A therapist named as Woman of the Year revealed how her passion for helping others was inspired by the support she received during her own mental health struggles, which included trying to take her own life as a teenager.

Latisha Lister-Burgess, who appeared this morning during an all-women panel celebrating International Women’s Day, received the recognition after Callahj Simons was crowned Teen of the Year.

Delivering an emotional speech, Ms Lister-Burgess dedicated her award to her 16-year-old self who “never dreamt this was possible”.

She added: “We have a shared responsibility to each other. I learnt very early on that it is not one person who makes anything happen — it is a whole village that makes everything happen.”

The panel, attended by professionals and schoolgirls, discussed women’s leadership and collaboration under the theme “Give to Gain” at Pier Six.

Ms Lister-Burgess told a crowd of hundreds that she had grown up in a “house of scaffolding”, where others stayed with her family during times of need.

However, as a teenager she struggled with her own mental health, attempting to take her own life at 16 while at boarding school. Help came from her dorm and her parents.

She said that the empathy she experienced in her moment of need inspired her to help others in a similar position.

Ms Lister-Burgess said: “It would’ve been easy for them to come to me with anger or even disappointment, but they came with love and support and so much compassion.

“They literally changed the trajectory of my life in that moment.”

She added: “That changed my whole life and I thought, ‘How can I be that for some other 16-year-old girl?’

“So, to that 16-year-old girl who wasn’t sure she’d make it — I’m 43 this year and I’m leading a mental health agency.”

Ms Lister-Burgess is a marriage and family therapist, as well as one of two certified Employee Assistance professionals in Bermuda.

She serves as executive director of Bermuda’s Employee Assistance Programme and is the island’s only clinical fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.

Ms Lister-Burgess launched EAP Bermuda’s internship programme in 2020, allowing Bermudian counselling students to complete clinical internships while studying overseas.

She has launched workshops to improve discussion of mental health and psychological safety and will present research completed on behalf of the Non-profit Alliance of Bermuda in Norway this month.

Ms Lister-Burgess said mental heath should be normalised as “part of a broader conversation”, instead of stigmatised.

She added: “There are a lot of women of influence in this room. My call is to ask them, ‘How can we be the scaffolding for women in Bermuda?’”

Callahj Simons, the head girl at The Berkeley Institute, was recognised for championing Bermuda’s youth.

The 17-year-old made headlines last year after representing Bermuda at a UK Youth Parliament sitting in November, with an impassioned speech urging the Bermuda Government to maintain updated information and for the island’s youth to be agents of change.

She said her speech in Britain’s House of Commons encapsulated the same ethos as the awards — giving back to one’s community.

She explained: “It’s all about what we do and how we do it, and the impact that it makes.”

Ms Simons acknowledged feeling “far behind” at times and called on young women not to lose track of their accomplishments.

She said: “It goes back to the idea of the highlight reel — you feel like everyone around the world is just doing great things.”

Ms Simons added: “When you’re in certain spaces and the women and females empower you, I think that’s important because you feel like you’re never alone.

“We’re not behind, we’re just where we are and we’re going to get the opportunities.

“It takes moments like these, where people see your potential, that we can really grow and develop.”

Ms Simons serves as Deputy Speaker for the Bermuda Youth Parliament and contributes to the National Youth Policy Working Group as a Future Leaders representative.

She also serves on the Youth Advisory Board for Bermuda’s National Health Plan and as head of the Bermuda Karate Youth Council.

Outside of her government work, Ms Simons was described as “a dynamic scholar, advocate and community leader”.

She has an Associate of Arts degree through the Bermuda College’s dual enrolment programme and has studied law through Oxford summer courses.

Ms Simons has pursued legal mentorship with Walkers and BMS Group and hopes to become a corporate barrister.