About JDTAN

About JDTAN

The Jamaica Diaspora Taskforce Action Network (JDTAN) was born out of a simple but powerful belief: that the Jamaican diaspora holds more than goodwill and remittances—it holds knowledge, experience, systems thinking, and leadership capacity that can help shape Jamaica’s future. JDTAN exists to harness that collective wisdom and turn it into structured, practical action. We are not a talk shop, and we are not a charity in the traditional sense. We are a problem-solving network, grounded in service, driven by purpose, and committed to outcomes that last beyond events and headlines.

What makes JDTAN different is how we work. Our approach is rooted in intellectual remittances—the intentional transfer of skills, professional expertise, research, mentorship, and lived experience from the diaspora back to Jamaica. Through task forces spanning education, health and wellness, youth development, technology, agriculture, crime prevention, and governance, JDTAN connects professionals across borders to Jamaican institutions, schools, communities, and policymakers. We convene summits, webinars, working groups, and on-the-ground initiatives not to showcase ourselves, but to co-create solutions with those closest to the challenges.

At its core, JDTAN is about legacy. It is about building bridges between generations, between Jamaica and its global family, and between vision and execution. We believe sustainable national development requires collaboration, humility, cultural grounding, and accountability. Every programme we design, every partnership we form, and every conversation we host is guided by one question: How does this meaningfully strengthen Jamaica and its people? That question keeps us honest, focused, and moving forward.

Background

The Jamaica Diaspora Taskforce Action Network (JDTAN) was established in 2013, born out of concern that evolved into purpose. Founded by Dr. Leo Gilling, JDTAN began as a series of conversations among Jamaican professionals across several U.S. states who shared a growing unease: diaspora engagement with Jamaica had become too narrow, too transactional, and too disconnected from long-term national development. While remittances and charitable efforts remained important, they did not fully reflect the depth of professional expertise, leadership experience, and institutional knowledge Jamaicans abroad had developed across education, healthcare, agriculture, business, technology, justice, and public service. JDTAN emerged to reimagine how the diaspora could contribute—strategically, collaboratively, and sustainably.

From the outset, JDTAN advanced a deliberate shift from financial remittances alone to intellectual and professional remittances. Organized as a taskforce-based action network, JDTAN convened educators, healthcare workers, farmers, entrepreneurs, technologists, researchers, and policy practitioners to share expertise and co-create solutions with partners in Jamaica. Through Education and Health Summits, mentorship programmes, professional development workshops, JAMINARS, panel discussions, and applied learning sessions, JDTAN supported teachers, school leaders, healthcare professionals, community workers, and other practitioners. These initiatives were delivered both on the ground and virtually, allowing diaspora members to give back from wherever they were—bringing real-world experience into dialogue with local needs, priorities, and realities.

Equally central to JDTAN’s work has been relationship building and leadership development. The organization invested intentionally in empowering its own leaders and taskforce members, strengthening governance capacity, collaboration skills, and shared accountability. Over time, JDTAN grew into a global network of more than 3,500 members across 47 countries, connected through online platforms that enabled continuous engagement, learning, and contribution. Through partnerships with universities, colleges, schools, businesses, and community organizations in Jamaica and across the diaspora, JDTAN has helped create spaces for sustained dialogue about national development—spaces grounded in respect, evidence, and collective responsibility. Today, JDTAN stands as a living model of what purposeful diaspora engagement can look like when people, knowledge, and commitment are aligned around a shared future.

JDTAN focuses on four key pillars:

1. Connect – Build strong bridges between Jamaicans overseas and communities on the island.
   
   

2. Collaborate – Form partnerships with government, private sector, and civic groups to tackle national priorities.
   
   

3. Mobilize – Channel resources, expertise, and innovation to create measurable change.
   
   

4. Empower Leaders – Give emerging and established leaders opportunities to strengthen their skills, expand their influence, and guide sustainable development.

Jamaica Diaspora Taskforces are:

• The Jamaica Diaspora Early Childhood Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Special Education Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Primary & Secondary Education Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Tertiary Education Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Aging & Long Term Care Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Public Health Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Pharmacy & Medication Management Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Oncology & Nursing Education Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Behavior  Mental Health Task Force

• The Jamaica Diaspora Technology and Entrepreneurship Task Force