It’s midweek, and we sit down with the effervescent and hard-working Allison Peart, country managing partner at Ernst & Young. She’s an astute auditor and tax specialist who wears several other hats. She professes to being a quiet country girl, but is the life of any social gathering. Among her many accolades, she was recently installed as the first female head of the Rotary Club of Kingston.

What kind of day are you having?

Exciting, yet hectic.

What are you sipping?

A Pegasus Tease. It’s made of peach schnapps and …sshh… some white rum.

Jeans or an LBD?

If I had my way I would be in jeans every day. But you’ll mostly see me in an LBD. I love to look and feel my best.

Who are you wearing?

Today, Rachel Roy.

Flats or stilettos?

Stilettos. I love the professional silhouette that stilettos give. I live by Tory Burch.

Who does your hair and nails?

Manor Collection Salon in Manor Park.

What perfume are you spraying?

Jo Malone fragrances. I absolutely love them. They are fresh and earthy. I particularly like the fact that you can layer them and be different every day.

What’s in your handbag?

Well, keys and stuff. I also have a little make-up. I don’t wear a lot, but I found this brand called CARGO that gives you a true minimalist look.

Are you a romantic comedy or action-adventure movie kind of woman?

I prefer an action-adventure. I don’t like blood and gore, but I prefer the action. I also find that I love European movies; not your regular simple-plot films.

What bad habit would you most like to put in your rear-view mirror?

I wouldn’t say I have any vices, but if I’m honest, I have a need to be in control of my surroundings.

What inspires you?

Believe it or not, impacting people’s lives is a motivator. Seeing the change in someone’s life and being able to help a situation and make it better keeps me going and wanting to do more.

This is what has fuelled my involvement with the Rotary Club. Its mission and lifestyle Four-Way Test keeps me tuned in and willing to do more.

What is your idea of the perfect man?

Well, one who is honest, can hold great conversations, is confident, and respects who I am. I accept that this is an ideal, but you did say perfect.

What is your idea of the perfect date?

The perfect date is not dinner and a movie. It would involve us taking off to a film festival; where we would truly get to know each other, and I could see how he interacts with others — his friends and those who serve.

You have excelled in what many say is a man’s world, what’s next?

Well, I have always wanted to teach. I want to be able to give more back and prepare the next generation.

Tell us about your early years.

I was a science student. I was part of the first batch of science students at Glenmuir allowed to choose accounting, and I found that there was not a lot of challenge. In fact, I will check, but I think my batch may have been a record-setting group for the [most] number of grade ones in accounting; and that record may even still be standing.

Tell us something that many people don’t know about you.

I was on my school’s track team doing long jump. And I wasn’t quite bad — I went to Champs. I gave up track because I found that I wasn’t always on top in our monthly tests, and since I was also on the netball team I gave one up. I even remember being called to the principal’s office when I gave up long jumping. But truly, I am all about balance.

What is your focus for your presidential year?

This year Rotary is focusing on literacy. Also, I want to have our members doing some introspection, some looking in. The Rotary principles are not all about making others better; they include making us, as members, better.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Retired. Still being able to work and do more helping and impacting the lives of others.

What is your wish for Jamaica?

Among the things I want to see in Jamaica is families believing in financial education from an early age. The next generation needs to learn about delayed gratification; and I think that will take us on a more successful path as a country.