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As a teenager growing up in Jamaica, Kenisha Gordon (MPA鈥�25) had a life-changing experience. As part of a summer job, she was charged with collecting data on the people who lived in her community. 鈥淚 met individuals who faced a great many challenges, including poverty and inequality,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t truly opened my eyes.鈥�

Gordon had another realization about the women of Jamaica: they are the backbone of the political system, even as they also run the households and raise the children. 鈥淭hey do the grassroots work and the political organization, but they have very little real power,鈥� she says. 鈥淲omen aren鈥檛 the face of politics. They aren't the leaders.鈥�

A deep sense of purpose ignited in her, propelling her into years of dedicated community service and activism on behalf of women and youth, work that ultimately earned her the Prime Minister鈥檚 Youth Award for National Excellence. She also made history as one of the youngest municipal councillors, at age 23, in the entire Caribbean and one of few women to break through that barrier.

Gordon then founded the Jamaica Women in Local Government Network and served as its inaugural chair. Her goal? To create an organization that inspires women to step into political leadership and empowers them to thrive within a system dominated by men.

While it looked like a life in Jamaican politics was in the cards, destiny had other plans. In 2016, her husband-to-be, Javiere, was accepted to study at Humber College in Ontario. A baby, Canadian citizenship, and a move to Nova Scotia ensued. It didn鈥檛 take long for Gordon to figure out ways to give back鈥攆irst, as a Diversity Specialist in the Municipality of the County of Kings and later, as the Diversity and Inclusion Advisor at Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) of Nova Scotia.聽

Being new to Canada and interested in political systems, she was eager to learn more. This led her to attend an information session for the Dalhousie Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. There, she learned about the program鈥檚 curriculum, designed to inspire social change and navigate complex public ecosystems. She also discovered that there was flexibility in terms of program delivery, which meant she could continue to work full-time while doing her degree.

Gordon began the program in January of 2023 and after doubling up her course load, has recently graduated at the top of her class with a 3.89 GPA. Right away, she put her learning to good use in her job by creating WCB鈥檚 first employment equity policy, set to be implemented this year.

In addition to her husband and son, who 鈥渨ent the extra mile鈥�, Gordon gives special thanks to Professors John Kennedy and Emily Speight; Drs. Jeffery Roy, Isabelle Caron and Rany Ibrahim; and Dr Kristin Good who will be her PhD supervisor come September.

Gordon leaves the MPA program with a sense of pride and enhanced confidence as a leader. Her PhD will be in Political Science, and she plans to focus on women鈥檚 empowerment and women's representation in politics, specifically on increasing the representation of Black and Indigenous women.

鈥淚 look forward to using my academic and leadership experience to influence public policy both in this country and internationally,鈥� says Gordon. 鈥淚 want to add to the academic literature, here in Canada鈥攁 country that has welcomed my family in; I want to ensure that women have the tools and are encouraged and supported in the pursuit of leadership roles in our society.鈥