Mia D. Wattley- Forbes is the daughter of the late Hon. Paul P. Wattley. Photo: Javon Liburd/ VINO

Ms. Wattley at her graduation in 2008 at HLSCC. Photo: provided

Married for close to three years to her husband Kenn Forbes, who she evidently adores, Mia is a character that has a personality like no other. Speaks so softly and walks so lightly that she is hard to be detected, but do not be fooled.

Mia is a go getter, being the Intelligence Officer at the BVI Financial Investigation Agency, entrepreneur of four businesses and a wife. It makes our Young Professional an inspirited individual and a dreamer.

As Intelligence Officer, she is responsible for requests that are received from international agencies in regards to VI registered companies.

“What I love about my job is interacting with people, there is so much one can learn if they just speak to someone.”

Mia received her primary and secondary education at the St. Georges School and Cedar School, respectively. She then furthered her studies at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College where she earned her Associates Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Financial Services.

She is currently enrolled online at Ashworth College, where she is studying for her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Business Administration.

Mia explained that her love for customer relations and helping people comes from her old thoughts of being a doctor. She recalled growing up it was her dream to be a doctor, to help people and contribute to her community and home. She added that she did not give up on her dream entirely, because she still helps anyone in any way she can.

“I dreamt of becoming a doctor but as the years passed I got introduced to different fields especially the field my mom was in, which was working at a trust company.” After seeing her mom in action she stated that “I wanted to work at a trust company, to see how it works.”

She told this new site that at a young age, the public expected her to walk in her father’s footsteps of becoming an architect, but she was more attracted to jobs that are more hands-on and where she has to deal with a lot of different customers. “I was more interested in what my mother was doing, because my father was an architect, and I can’t draw.”

Mia is the first of three children of the late Hon. Paul P. Wattley and Leona Wattley.

Coming from a family of hard workers where they provided her with a quality education and lifestyle, she said there weren’t many challenges in her young days but she did mention one challenge of managing time. “Growing up there was never enough time to do all that I do, but I try to manage my time.”

Mia along with her husband, are the owners of four businesses: KM Variety which is the main company that specializes in ordering products off the internet for people in the VI; Island Wide Property, which is a real estate and property management company; M2K Landscaping focuses on cleaning and organizing yards and www.MyAuctionWorld.com which is an online marketplace focused on the buying and selling of goods to the public and for persons or businesses to sell their items as well.

In the next five years, she sees her businesses as a big cooperation.

Other than working, Mia enjoys cooking.

Mia stated that her parents and her husband are her biggest inspirations and she is thankful to them for all they have done for her.

She added that throughout her life there are things that went wrong but she wouldn’t change anything. “Everything made me who I am today.”

She encourages the ‘youngsters’ of the Virgin Islands to do what they believe in.

“If you want encouragement, never try to get your friend's approval on anything, if you believe in yourself it is possible. It is not all about friends; it’s about you at the end of it all.”