Tedra Kirby, the first-ever chief government communications executive in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, says she is taking up the post mindful of the task that lies ahead.
“I know there is a lot of work to be done but it is a challenge that I am looking forward to and that I am embracing immediately,” the 37-year-old communications professional told iWitness.
The Ministry of Information announced Kirby’s appointment on Friday. She has become the youngest person in recent memory to head the Agency for Public Information (API), formerly the Government Information Service.
“When I look at the people who have come before me, I’m not sure if a director has ever been appointed that young,” she said, half in jest, half in reflection.
Kirby said coming to the post at her age could be a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, it aligns with a broader conversation about government “leaning into younger people” and utilising their expertise, particularly in rapidly evolving fields, like digital communication.
On the other hand, she knows there might be questions.
“People may say, ‘But you are this age. Do you really have what it takes to lead an agency at this level, given the requirements of the undertaking that you’ve really been appointed to lead?’”
Kirby steps into a newly configured, strategy-heavy role that sits at the intersection of politics, policy, public information and media culture.
Her appointment comes as the Ministry of Information has announced a push to “develop a more coordinated, responsive and contemporary government communications system,” a press release said.
She has been appointed to the role for three years in the first instance and her contract positions her as a senior adviser to the government on public relations, public information, media relations, public engagement and strategic communications policy.
Moving API from ‘superior journalism’ to strategic partnerships
Kirby will lead the development and implementation of a coordinated government communication strategy and provide strategic advice on major policies, programmes, decisions and initiatives.
A key day-to-day assignment will be to offer overall leadership and direction to the API.
Over the last few years, the API has cultivated a less-than-favourable relationship with non-state-owned media, claiming it produced “superior journalism” even as it appeared to compete with non-state-owned media.
Kirby will also coordinate government communications across ministries and departments.
Additionally, she has been mandated to introduce systems to improve communications reporting and monitoring and to establish professional guidelines and standards for how government communicates.
“Essentially, a very heavy strategy-focused position,” Kirby said, adding that it is strategy with daily operational consequences, affecting the way ministries talk to citizens, and how government’s voice is heard and judged.
The API has often been seen less as a neutral public information agency and more as a partisan instrument— sometimes even as a competitor to private media rather than a partner.
“I definitely think relationship building is one of the most important skills that a leader in any institution, including the API, needs to have,” she told iWitness News, adding that for her, the way forward is partnership, not rivalry.
“Given the responsibilities of the media on a whole, which include things like keeping governments accountable, ensuring that information in general is shared, utilising various platforms, I do think that it is extremely important for the overall success of the API to form closer relationships with the media and view that relationship as a partnership rather than competition,” she said.
She said that the API has more leeway in terms of how it communicates to the public information that may not necessarily fit into that bracket of news.
Proactive public information
Kirby said her mandate includes proactive public information, digital and multimedia content and media engagement.
The Barrouallie resident has over 15 years of experience in strategic and corporate communications, broadcasting and media engagement, and teaching.
The ministry’s release noted that for the past three years, Kirby served as network communications manager at the British High Commission in Barbados, responsible for communications across Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
Her work there included leading communications strategies, public information campaigns and regional media engagement.
Kirby told iWitness News that that experience gives her a crucial vantage point now.
“Having had the experience outside of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well has allowed me to see exactly what some of the best practices are that we can implement here … to improve the overall government’s communication framework.”
Kirby, a 2018 Chevening scholar, holds a Master of Arts in corporate communications, marketing and public relations, a Postgraduate Diploma in education (secondary – teaching of English); a Professional Development Certificate in digital marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and History.
She has more than a decade of teaching experience and a broadcasting career that began at Hitz FM, where she initially worked without pay.
Kirby later moved to Hot 97, hosting “Woman Is Boss”, a Sunday morning programme she ran solo, and co-hosted “Afternoon Kickout” with a DJ.
On television, her first gig was with IKTV, but she is better known for hosting a Sunday evening discussion show on SVG TV. Kirby has also done work for VC3.
However, a lesser-known dimension of Kirby’s portfolio is that she is certified in sports event announcing and she is pursuing certification in project management.
Empower employees ‘not just do the work, but to also question what we do’
Kirby will provide leadership at the API at a time when many seasoned staff have been transferred or asked to be reassigned amid years of tensions with senior leadership.
“I think regardless of the setting, be it professional, be it personal, you will find people who want to challenge you, and I welcome challenges — respectful challenges,” she told iWitness News.
“As a leader, we have to expect to be challenged, or we should expect to be challenged. We should, as leaders, empower our employees to not just do the work, but to also question what we do.”
She understands that building trust with people who are unfamiliar with her will take time.
Kirby, however, told iWitness News that she is committed to building and nurturing that trust and sharing her skills and knowledge as part of her thrust to improve not just the staff at API, but communications-focused personnel across the government service, no matter the ministry.
“That’s going to be a major part of the mandate that I have,” she said, adding that she is already “devising ways, mechanisms, and guides and policies” to help change the narrative of how people work, so that when she leaves the post, “people are better equipped to do their job than when I got there”.