In the face of hardships, including a bicycle accident, an economic downturn and a terrible hurricane, Grace Foster-Reid, a Haskell Project Manager and local business owner, has shown resilience and industry. For her dedication and leadership, she has earned the company’s Living the Values Award.

“As a local team member, Grace has been instrumental in helping our U.S. team navigate how to successfully do business in Jamaica,” said VP and Lead for Haskell’s Water Market Tiffany Shaw. “She collaborates with openness, respect and positivity; consistently ensuring the entire team succeeds together. During Hurricane Melissa and its aftermath, she drove to the project site, unprompted, to check on conditions and report back to our U.S. team. Her proactive communication and dedication provided reassurance and clarity during a critical time.”

Foster-Reid grew up in Jamaica, her father, a mining engineer and her mother, a nurse. Her dad graduated from the Jamaica School of Agriculture and is a passionate farmer at their family farm in Balaclava, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. They grow ackee, apples, bananas, citrus plants, coconuts, coffee, passion fruit, plantains, and, more recently, keep bees for honey production.

From age 17 to 22, Foster-Reid attended Rice University in Houston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning degrees in environmental and civil engineering before returning home to Jamaica where she got married and raised three daughters.

During the 2008 economic crash, she and many others lost their jobs after two bauxite factories closed. Following in her father’s footsteps, she returned to her family’s farm and founded Ecofarms, a beekeeping business with a mission to create 100 jobs for displaced workers and local community members.

After a near-fatal bicycle accident in 2011, Foster-Reid took her time in recovery to conceptualize the next phase of her business. She went on to expand Ecofarms’ operation to work with deaf beekeepers, providing fair wages and employment to an underemployed community.

Haskell hired Foster-Reid in 2024 as a Project Manager for the Campari Wastewater Treatment Plant project.

“The farm is my purpose, and Haskell was a miracle because I was not looking for a job,” Foster-Reid said. “When Haskell came knocking, I was definitely not looking.”

When Hurricane Melissa hit in Fall 2025, Foster-Reid was on site to ensure everything was safe and that field teams were OK.

“In the midst of the hurricane, I was contacted by the leadership team in the Jacksonville Headquarters,” she said. “I was moved by the genuine concern and felt like they really cared about everyone’s safety. The support from all our team members was hugely helpful and made a very difficult situation feel manageable.”

When the Living the Values award, given to employees who consistently display Haskell’s core values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust, was presented to Foster-Reid, she accepted with grace and reflection.

“At the time, I was actively asking myself, ‘Am I doing well here?’” she said. “And then the award was an answer to that question. I had only been at Haskell for a year, but in that time, they made a point of recognizing my values and hard work. That made this feel like a good match and was a nice validation for me.

“I don’t think what I did and how I work is special. It’s who I am and how I was raised. It feels really good to have a role where I can grow and make a positive impact on others in my communities.”

Driven by our core values of Team, Excellence, Service and Trust, Haskell is committed to contributing to the communities where we live and work. Contact us to discuss your facilities – and your community’s – needs.