Trevor Creary is a native of St. Mary, Jamaica, West Indies and a Calabar High School alumnus. He was awarded the Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad W.I., in Electrical Engineering with First Class Honors in 1973. He was awarded the Jamaica Independence Post Graduate Scholarship in 1974 and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA where he obtained a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1976. He is a past President of the Jamaican American Association of Northern California (JAANC) and served for many years as Chairman of the Scholarship Committee for both JAANC and the Caribbean Cultural Association (CCA), Tampa FL.

What is your connection to Jamaica?
I migrated from Jamaica in 1974 to attend College in MA but Jamaica has never left me. I maintain my connection to Jamaica by being active in Jamaican organizations in the US. I was a past President of the Jamaican Association of Northern CA. After my Presidency I chaired the scholarship committee for many years providing scholarships and assistance to students both in Jamaica and Jamaicans in Northern CA. While living in Florida I was an active participant in the Caribbean Cultural Association providing community outreach to Jamaicans and also a member of the Scholarship Committee.

Have you been involved in the Jamaica Diaspora Movement or Jamaican related organizations before?
I have not been involved in the Diaspora movement before but have supported other members running for that position in their campaigns. Jamaican related organization involvement as summarized above.

If elected what will be your main goal in this role for your constituencies?
If elected my main goal will be to increase the awareness of the Diaspora movement and to stress the importance of the Diaspora in improving your connection to Jamaica. Some Ideas that come to mind are returning residents assistance, resources for Jamaica passport renewal and how you make contribute your talent to the betterment of Jamaica. What avenues are available to you to do so?

Many in the Jamaican community abroad don’t know much about the Jamaica Diaspora movement and its goals. What will you do to change this perception and get all Jamaicans in the Diaspora involved?
In my limited research so far it is apparent to me that there are many Jamaicans in the community who are not aware of the Diaspora and the benefits it may bring to them. I will have monthly moving to quarterly updates via teleconferences to keep the community informed. I will solicit their inputs and ideas to take by to the leadership to maintain a running dialog of issues that are of concern to them.

Recently there have been some who have expressed concerns about not having a voice and too much government involvement in the new The Global Jamaica Diaspora Council format that is being adopted. Do you have any thoughts on this?
As a new member to the Diaspora movement, I am not yet calibrated on this issue. I like the idea of broadening the reach of the Diaspora to other countries via direct appointments. This concept is better driven by a central body like the Government. With that said, I believe local regions should drive the nomination of their own representatives as they are more in tune with the needs of their community.

Is there a cohesive goal for the Jamaican Diaspora that people can rally around?
I think one of increasing the diaspora awareness and putting in place a plan to facilitate contributions from each other or simply put, getting access to the Community’s talent base.

Thanks for your time and all the best in the election. Do you have any closing thoughts?
I am hoping or a positive outcome of the elections for me and looking forward to my engagement with moving the agenda of the Community forward between the Diaspora and Jamaica.