Rhonda Mary Maingot
September 15, 2020
Church condemns racist unrest, violence
September 15, 2020

Leela Maria-Goretti Ramdeen

Leela Ramdeen is an Attorney-at-Law, Education Consultant, and Episcopal Delegate/Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice.

She was born in Trinidad on June 16, 1950 and migrated with her parents and siblings to the UK in 1967.

She obtained her B.Ed., M.Ed., C.P.E. and LPC in London and her LEC in T&T. She had a varied career in the UK as an Executive Officer in Local Government, a teacher, Inspector of Schools, Deputy Director of Education/Head of Quality Assurance. She returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 1998.

Leela has a broad range of knowledge, skills and experience and is committed to voluntary work. She spent some 11 years in the UK as the Vice-Chair of the late Cardinal Basil Hume’s Committee for the Caribbean Community (the Cardinal was the Chair). She was also Co-Chair of Britain’s Anti-Racist Alliance. Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London, was the other Co-Chair.

Here in T&T, her voluntary work continues. She is a Director of the Catholic Religious Education Development Institute (CREDI), a Director of Credo Foundation for Justice, a Director of TGN Media/The Good News Project, and an Honorary Member of the Inner Wheel of St Augustine. Inter alia, she served as a member of Trinidad and Tobago’s Police Service Commission for four years (2003–2007) and of the Cabinet appointed Parole Introduction Committee (2004–2007).

For four years and nine months she served as a Lay Assessor on T&T’s Equal Opportunity Tribunal (EOT)—having been asked to resume duties after she had left the EOT at the expiration of her three year term there in 2018. She demitted office at the EOT on January 31.

Currently she writes a weekly column in Catholic News and in Trinidad & Tobago Guardian. Leela is the author of numerous articles, chapters in books namely: ‘The Rising Tide’, ‘Contemporary Issues in Catholic Education’ and ‘Catholics in Public Life’. She is a competent public speaker and is often invited to deliver the feature address at various events both in T&T and abroad.

Leela’s dedication to her life’s work is unquestionable. She is resilient, a true champion of the cause and advocate of the voiceless. Her many honours and awards are a testament to a lifelong legacy built upon an enduring commitment to the fair application of social justice for all God’s children.

She is the recipient of the Catholic Woman of the Year award (1994) in the UK. She also received recognition from the Papacy for representing the Holy See at a UNAIDS Conference in Jamaica in 2005.