Culture, Communications, Nature: My Career Journey…So Far

My career journey reflects a fusion of my artistic roots, a curiosity for business and a gradual focus on a thriving, sustainable Caribbean. But overall I believe it’s been nested in a desire to communicate Caribbean culture and change. 

It all began with my first love, the arts. I was a dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. I didn’t realise how meticulously I’d been observing the nuanced gestures and mannerisms of Barbadian people until as a choreographer, I felt compelled to draw on these for inspiration. 

Later on, as a programme manager developing initiatives in the arts, I felt compelled to delve more seriously into marketing.  I wanted to see bigger and more diverse audiences attending performances, exhibitions, and other arts events. How could I choreograph that? 

This intersection between the arts and marketing laid the foundation for my journey into the world of marketing communications.

As my career progressed, I couldn't ignore the tug towards marketing communications for nature and sustainability-related initiatives. This isn’t surprising for two reasons:

A childhood of “waste not want not” 

First, how I grew up; there were strong financial and cultural reasons for making more with less and lengthening the life of products and materials.  We weren’t rich and culturally, I could sense that being wasteful was frowned upon.

Terms used today, like upcycling, recycling, and reusing were simply a way of life in my household and community. 

There’s no way my clothes would be tossed out after I’d outgrown them, not with two younger sisters who would eventually fit into them. 

Old paint cans and butter containers became plant pots. My mother’s stepmother was a seamstress and I was familiar with patchwork quilts or sheets made from leftover fragments of clothing projects.

Minimalistic by nature

Second, I've always been a natural minimalist, never favouring excess yet a great deal of marketing communications is about persuading people to buy things, often things they don’t need. I didn’t want my work to focus on getting people to buy more stuff they don’t need. 

I should say here that the definition of sustainability that resonates with me, is that by the 1987 United Nations Brundtland Commission: 

 “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” 

There’s a cost to the excess stuff we create and buy; it shows up as waste, pollution, toxicity, unbelievable energy consumption and harmful emissions - all costly to fix over generations.

Building momentum for a stronger, healthier, more beautiful Caribbean 

Getting to tell the stories of Caribbean tradition, change and ingenuity could be my ultimate lifelong dream choreography experience.

Don’t get me wrong, I like beautiful things just as much as the next person and several times a day I think about lovely things I could buy. But more importantly, I want to live my personal and professional life in service to my future grandchildren and beyond, keeping the planet thriving for them. 

Working on projects to build momentum for Caribbean environmental sustainability, innovation, food and nutrition security, financial empowerment and health and wellbeing, are now tremendously gratifying for me as an independent consultant. 

Getting to tell the stories of Caribbean tradition, change and ingenuity could be my ultimate lifelong dream choreography experience.