Attorney Christina Williams is Miss Portland Festival Queen 2026

For two decades, Christina Williams has dedicated her life to serving others. As newly crowned Miss Portland Festival Queen 2026, she has set her sights on an ambitious goal: empowering 20,000 young Jamaicans to discover purpose through education, leadership and community service.

The 28-year-old attorney-at-law, development advisor and head of information privacy and protection at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, plans to use the Festival Queen platform to advance her signature community initiative, The Path to Purpose Project, a programme designed to equip young people with the tools, knowledge and inspiration to pursue purposeful lives through education, entrepreneurship, leadership, volunteerism and cultural engagement.

The goal is especially meaningful as it marks Williams’ 20th year of serving Jamaica’s youths and communities.

“The goal is to reach 20,000 youths by the end of my reign with resources that will support them in pursuing their purpose through education or entrepreneurship, leadership and volunteerism, while remaining connected to culture and community,” Williams said.

Raised in a rural community, Williams credits the opportunities she received to lead and serve from an early age with shaping the trajectory of her life.

“My potential became unlocked because I was given opportunities to lead and serve, many of which came through the ministries of Youth, Education and Culture,” she explained.

“There are countless young people across Jamaica who are brilliant and ambitious, but simply do not know where to begin. The Path to Purpose Project is about closing that gap by providing the guidance, resources and encouragement they need to unlock their own potential.”

For Williams, the initiative is also an opportunity to honour the people who invested in her own journey.

“I am where I am today because people poured into me,” she said. “This project is my opportunity to pay that forward. Twenty thousand young people powered by purpose is how I want to celebrate 2o years of service.”

Williams said entering the competition was a natural extension of her lifelong commitment to youth development.

“The Festival Queen platform celebrates women who lead through service while promoting Jamaica’s rich culture and heritage,” she said. “I wanted to be part of that tradition. It offers so much more than pageantry. It develops leaders, strengthens cultural awareness, builds community pride and creates opportunities to make a meaningful impact.”

She also credits the women who have come before her in the programme for inspiring her own leadership journey.

“The Festival Queen brand has produced outstanding women of influence and impact. Women like Toni-Shae Freckleton, whom I greatly admire and have had the privilege of interacting with through visits to the United Nations, demonstrate the global reach of Jamaican leadership. Many of the recent queens are also fellow youth advocates with whom I continue to serve.”

Despite an accomplished career in law, public service and youth development, Williams believes her greatest contribution will always be measured by the lives she helps to change.

“I have always served my country diligently and creatively, even without a crown,” she said. “Now, I believe my impact can be multiplied tenfold as I work towards supporting 20,000 young people through the Path to Purpose Project.”

As she prepares to represent Portland at the national competition, Williams hopes her reign will inspire young Jamaicans to pursue lives of purpose and demonstrate that lasting change begins when young people are allowed to lead.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com