XIII Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean

In 2001, Senator Ifill joined the Barbados Council for the Disabled as its Research Project Officer.  She was primarily responsible for conducting research and for working on the day-to-day management of the Council’s projects.  Among her duties were the monitoring and maintenance of the Council website, the drafting of all public relations material, and maintaining a high level of awareness on all issues related to the disabled.

The Senator was elected as President of the Barbados Council for the Disabled in August of 2011.  She demitted office after her constitutionally allowed four years and is the current vice President.  and is also the current President of the Caribbean Council for the Blind, a focal person for women’s issues in the Caribbean Council for the Blind.  She is also a member of the National United Society of the blind.  She also serves as a focal person for the implementation of the treaty of Marrakesh in the Caribbean and serves as a member of the Global Advisory Panel of the Disability Rights Fund.  In December of 2014, the cabinet of the Government of Barbados appointed her to serve as the Chairperson of the local Monitoring and Implementation Committee for the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In June 2010, senator Ifill took up a new post with the National Disabilities Unit; as consultant/facilitator for the Assistive Technology Services for the Blind and visually impaired.  In this capacity, she works towards improving the level of awareness on assistive technology and the manner in which it can improve the quality of life for persons who are blind and visually impaired.  The use of Braille has been a major part of her life since the age of 6.  She is proficient in the British Braille Code which is predominately used in the more traditional settings and was certified in that programme in her early teens.  She is currently pursuing certification with the National Federation of the Blind in the Unified English Braille Code which was only adopted universally in 2016.  She has taken a course in Transitioning to the UEBC from the Hadley School for the Blind as well as a course in the use of the Duxbury Braille Translation Software with the Carrol Centre for the Blind.

In February of 2008, Senator Ifill was appointed to serve as a member of the Upper chamber of the Parliament of Barbados and served until 2012 as the Deputy President of the Senate.
In March of 2012, on the resignation of Sir Branford Tait (President of the Senate), Senator Ifill was elected as the first female President of the Senate of Barbados.  She also holds the distinction of being the youngest and first persons with a disability to hold such an illustrious office.  After the general elections of February 2013, she was reappointed as the President of the Senate.
To date, she has had the honor of addressing several meetings/conferences of various UN Agencies; most recently the UNDESA sponsored conference on Disaster Risk Reduction for Persons with Disabilities in Sendai Japan March 2015. Regionally, she was guest speaker of the Telecom Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, The Matriculation Ceremony of the University of the West Indies, The graduation of the Barbados Community College and other community related activities.  She had the honour of representing Barbados at the Conference of States Parties on the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013/2015 and delivered the official statement on behalf of Barbados.