Gillian Caliste
When popular Jamaican event host, TV presenter and speaker Dr Terri-Karelle Reid said that she immersed herself in T&T culture while in the country for her recent book tour and the first-ever Caribbean Investment Forum, she was not exaggerating. Quickly learning the routine and dancing with the Tobago Performing Arts Company's Moriah dancers at the Forum's welcome reception held at the Hyatt Regency, the dynamic entrepreneur truly lived the T&T experience.
"They did an entire entrance, this beautiful piece and because I am known for doing my research, I looked up the Moriah dancers and I learnt about Tobago's annual Heritage Festival; learnt about this old-time wedding tradition, learnt about the procession, the dances, the symbolism," Reid told the Sunday Guardian.
"And so, just before the event started, the Moriah dancers actually taught me the Brush Back and I became a part of the procession and I thought that that was a wonderful cultural experience, an exchange that allowed me to not just enter a space and do my job but to be a part of the culture, and that is certainly one of the highlights of my visit this time around."
On her first visit to T&T back in 2019, she was sure to take a walk through the Bamboo Cathedral, eat bake and shark at Maracas, curried goat roti in St James, and experience a "stunning" boat tour of the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, among other activities.
Educating herself about topics and issues, getting fully involved, being flexible and curious, and developing solid client relationships are all part of her brand, said Reid, who has presented public and corporate events across the Caribbean, the US, Europe, and Asia.
She has also made a name for herself in virtual event and TV hosting, speaking, content curation, brand storytelling and online brand strategy.
Dr Terri-Karelle Reid
SHIRLEY BAHADUR
During her recent visit, Reid was officially introduced to the T&T public via CNC3's morning programme the Morning Brew, and a couple of radio shows before her book signing featuring her debut publication The Brand Compass: The 13 C's to Building your Personal Brand at the Jamaica High Commissioner's residence, St Clair, on November 7. For the rest of the week, she hosted the first Caribbean Investment Forum which aims to promote regional resilience, long-term jobs, and sustainable development.
The savvy businesswoman and influencer said though she never had the desire to write a book, the extra downtime during 2020 triggered a chain of events that would cause her to add author to her many titles. She decided to develop her website, and observing that her followers and visitors were most curious to learn about building a brand in the digital world, she started writing downloadable responses to them and became so comprehensive in her answers that the exercise turned into a book.
Reid believes what makes her stand out and connect with people are her authentic, relatable nature, genuine concern for others, making others feel important, and her tendency to share her information and knowledge. She said her attitude and approach made all the difference in building her own brand and achieving her "God-ordained success." Recalling one of her earliest jobs, she said that by allowing herself to be trained and be open to new ideas and experiences, she was offered a position as general manager of a gym after only having a previous summer job at the facility.
Media roles also came her way because she listened to advice. Told that she was bubbly, personable and articulate, Reid heeded urgings to audition for the position of host of Digicel Rising Stars, Jamaica. Ten years later, she celebrates still being the familiar face of Jamaica's most watched family-friendly show.
However, as she explained, her career plan was not always in the fields of media and marketing.
Dr Terri-Karelle Reid
LEO HUDSON
Growing up in Portmore on the southeastern coast of St Catherine, Jamaica, with her grandmother Millicent Audrey "Jeanie Baby" Scott as the matriarch, and her mother Donna-Marie Scott, Reid learnt to be polite and respectful but to express her thoughts without fear of speaking out.
From a tender age, she busied herself gathering stray animals with which she constantly filled the family home. Both her mother and grandmother encouraged her dream to become a veterinarian, but it was mostly her grandmother's influence that shaped her personality. As a result, she dedicates her book to her.
Reid was on her way to realising her goal after receiving a scholarship to pursue veterinary medicine in Cuba in 2001. There, she quickly became bi-lingual to keep up with her courses. At the urging of friends, during summer break, she entered the 2005 Miss World pageant representing Jamaica and ended up a Top 15 finalist, winning the People’s Choice, and endearing herself to many for her personality and for retaining her natural Afro hair.
Her six-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) complete, the eager young doctor returned to Jamaica only to be informed that her accreditation was not compatible with that of vets in her homeland.
She had to rapidly switch gears and adapt to opportunities suggested by others.
Apart from launching her book, and making her mark at the pageant, Reid said being the first Jamaican female to deliver a TEDx talk on September 21, 2021, live in Aston University, Birmingham, UK, with her daughter watching nearby was a high point for her. The unconventional conversations she had with her daughter about life in her social media content had caught the attention of Tedx. The talk centered on unleashing the full potential of children by having real conversations with them and appeared on YouTube in January this year.
Never underestimate the possibility of your work, especially your online content being noticed, Reid told the Sunday Guardian.
She was grateful to media houses and especially, Ken Simmons of Vibe CT 105 FM for a kept promise, the Jamaica High Commission, Tisha Jack of TCJ Events who created her event space at the book signing, and the founder of PRos and Comms Leisel Douglas who hosted. She also praised the fans and well-wishers who had travelled from as far as San Fernando to purchase books, get them signed and have photos taken.
"It was just a great testament of how Trinidadians are a huge part of my online community and the fact that I feel the love and support from my community no matter where I go," Reid said.
Hailing Caribbean people as unique, resilient people whose impact could be more far-reaching if they united, she said she simply hoped to empower and inspire others to fulfil their dreams.
My Brand Compass is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
Dr Terri-Karelle Reid poses with Guardian Media Ltd Managing Director Karrian Hepburn Malcolm and her son at the book signing.
