Rosalee Gage-Grey – A fighter for children’s rights

HER days are spent championing the cause of children and ensuring their safety and protection as stipulated by the Child Care and Protection Act.

But beyond the walls of the Child Development Agency (CDA), CEO Rosalee Gage-Grey has a deep-seated, unwavering passion for children’s rights and youth development, which she credits to her upbringing in the humble rural community of Beeston Spring, Westmoreland.

Gage-Grey, 51, told All Woman that growing up, each one was their brother’s keeper, and that sense of communal living resonated with her throughout life.

“There was a strong community spirit. You grew to understand the responsibility you had for yourself, for others, and the genuine love and care for people. We had the extended family and friends in the community, and from the way the adults lived, you could model their behaviour,” she said.

But because of her love for mathematics and accounting, which she developed at Black River High, her eyes were set on working in that field.

“My dream job was to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers. After leaving the College of Agriculture, Science and Technology with a diploma in accounting, I sent in my application to work there, but received the letter for an interview after the interview date, so there went that dream. Shortly after that, I was called by the Revenue Services. I worked there for 16 years and was one of the pioneers for the General Consumption Tax Department before it rolled over into the Taxpayer Audit and Assessment Department,” she said.

Gage-Grey later did a Bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Technology, and found that her job as an auditor in the Revenue Services led her to use most of her softer skills, which led her into human resources (HR).

As fate would have it, in 2003 she assumed the role of director of human resources. This paved the way for her current role as CEO of the CDA, which she has officially held for three years.

“Smitten by the issues we were faced with in HR, I had to learn social work so that when recruiting we would know what skills we wanted. Doing this, I got to know the children in [the various] homes and got a first-hand feel of the issues affecting children. Now, seeing the environment I was brought up in with people who cared, where you felt loved and didn’t have to question if your parents loved you, I felt the need to stay and really help in that capacity as much as I could,” she said.

And so, when the opportunity came for her to be CEO of the Child Development Agency, Gage-Grey gladly accepted.

“I always examine the two poles — a baby and a senior person. I say, how do you get a baby to the adult stage without hurt? Yes, you have experiences that will mould your character and shape you, but each time I think of young people, I think of how they are going to transition and take their place in life. We each have a role to play as adults to ensure they achieve this,” she said.

In her role, Gage-Grey pointed out that she makes it a duty to counsel and encourage the young people she interacts with, and stated that one of her priorities is to get children to be fearless when it comes to abuse.

“I sat in a function recently, listening to women speaking of abuse after 37 and 50-odd years and I said, how are we going to get this generation of children to speak up, say it is wrong, make reports? Sometimes abused people get preoccupied with protecting others — mother, father, wondering what people will think. Now younger children are being abused and that makes it more difficult, but my upbringing makes me hopeful that this generation will turn around. As a country we must eliminate child abuse. It is having a serious impact on our children. They should be given the opportunity to grow up and be who they want to be. It is their right.

“If I ever hear a report and it doesn’t jolt me into action, it’s time to go. You have to think of children and the lives you’re going to change, and how you will impact everyone. We have to ensure that children feel confident that they have adults around them who care. One of the hardest things for me is to see children who want to give up. When you’re able to help them understand that it is not the end, you can rise — it’s what keeps us going. You have to see children as children. I say to the house mothers all the while, if you can’t see them as children and look beyond the issues they present with, you can’t help them. You have to build their resilience and make them know that though it seems hard, it is possible to rise above the challenges,” Gage-Grey said.

Outside of work, she enjoys dancing, gardening, watching HGTV, and explained that she’s passionate about the transitional living programme. Though started by her predecessor, Gage-Grey said she made sure to continue it, as it looks at the outcomes for children in state care.