NEW YORK, United States (CMC) — The wife of Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness will deliver the keynote address at an International Women’s Conference to be held at the Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island, on Saturday.

Holness, who is also a Member of Parliament, will be attending the one-day event that will be hosted by the New York-based organisation Nevalliance, a training and development company.

“We are thrilled to have …the Most Hon Juliet Holness, MP, as our keynote speaker,” said Dr Neva Helena Alexander, a professional speaker, advisor, trainer and author, who serves as Nevalliance’s chief executive officer.

Dr Alexander, who is also the founder of the National Educational Venture Alliance (NEVA), a non-profit organisation, said Nevalliance provides college admissions counselling to high school students.

She said Holness will be among other featured speakers at the “fascinating” one-day conference.

She told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the event is “designed to speak to every woman” and that attendees will have “an opportunity to network, exchange knowledge, connect, facilitate lasting connections, and showcase a range of products and services all under one roof”.

Alexander said the event is “an innovative and targeted conference” that started in 2017.

It will be held under the theme “The International Women of Influence”, and Alexander said the conference series is created “to enhance awareness and create a more informed understanding of the opportunities, issues and approaches of women empowerment with resultant attention and resources directed towards supporting women.

“Our programme is centred on cutting-edge topics from a wide range of fields: International business, entrepreneurship, social issues, and leadership, as well as many other subjects to be covered,” she said.

Holness, the representative for St Andrew East Rural, told CMC in an interview from Jamaica that, while she’s yet to write her address, she has “so much to discuss. I must be an example for every lady. My approach is to be the best parliamentary representative. I also want to see what are some of the best practices from the conference”.

“I made a projection at the last JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) caucus: let us try to give women the support they need. With that, I’m very laser-focused in doing what I’m doing,” said Holness, who graduated from The University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Economics and a Master of Science in Accounting.