The Deputy Governor, Mr. Franz Manderson, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Teresa Echenique as Acting Chief Officer for the Ministry of Community Affairs.

She replaces Ms. Dorine McGee (Whittaker) who is retiring at the end of September 2017 after 32 years as a civil servant.

Ms. Echenique is the Director of the Department of Community Rehabilitation (DCR), but will leave her current role to act as chief officer effective 25 September 2017, until the end of the year. The Deputy Governor will in November announce how, and when, the post will be permanently filled.

Having served as a civil servant for the past 24 years, Ms. Echenique started her career with the Department of Children and Family Services, formally known as the Department of Social Services in 1993 and then transferring to DCR, formally known as the Department of Probation and Aftercare in 1999.
In 2003 Ms. Echenique was appointed as Director of DCR and has also served in various acting appointments in the Ministry of Home Affairs over the past two years.

With a first degree in social work, she received a bachelor of arts from the University of Tampa, and later earned an executive master of business administration (EMBA) from the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management Executive Programme and the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI).

Ms. Echenique has also received various training, certification and overseas placements, more recently from Shirlaws Group (https://www.shirlawsgroup.com/) and Harvard Kennedy School in Leadership.

“I am deeply grateful for this opportunity and I am honoured to be entrusted with such an important and essential responsibility,” Ms. Echenique said. “Through my skills, expertise and passion I am able to serve as a facilitator of change and an advocate for those in need. I look forward to the opportunity to further serve my country, and in this role, make a substantial contribution to the Cayman Islands in the area of community affairs.”

Mr. Manderson stated: “I am very pleased to appoint a young and capable Caymanian to this post. Ms. Echenique is known for her leadership skills and she has demonstrated a passion for succession planning and care and concern for her staff. Her background equips her to effectively deal with the demands of this job, and I am confident that she and her team will work tirelessly to ensure that we make the lives of those we serve better.”