Valrie Grant
AUTHOR

Valrie Grant

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Valrie Grant does not know how to quit, and she’s on a mission to see all grasp and embrace a digital future she believes is already here. A redoubtable spirit manifested in a fierce determination to succeed was evident from her childhood years, growing up in a rural farming community in Hanover, one of Jamaica’s smaller parishes on the north-western tip of the island. Today, Valrie Grant, is an internationally respected geospatial scientist, bringing a passion for science and entrepreneurship anchored in ethical business practices and good old family values to GeoTechVision, her company specializing in high-end geospatial consultancy services, business ICT solutions, and products, with offices in Kingston Jamaica, Georgetown Guyana, and South Florida. She is a certified GIS Professional and is accredited to deliver the InfoDev (World Bank Group) Thrive Acceleration Program and holds undergraduate degrees from the University of the West Indies, graduate degrees from the Manchester Metropolitan University, and Florida Institute of Technology. Since 2008, she has built GeoTechVision into a major player in the growing Geomatics and Geospatial services industry, earning along the way a litany of special recognitions and awards. Valrie has held seats on the Boards of the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) and the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM): Americas Private Sector Network. She is often the lone Caribbean voice, championing causes and positions in a place where too few women sit. Valrie credits her parents as an early catalyst. Her father, John Grant, an electrician and farmer, always wanted his children to be smarter than him and always stated that each generation had to be better. “He understood the value of education, and he pushed us to simply be the best. As the fifth of six children, I looked up to my siblings, who had already set an example of excellence, and my teachers expected the same of me. We’ve always had an attitude that whatever you do, don’t be mediocre at it.” Valrie often refers to her years at Riverside All-Age School and Rusea’s High School as her ‘most formative and balanced years.’ She was the girl who would succeed in anything she put her mind to, with an uncanny interest and aptitude, equally for the Sciences and the Arts, excelling in Speech and Drama and mastering all the science subjects. Her high school teachers were split between whether she should pursue further studies and career pathways into Medicine or Law. All through her undergraduate years at The University of the West Indies (Mona campus), she was a standout debater and represented the University at the World of University Debating Championship. She was also quite the athlete, playing football (soccer) for both the UWI and her Hall of Residence. She was also an avid badminton player. Valrie’s mother, Monica Grant, now deceased, was the family matriarch and consummate homemaker who ran a small dressmaking business. The Grant home was a place of refuge. Valrie remembers how her mother would always be caring for another child from the community. Coming home from university one year, Valrie discovered that all her clothes had been given away by her mother. Upon seeking an explanation from her mother, she was told in no uncertain terms that she had not worn them for at least three months, and so she did not need them. “I don’t know any other way to live but to do good by others. This is how we were socialized. My mom and dad had similar family values, and they created our own family culture.” The Grant family values live on in all six Grant children, who remain a tight-knit bunch, excelling in all their endeavors and remaining committed to building value for succeeding generations.
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