Fire Department and proves that the North Coast can produce women who don’t simply dream of leadership; they pursue it.
By Javelle Stewart
The North Coast is often introduced to the world through its beaches, resorts, and breathtaking landscape. But beyond the hotels and attractions are stories of people whose lives reflect another side of the region’s ambition, resilience, leadership, and determination.
For Terri-Ann Leslie, Divisional Head of the Jamaica Fire Brigade in Hanover and St James, the leadership journey began long before she ever stepped into a position of authority.
(Terri-Ann Leslie, at the top of her game)
It began with a message she heard as a child.
Growing up in Cambridge, St James, Leslie learned early to appreciate the little things. But during her primary school years, she was told something that could easily have become a limitation: that nobody in her family would ever make it anywhere.
Instead of accepting those words as her reality, Leslie carried them with her as motivation.
For her, this experience became an important lesson in the power of belief.
That determination has followed her throughout her life.
(Before the days of the fire service)
Leslie attended Mount Alvernia High School, Montego Bay, where she once envisioned herself becoming a nurse. Although that particular career path did not materialize, her desire to serve others remained.
She eventually became an Emergency Medical Technician, beginning a journey that would take her into a field requiring courage, discipline and a willingness to respond when others are at their most vulnerable.
(Ms Leslie at Mount Alvernia High School in 2026 with her colleagues).
Today, she holds a senior leadership position within the Jamaica Fire Brigade, overseeing the Hanover and St James divisions.
Her career has also allowed her to break barriers.
Leslie is the first woman in St James to be promoted to her rank, an achievement she does not view as the end of the journey.
For Leslie, the next goal is even higher.
She wants to become the Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade.
For a woman working in a traditionally male-dominated field, leadership requires more than holding a title.
For Leslie, the answer is simple: determination, discipline, contribution, integrity, purpose, spirituality, values and growth.
She believes women must be willing to enter spaces where they may not traditionally have been represented and prove that they belong there.
Her message to women is not to limit themselves because of the fields they are entering, or the expectations society may have of them.
Instead, she wants to see women at the zenith of traditionally male-dominated fields.
Leslie believes today’s women have a responsibility to guide the generation coming behind them.
At 50, she sees herself not simply as someone who has achieved a level of success, but as someone who has a responsibility to help shape the future.
Her journey, therefore, becomes bigger than her own career. It becomes about the young woman who is watching.
CHALLENGES
Behind Leslie’s professional accomplishments are personal battles that have tested her resilience.
She has faced the challenge of colon cancer while also navigating the responsibilities of raising her child.
Those experiences have added another dimension to her understanding of strength.
Her story is a reminder that leadership does not mean that a person is untouched by difficulty. Sometimes, leadership is shaped precisely by the challenges that force a person to discover how much strength they possess.
For Leslie, determination has remained a common thread. Using that determination to fan the flames of her purpose and passion.
BEYOND TOURISM
The idea behind Beyond Tourism: A Young Woman’s View of the North Coast is that there is much more to the region than the image presented to visitors.
Leslie’s career is a clear example.
Her contribution is not taking place on a beach or inside a resort. It is taking place through public service, emergency response, leadership, and the protection of communities.
And she believes the North Coast has more opportunities than many people realize.
According to Leslie, everything a person needs to pursue their goals can be found on the North Coast, or elsewhere, but success ultimately requires focus and determination.
(Ms Leslie and the present principal at her alma mater, Mount Alvernia, Kayon Whyne.)
Her message challenges young people who may believe that their circumstances automatically determine their future. It is important to look beyond where they are coming from and look at where they want to go; all goals are attainable.
For Leslie, location should not become an excuse. As a native of Cambridge, St James, she stated that the resources, opportunities and possibilities may not always look exactly as someone expects, but the individual still has a responsibility to remain focused and determined.
Perhaps the most important part of Leslie’s story is not simply that she became a senior female leader in the Jamaica Fire Brigade.
It is that she does not want to be the last.
Her ambition to become Assistant Commissioner, and ultimately her aspiration to become Commissioner, represents a desire to continue opening doors.
For the next generation of North Coast women, her message is clear: do not be afraid of fields where women have traditionally been underrepresented. Enter them. Work hard. Lead.
(Ms Leslie in training years ago).
And, where necessary, break the barrier for the woman coming behind you.
Terri-Ann Leslie’s story is precisely the kind of story that exists beyond the postcard image of the North Coast.
It is the story of a girl from Cambridge who was told that nobody in her family would make it anywhere and who chose not to believe it.
It is the story of a young woman who wanted to become a nurse, found another path through emergency medical service, and eventually rose through the ranks of the Jamaica Fire Brigade.
It is the story of a mother, a cancer survivor, and a leader who continues to set new goals.
And perhaps most importantly, it is the story of a woman who is not satisfied with simply being the first.
She wants to help make it possible for other women to follow.
Because the future of the North Coast cannot be measured only by the number of visitors who arrive on its shores.
It must also be measured by the ambitions of the people who call it home and by the doors they are brave enough to open.
This is the North Coast beyond tourism.
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Javelle Stewart is a Jamaican retail manager who enjoys telling stories that allow people to see, connect with and appreciate the people behind them. You may reach her by email at [email protected]Â
