Dr Charah Watson – Leading the SRC

DR CHARAH Watson is the new acting executive director of Jamaica’s Scientific Research Council (SRC). Dr Watson, who has worked with the council since 2017, assumed the role at the beginning of February.

“Since I got to the SRC, I always operated by not just looking at the division that I had responsibility for, but to look at how to make the SRC relevant and to make sure that our impact is felt, and we are performing the duties and executing our mandate,” she told All Woman. She previously served as the manager of the Product Research and Development Division.

“My role was always critical to the core functions of the council,” she said. “My post meant that I was often being called upon to represent the council and the executive director. So when the opportunity came on February 2, I was asked to act in the post.”

Dr Watson, who is from a hard-working yet humble family of ten, decided that she wanted to become a chemist while she was attending Excelsior Community College.

“There I had a chemistry teacher by the name of Miss McLeod, and she was one of those teachers that just took away all the barriers from the teacher/student relationship and dealt with us like the young adults that we were,” Dr Watson recalled. “That interaction changed my entire outlook on how I approached my studies and how I looked at chemistry. That is when I decided that I wanted to become a chemist.”

Dr Watson moved on to The University of the West Indies, where she worked several jobs to sustain herself while she completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies in chemistry.

“I’m from very humble backgrounds, and we were always, as much as we could, supporting ourselves,” she said. “All my parents had to do was get me through high school. I worked continuously from when I got to university.”

Dr Watson did tutoring and promotions as a student, and taught science at Tivoli Gardens High School for five years. She joined the SRC after making impactful contributions to the private sector companies for which she worked.

While many would contend that her move from the private to the public sector was not the usual progression for a woman of her calibre, Dr Watson made the move strategically, especially because she saw how much more she could contribute to Jamaica.

“I chose not to leave Jamaica after I finished my studies, because I am very passionate about my country,” the wife and mother of three said. “My country invested heavily in me. My PhD programme was fully funded, so I believe I have a significant role to play to grow and develop my country.”