It's like a set of building blocks, each one being put in place according to a carefully designed plan. And if Geneive Brown Metzger, Jamaica's new Consul General in New York, whose "remit" – as she describes it – covers 33 states across the United States, should get her way, what began with 1,500 names and basic contact information would expand to 10,000 bits of information by the end of the year, all catalogued into an electronic database, which in turn would evolve in what may turn out to be the most extensive talent network by any Caribbean country.

With as many as 1.5 million Jamaicans scattered across the United States, Brown Metzger isn't underestimating the task at hand. But aided by the support of the Jamaica Diaspora Institute, college students, alumnae organizations, other national groups and talented individuals who simply want to enable their birthplace to tap into the abundance of human, financial and other resources abroad, the Consulate General is pushing ahead at a rapid pace.

"Our goal is that by next year we would have identified the various talents within that raw database and that would be done through a survey," Brown Metzger explained. "At the end of the day, we would want to have a well sorted, robust system in place where you would press a button, or by the click of a computer mouse, find the talent capable of helping our country move forward.

"If the country needs a top nurse or medical specialist, a leading engineer, whatever professional, academic or technical person required, you can identify him or her and get that person without much, if any difficulty, at all," added the woman who came to office last year determined to organize and mobilize the Jamaican Diaspora.

So far, the database has expanded to include information on 7,000 nationals of the 47-year-old island-independent state, and using a combination of elbow grease – young college students with pens, forms and clipboards – sophisticated high-technology, and the straightforward access to computers in an array of homes, offices, educational institutions and community and neighborhood facilities that allow Jamaicans to input their information and be linked to the system, the project seems well on its way to meeting its targets.

"The database and the talent network are linked. In other words, the network is a phase of the database. Once we get the raw data, which is the name, address and other essential details, we would like to survey nationals, asking about people's interests, expertise and so on," the Consul pointed out. "We kind of phase into the talent network."

And with assistance by various organizations, including The New York Carib News and rewards, such as a trip to the home country via Air Jamaica, hotel stays and meals at restaurants, serving as inducements, all to be decided by a prize drawing at the Consulate General next year, it stands to reason why the effort has success written all over it.

"We want to encourage better communication between the Consulate General and the community," she said. "If we are to achieve that, we must know where people are and who they are. It will not be accessible to the private sector for profit-making. We do not share the information with any organization."

She was quick to add that national groups and their community institutions can use the system to disseminate information about their activities.

"One of the key things is to get information out about what our community is doing," she said.

The database and talent network are just part of a strategic plan developed by Brown Metzger to reach Jamaicans.

For example, she has spearheaded the formation of a Medical and Health Care Council designed to "go beyond medical missions," which, although vital when it comes to the provision of health care services in Jamaica's rural areas, "must ascend to "another level of discourse," as she described it. "We should be building a strategic partnership and that is beyond medical missions," she said. "We are working with the Ministry of Health about its priorities so we can support and identify resources and partners in the United States to support that mission."

Then there is the effort to help expand the country's health infrastructure, "bricks and mortar," so to speak.

"We are looking at wings of hospitals, medical facilities, centers of excellence," she said. "So, it must have a very strong fundraising capability. We have one philanthropist on board, Vincent HoSang, who is a major contributor to health care and education in Jamaica. We are not limiting our vision to Jamaicans. We are interested in working with people who simply want to help."

The overall strategy doesn't end there.

Financial investment that goes beyond the billions of dollars remitted to families in the country every year is another brick.

"The government of Jamaica understands the importance of the Diaspora movement and that's why the administration in Kingston, led by the Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has kept it going. It is a very sound idea," she said. "When you look at the investment opportunity, it has been proven that members of the Diaspora are much less risk-averse than non-Diasporans. We want to leverage the model fashioned by Israel, China, India and Ireland. If we are talking about attracting foreign direct investment, we must look first at family because we understand the culture. We need to understand that remittances are just the first form of that kind of financial investment in our country. In fact, we need to build on that."

That explains why Brown Metzger has reached out to some of her consular colleagues in New York with large immigrant communities – to benefit from their experience.

"Those countries have achieved considerable success and we aim to do the same," she declared.