Retired, but still ready to serve
Vested with Order of Jamaica, Dr Marlene Street Forrest eager to do more for her country
“THERE is so much more to do,” declared a buoyant former managing director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Dr Marlene Street Forrest, the sole female vested with the Order of Jamaica during the 2025 Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards at King’s House on Monday.
Street Forrest, who in September retired from the helm of the JSE after more than two decades steering its transformative growth, told the Jamaica Observer that her career has by no means ended.
“I have retired from the Jamaica Stock Exchange but I have not retired from the capital markets, because the fact is, there is so much more to do, so much more development, and I am ready to give my service wherever it is called on,” she said passionately.
Street Forrest, who is one of a handful of women who have headed stock exchanges worldwide, said she intends to pass that wealth of knowledge to another generation.
“There is experience, there is wisdom, and there are things to pass on — and it is really important that you pass that on,” she reasoned.
Street Forrest, who was previously honoured by the Government of Jamaica with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander for outstanding leadership in the growth of the JSE in 2016, described her second trip to the dais as remarkable.
“It was fabulous. It was a reflective moment, understanding that you did not do it for an award but [yet], you got one. And one can only be grateful, always must be grateful — grateful to those who considered you and grateful to God that kept us right throughout that journey. That’s important, to be anchored,” declared Street Forrest who, before going to the JSE, was financial controller at the Jamaica Observer.
The honour of the Order of Jamaica may be conferred upon any Jamaican citizen of outstanding distinction, or upon any distinguished citizen of a country other than Jamaica (honorary member). A member of the Order is styled “Honourable” and the motto of the Order is “For a covenant of the People”.
The Order of Jamaica is the fourth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system.
Prominent businessman and JMMB Group Chief Executive Officer Keith Duncan and Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie are the other two individuals appointed members of the Order of Jamaica on the 2025 national honours and awards list.
The trio were among 141 Jamaicans appointed to the Orders of the Societies of Honour and awarded badges of honour, effective August 6, 2025 who were presented with their insignias on National Heroes’ Day, Monday, October 20. A total 35 Jamaicans were appointed members of the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) while 43 Jamaicans were appointed members of the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer (OD).
