THE JAMAICA National Heritage Trust (JNHT) has a new executive director. She is Mrs. Laleta Davis-Mattis, formerly of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

Mrs. Davis-Mattis has a masters degree in marine management from Dalhouse University, Nova Scotia, Canada and degrees in law and mass communication from the University of the West Indies. She also has a certificate in teacher education from Shortwood Teachers College.

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The new executive head has worked with JNHT members of staff on various projects such as the drafting of Jamaica’s position on the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage and the ongoing Protected Area System Plan for Jamaica.

Since January 9, when she started at the trust, Mrs. Davis-Mattis has travelled to several sites across the island meeting with staff and community representatives. She believes that Jamaicans should be proud of who we are as a people and build on the positives.

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“We do not naturally recognise our past as events with which we wish to continually associate. But our past is that which seeks to define who we are as a people, where we are coming from and is fundamental in determining where we want to go.”
The new head also wants the JNHT to play a more critical role in the preservation and development of the cultural heritage resources of the island.

“The preservation of national monuments, heritage and heritage sites is recognising and giving significance to the physical representations of our history. But the narrative needs to be highlighted,” she said.

Mrs. Davis-Mattis is married and has three sons. She enjoys spending time with her family.