Dr Marcia Forbes, executive chairperson of Phase Three Productions, has been named as the new chair of the board of United Way of Jamaica. She succeeds Ian Forbes, who served as chairman for five years.

A release from United Way said the announcement was made on Thursday at the Annual General Meeting of the United Way Board of Governors, held at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston.

Forbes, according to the release, has served as a volunteer in various capacities with the United Way of Jamaica — an organisation which has been mobilising resources for the voluntary sector since 1998.

The release said Forbes is also a founding member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative; a Standing Committee of the United Way of Jamaica.

She is also co-owner and executive chairperson of Phase Three Productions Limited, a company which stands as one of the leaders in multi-media television production, the release said.

In accepting her appointment on Thursday, Forbes lauded the outgoing chairman for his outstanding support and pledged to continue the work of the United Way of Jamaica within the voluntary sector.

Forbes, who sits on the board of numerous organisations and groups, according to the release, has done extensive work in the area of volunteerism. She is an adjunct senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Mona; board director of Spectrum Management Authority; chairperson of the Working Group, Identify Solutions to Address Violence Against Women & Children; member of the Civil Society Committee, Inter-American Development Bank, Jamaica; and member of the Advisory Committee, CARIMAC, University of the West Indies