JERMAINE DUNCAN
Q&A with Dr Terri-Karelle Reid
While on your recent visit to T&T, was there any response/reaction that stood out to you?
If it is in reference to the book, I think what stood out most to me is that there is a degree of uncertainty when any entrepreneur or author steps out of his or her own territory into another, there is always going to be this uncertainty of will I be supported, will the crowd come, will the people show. And I am absolutely overwhelmingly moved and humbled by the attendance of Trinidadians and Tobagonians...they didn't even know me, but there was something that appealed to them, that compelled them to come the distance to attend an event to exchange and interact and even purchase. To me, that is probably one of the greatest reactions anyone could ever choose to have.
Turning to your life and professional journey, please feel free to share any fond childhood memories.
At any one time in my house, I would have multiple animals. It got as high as 26, and when I look back I must have been truly blessed to have parents who allowed me to bring home stray animals, and who allowed me to follow my heart.
I remember at the age of eight, I wrote to my Governor-General, at the time, the late Howard Cooke (who had been a minister in the Government of Michael Manley during the 1970s) and I expressed to him that I was going to become a veterinarian and that a part of becoming a veterinarian was building this shelter for all the stray animals in Jamaica and he would be very proud.
And probably one of the nicest childhood memories is that he responded and he encouraged me to go for it, to work hard, that I could do it all, and I think that, on top of the encouragement from my mother and grandmother, cemented and reinforced my dream to follow my career which was veterinary medicine.
Dr Terri-Karelle Reid
SHIRLEY BAHADUR
How did (your professional reality) change on your return to Jamaica after completing your DVM degree in Cuba and how did you recover from your pitfalls and begin to redirect your life? Were you ever on the verge of giving up and if so, what kept you going?
Did I ever feel like giving up is probably one of the most asked questions when people ask how did you manage such rejection because you've worked so hard, and now this door has been slammed in your face?
I guess another layer is that you can be labelled as a failure, you're not actually practising what you pursued. For me though, I never felt like giving up, I didn't label myself as a failure. I just looked at it as a moment in time when this was just not for me. I just took that moment to mean God had different plans for me. Though I was not aware of what that trajectory was going to look like, I just felt within myself that I would be OK and for me, re-framing and perspective and how I talk to myself are very important for me. I told myself: now that that door has closed, you have to leave yourself open to be a blank canvas, to assimilate, learn and grow in spaces you never imagined you would have to.
Please talk a little about your current status, juggling multiple roles in the media. What qualities, and skills as a vet/scientific mind do you bring to your current more creative and business-oriented roles?
...I believe that knowledge is never lost but transferred. I think what I use is my level of research and analysis, practising veterinary medicine, learning about the different classes of animals, copious amounts of information...and I look at how I am able to memorise lines in seconds. I'm able to relay information. I'm able to download mentally lots of information, and technical information and I think that has helped me to differentiate as an event host and people will find me hosting events from finance to tech to investment. Audience members have always asked me if these are areas I've practised in and I've told them no. It's just my ability to assimilate and internalise, to question and then articulate it to my audience.
As Miss Jamaica World 2005, you maintained your natural Afro hair at the pageant held in China despite advice to the contrary. What were your reasons for doing this and what do you think the implications were for black and brown girls with similar hair types looking on?
When I entered I was actually on my summer break from Cuba. I couldn't get a job actually. I had arrived way too late and so, I had been advised and prompted to enter, but I never did. But that year I decided to and I entered as a tomboy, natural hair, Afro puffs, happy-go-lucky girl from dorm thrown into the world of pageantry. I was able to make the top 16. I remember many people in Jamaica cheering for me. They thought I was a new look, fresh. They thought I represented Jamaica in terms of what a Black natural girl looked like. There were others who felt there was no way I could win based on history; the former queens had extremely straight hair. There were people who were considered to be pageant experts who said: we think you'd stand a better chance if you straightened your hair.
I decided to maintain my afro...I walked away with not just the Miss Jamaica title. I won Most Talented, Most Congenial and Most Aware. It was this new dawn, heralding this new awakening of blackness. We saw an increase in women and girls who had natural hair and 4C hair. I was also used as a point of reference for you to make your own destiny. I went to China and some people were: well, natural hair worked locally, but would it work internationally? I walked away in the top 15, I placed in their sectionals and I also won People's public vote. When I came back home, I earned the moniker "Your Jamaican Girl," the kind of person who stands up for what she believes in. I was never contented with someone else's definition of me and I was not going to start to as queen.
Your daughter, Naima-Kourtnae, is now ten years old. What legacy (traditions/behaviours you practised, memories about you) do you want to leave to her?
My very rambunctious, precocious, empathetic daughter is my everything and I think what I want to leave with her was the basis of my TEDx talk. Sure I want her to be intelligent. I want her to be able to apply herself academically, but it's not the most pressing thing for me. I think in this world that tries to force you to conform and that sends a lot of messages every day, especially if you are female, that you need to look like this, be like this, you need to fit in in order to make it, I want her to be brave enough to be self-aware, to understand that the power she has within her is greater than any power that exists outside of this world.
It's important that she understand that she has purpose, that she is unique. She should always look within and be proud of who she is becoming. I hope that she'll always be a thoughtful individual in a world that focuses on ego. Lastly, a legacy I want to leave her with is autonomy; to understand that she shouldn't surrender her feminine energy, her feminine power, that she is the master of her destiny, the owner of her body and for the choices she makes, she is to hold herself accountable.
Dr Terri-Karelle Reid, right, with her mother, Donna-Marie Scott; her daughter, Naima-Kourtnae; and grandmother Millicent Audrey Scott.
ONEIL GRANT