Hazel Monteith

Hazel Conupe Monteith, O.D., J.P. (née Williams; 19 June 1917 – 22 May 2012) was an Afro-Jamaican consumer rights advocate, radio personality and social worker.

In 1942, she married Emmanuel Jocelyn Monteith a Clerk of the Courts in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth,[1] They subsequently moved to Kingston, and had two children: Horace and Delaine.

[2] Continuing her own education, in 1965, she travelled to New York City; Washington, D. C.; Ridgetown; and Toronto, Canada observing various programs on community planning and development.

[4] After twelve years, Monteith resigned from the JFW in 1972 and began working as a regional officer at the Council of Voluntary Social Services.

[2] In 1990, she founded the Hazel Monteith Skills Training Centre to extend the work for women that the Citizens Advice Bureau had performed for many years.

The new facility provided certificates to students who had completed childcare and domestic science courses and they expanded their classes to include lessons on cooking, dressmaking, hygiene, and telephone ethics.

[14] She is remembered for her dedication to the welfare of women and the underprivileged to Jamaica and the innovative programs that she implemented to provide job training and consumer assistance.