5 Neil Armstrong/Gleaner Writer TORONTO: WHEN JAMAICAN Canadian Sharon Burey attended her swearing-in ceremony at the Senate of Canada in December, she was accompanied by another Jamaican, Senator Rosemary Moodie, and Senator Marc Gold. In November, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of Burey, a paediatrician, who has long been recognised as a leader for the health and well-being of children in Ontario. She has dedicated her career to equality and to justice for those living in poverty, visible minorities, and other marginalised communities. Dr Burey emigrated from Jamaica in 1976 and has practised as a behavioural paediatrician in Ontario for over 30 years. She has been an adjunct professor of paediatrics atWestern University since 2009. As a health advocacy and policy leader, Dr Burey founded AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Windsor and serves as a member of the Paediatricians of Ontario Executive Council and the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) Health Policy Committee. She was also a paediatrics delegate to the OMA Council and member of the OMA Women Committee. Dr Burey was the first woman of colour to hold the position of president of the Paediatricians Alliance of Ontario, which also serves as the Ontario Chapter of the American Academy of Paediatrics. Her work as a health advocate has been recognised with numerous honours and awards, including the Ontario Chapter Excellence Award and the Special Achievement Award from the American Academy of Paediatrics, and the Excellence in Health Care Award from the North American Black Historical Museum and Cultural Centre. She attended Western University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She completed her medical degree and specialty training in paediatrics at Dalhousie University, and she recently graduated with a mini-MBA in Physician Business Leadership at York University. In the history of the senate, there have only been three Jamaica-born senators: Dr Burey; Dr Rosemary Moodie, who was appointed on December 12, 2018, by Prime Minister Trudeau; and Don Meredith, who was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on December 18, 2010. He resigned in May 2017 after the Senate’s ethics committee recommended that he be expelled from the Red Chamber due to a sexual-misconduct scandal. JAMAICA-BORN Elsie Foster is the new mayor of the borough of Highland Park, in Middlesex County, New Jersey. She was elected during a special council meeting on Tuesday, January 24. Foster, who hails from Deeside in Trelawny, has some 22 years of service on the borough council, most recently as borough council president for eight years and acting mayor for several months. She has been acting mayor since the start of the year, replacing former Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler, who resigned on December 31. Now elected mayor, she will serve in the position until the end of 2023. Foster was one of three candidates the Highland Park Democratic Committee nominated to fill the remaining year of the mayor’s term. The other two nominees were Councilmen Phil George and Matthew Hersh. The new Highland Park Mayor has identified safety, affordability, and downtown development as among her priorities in her tenure. Following her election, Mayor Foster said: “I’m complimented by the confidence my colleagues on the Council have placed in me. I look forward to working with them and with the residents to improve on the affordability, sense of community, and opportunities in our town.” Mayor Elsie Foster is the president and CEO of Aunt Elsie’s Homestays, an international student-housing organisation. She is also the legislative liaison to the State of New Jersey Civil Service Commission and a founding partner of JamPhil Consultants, LLC. Hersh was elected to serve as Borough Council president, which was vacated when Foster was elected as mayor. Foster and Hersh were sworn into their respective new roles by borough attorney Ed Schmierer. J’ca-born Elsie Foster is new mayor of Highland Park, NJ Mayor Elsie Foster Dr. Sharon Burey appointed to Canadian senate Dr. Burey THE MONTHLY GLEANER | FEBRUARY 5 - MARCH 2, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS
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