PERMANENT SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP RELATIONS

Dr. Karen Best is described as a woman of conviction and integrity, a strategic thinker and strong leader committed to bringing out the best in her staff. For a generation she has given selflessly to the children of Barbados starting as a Teacher and rising to the position of Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training. Presently Dr. Best is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations where she continues to use her energy to build good working relationships with the Ministry’s tripartite partners and other key agencies in order to propel the overall mandate of the Ministry. Over the years, she has had two parallel passions along with her love for teacher education and they included trade unionism and cooperative credit union development in Barbados. In each of these endeavours she gave stellar service at the regional and national levels. A Commonwealth Professional Fellow with an MBA in Educational Management and a Doctorate in Education which examined the cost effectiveness in the funding of post-secondary education in Barbados.