The Office of the Deputy Governor today (Wednesday, 30 June) announced the appointment of Ms. Debbie Prendergast as administrator for the parole commissioners’ and prisons’ inspection boards.
Her primary function will be to advise and assist the boards’ chairpersons, as well as His Excellency the Governor and the Deputy Governor on issues relating to parole, prisons inspections, deportations, exclusions, prohibited immigrants, and Caymanians incarcerated overseas.
As required, she will represent the Deputy Governor’s Office on boards and committees that fall under the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs (PIE). She will also assist in areas relating to the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
A career civil servant, Ms. Prendergast brings more than 25 years of experience to her new post.
Having spent 14-plus years as a probation/parole officer with the Department of Social Services, she ventured briefly into the tourism industry. Returning to the civil service she joined the then Department of Labour (now the Department of Employment Relations) Research Unit as a labour market researcher.
She was later appointed occupational safety and health outreach programme coordinator, tasked with developing training workshops based on the US Department of Labour’s Occupational Safety & Health Association (OSHA) standards. In keeping with that, she became an OSHA-authorised instructor, trained in accident investigation.
Most recently, Ms. Prendergast served as senior job placement officer, then labour inspector with the Conciliation, Mediation and Inspections Unit.
She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and History from the University of Tampa and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from the International College of the Cayman Islands.
She is a recipient of the Cayman Islands Probation and Parole Service’s Special Recognition & Appreciation for Dedication & Contribution Award.
