The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) mourns the death of Dr Pauline Audrey Knight, and extend condolences to her family.

The group, in a statement, said Dr Knight was an early member of the WLI, a special committee of the United Way of Jamaica and contributed significantly to the advancement of the organisation and the crafting of its developmental and philanthropic programmes.

Established in 2004 by former US Ambassador to Jamaica Sue McCort Cobb “to build bridges of cooperation in developing and implementing and sustaining projects which contribute to the well-being of Jamaicans”, the WLI has evolved into one of the island’s most active private sector philanthropic arms spanning contributions in education, healthcare, and advocacy, particularly on behalf of women and children.

Dr Knight, working with founding members and guided by Chair Emerita Pat Ramsay, helped to frame the vision and purpose of the WLI and the work which has over the past two decades, benefitted scores of Jamaicans, among them recipients of academic scholarships and mentorship and financial assistance to help survive challenging circumstances including abusive and violent circumstances.

Highly regarded as a social geographer in the public policy spheres encompassing work with agencies like the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), Dr Knight shared her tremendous understanding of human behaviour with her “sisters” in the WLI and we and the people of Jamaica are the grateful beneficiaries.