Sanya Goffe Chosen As Jamaica’s 12th Eisenhower Fellow

Sanya Goffe has been selected to represent Jamaica in the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowships 2020 Women’s Leadership Programme.

Sanya, a partner in the law firm Hart Muirhead Fatta and President of the Pension Industry Association of Jamaica, is one of 25 global leaders selected from over 1,000 candidates from scores of countries around the world to participate in the Fellowship Programme scheduled to run from October 11 to November 12 this year.

Eisenhower Fellows are outstanding leaders who make contributions to their societies.  Each year, the programme seeks diverse, dynamic leaders from across the world representing all professional sectors – private, public and nonprofit – to engage in transformative exchanges of knowledge and ideas with thought leaders, visionaries and achievers in their respective fields.What they share is a desire to make meaningful positive change in the world in collaboration with peers across sectors and borders. The Eisenhower Fellowships maintains a powerful network of women leaders from all countries and sectors. Women Fellows have led the charge to create ongoing opportunities to advance their leadership and grow their impact.

Sandra Glasgow, Chair of the local nominating committee comprising local fellows, noted that “Selection for this prestigious global programme was highly competitive so we knew that in order to secure a place for Jamaica, we had to nominate an exceptional candidate.  Sanya’s knowledge and passion for pension reform and development as part of the improvement of Jamaica’s social safety net, made her the nominating committee’s preferred candidate.

Jamaican candidates tend to punch above their weight in the selection process and the local Fellows are delighted that Sanya represented Jamaica so well in the Fellowships’ rigorous selection process at the international level. Sanya is undoubtedly an emerging leader who has infinite potential; we believe that her selection and participation in the Fellowship Programme will propel her to become the pre-eminent authority in the field of private and public pensions and pension reform, a sought after company director and an expert in governance and corporate law in Jamaica. We expect that at the conclusion of the Fellowship period, her work will be greatly enhanced by the experiences gained, and that Jamaica will see consequential outcomes and continued development in the area of pension reform,” Glasgow said.

According to the Programme, it selects ‘ambitious, disciplined and rising leaders with the vision to make the world a better place as well as the ability to create and implement a concrete plan to make that vision a reality post-fellowship.’ Fellows are expected to enhance the Eisenhower Fellowships’ values of peace, prosperity and justice, with real-world impact in their home countries.

Pension Development and Reform

“I am honoured to have been selected as the Eisenhower Women’s Leadership Fellow from Jamaica for 2020 and look forward to increasing my knowledge and experience in the area of pensions particularly within the larger context of social security improvement for Jamaica,” said Goffe.

Widely known for her legal practice in the area of pensions law and her strong advocacy for improving the private sector pension regulatory and legislative landscape in Jamaica, Goffe says that “One of the greatest challenges facing Jamaica in the area of social security protection is the low rate of pension coverage and participation.  This coupled with a large proportion of workers operating in the informal sector and/or with low incomes, makes saving for retirement and participation in Jamaica’s social security programme particularly challenging”. She further stated that “pensions aim to provide people with a livelihood when they no longer work. The income derived from a pension, in the majority of cases, is what determines whether we are able to lead an independent and dignified life in retirement. A good pension system is therefore a critical underpin of any society.”

At the conclusion of the Eisenhower Fellowship, Sanya expects to have gained a better understanding of the key facets underpinning successful sustainable social security and pension models as well as understanding key elements of behavioural economics in relation to participation in pension arrangements.  She hopes that a greater understanding of these areas will help to provide deeper insight and support locally and to also integrate strategies that will motivate and accelerate pension participation.

Sanya Goffe, who is also a director of NCB Financial Group Limited, National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited and Jamaica Producers Group Limited, now joins the local network of previous Eisenhower Fellows from Jamaica including Dr. Earle Spencer Taylor (1982), Morin Seymour (1995), Sandra Glasgow (2000), Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr. (2014), Imani Duncan-Price (2018), Saffrey Brown (2019). Luminaries, now deceased, include Horace Barber (1969), Astil Sangster (1973), Dr Keith Panton (1988), Jennifer Cox (1991) and Pauline Rosalind Gray (1997).

Currently in its 68th year and named for America’s 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Eisenhower Fellowships bring together innovative leaders from across geographies and sectors, who tackle big challenges to better the world around them. Nearly 2,400 mid-career leaders from more than 100 countries have benefited from the unique, customised experience since 1953.