Jovanna Ebanks Wright Wins Coveted Employee of the Year Award

Elation filled the room as Jovanna Ebanks Wright, Principal of the Sir John A Cumber Primary School, was named the Cayman Islands Government (CIG) Employee of the Year for 2025. Mrs Wright was given the top civil servant award at a ceremony held at the Kimpton Seafire Resort on Thursday, 16 April, in front of top government officials, civil servants and loved ones.

Recognised for her role in leading her school from an Office of Education Standards (OES) rating of ‘Weak’ to achieving its first rating of ‘Good’ in 2025, Mrs Wright was selected by Deputy Governor Honourable Franz Manderson from among 12 Employee of the Month awardees, under the Deputy Governor’s Award Programme. 

This year’s ceremony held special significance as it marked the final one under the leadership of Mr Manderson, who will retire in July 2026. In a highlight of the evening, he received a lifetime achievement award for his leadership and strong commitment to Civil Service excellence, the delivery of government priorities, and employee engagement and recognition. 

In his remarks, the Deputy Governor emphasised his gratitude, including for the opportunities and support he had received throughout his career, and in his Deputy Governor role, from the public and private sector and the elected government. Turning his attention to the Employee of the Year nominees, he said, “Tonight we celebrate 12 individuals who define excellence, not by title, not by intention, but by what they do every day. Their actions set the standard; their commitment lifts others; their examples shape our Civil Service, and in doing so they remind us all of what we are capable of.”

Chief Officer of the Portfolio of the Civil Service and Deputy Governor Designate Gloria McField-Nixon announced the Employee of the Year awardee. In the anticipation-filled moments before naming Mrs Wright as the winner, Mrs McField-Nixon said of her: “This individual has supported positive outcomes not only for themselves and the teams they work with but also for hundreds of children who have grown up in a school that has gone from ‘Weak’ to ‘Good’, standing side by side, head to head, with our leading private sector institutions.” The individual, Mrs McField-Nixon said, had also shown that, “in Cayman Islands schools – where ‘weak’ no longer exists – we can demonstrate the power of leadership, of vision, of passion.” 

The Chief Officer noted later, “Our new EOY was instrumental to that outcome, departing early from her secondment to the Ministry of Education in order to lead her team through its inspection.  As a result, the 525 children at SJAC Primary are now confirmed to be attending a good school as assessed by the OES, whose team included international assessors.”

Mrs Wright is the first civil servant in the 13-year history of the Deputy Governor’s Award Programme to hold the top honour twice, having been part of the 2020 CIG Team of the Year. That year’s awards programme focussed on teams rather than individuals, in recognition of the collaboration needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Mrs Wright received her 2025 award from Mr Manderson, assisted by Her Excellency Governor Jane Owen. During a moving acceptance speech, the new Employee of the Year thanked her family, school community, colleagues, mentors, her Chief Officer Cetonya Cacho, Minister of Education & Training Honourable Rolston Anglin and Deputy Governor Manderson for their support and belief in her. She gratefully accepted the award, she said, “as a reminder to continue striving, to continue leading with purpose and passion, and to continue believing in the power of education to change lives.” 

In another standout moment of the ceremony, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service walked away with the “Moment of Magic” award, for their efforts to combat burglaries. The citation noted that between 2014 and 2024, burglaries fell by 73%, to 209, and fell further in 2025, to below 200. This, even though the population had increased by more than 50% in the same period. 

The night’s event saw each Employee of the Month and the 78 other Chief Officer’s Choice awardees being honoured along with previous Employees of the Year. The Ministry of Caymanian Employment & Immigration, Ministry of Education & Training and the Portfolio of the Civil Service also gained kudos for submitting a nomination for Employee of the Month every month.