Kudos to Jones
PLAYERS FROM the environment sector have high praise for development professional and businesswoman Eleanor Jones on her receipt of the national honour, the Order of Distinction, for her contribution to the development of environmental management and civic development in Jamaica.
“I have worked with Eleanor for almost 20 years and I have always admired her drive and commitment to environmental management,” said Indi Mclymont Lafayette, managing director of Change Communications.
“She has worked tirelessly in Jamaica and the Caribbean to impact environmental policy and governance, not to mention onthe-ground impact in communities, and so on. I am very happy to see that hard work recognised and awarded by the Jamaican Government and people,” she added.
A WELL-DESERVED HONOUR
Professor Michael Taylor, physicist and codirector of the Climate Studies Group, Mona, is himself well pleased for Jones.
“Sometimes the environment and the work people do in the environmental arena is overlooked. This honour is recognition of the foresight that she has had. She was one of the pioneers in environmental management and the kind of consistent, dedicated effort that she has put in the area makes this a well-deserved honour,” he noted.
His sentiments were echoed by independent blogger and environmental advocate Emma Lewis, who also sits on the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica board.
“Eleanor’s national honour is richly deserved. She is an environmental powerhouse. Her experience and knowledge in the fields of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation are invaluable, as these are critical areas for Jamaica at this time. I recall, too, her work with Partners of the Americas for close to 20 years, working with a range of stakeholders, including civil society,” Lewis noted.
Chairman and chief executive officer of the consulting firm Environmental Solutions Ltd (ESL), and president of ESL Management Solutions Ltd, Jones has also served on several boards, locally and internationally, and has received many awards for her work in academia, environmental risk management systems, and with civil society. She is currently on the board of the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica.
Even as she has served the environment and development field, however, Jones has not neglected community service. In addition to her past work with Partners of the Americas and current work with the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston, she is, among other things, a founding member of the Jamaica Association for Children with Learning Disabilities and former director of the Malnourished Children’s Fund.