Dr. Dexter Todd is one of Guyana’s leading defence lawyers and he recently achieved his Doctorate from Charisma University in Turks and Caicos. In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, Dr Todd shared details about his life, career, and his projections for the future.

During his interview, Todd made the point that education is the key to the alleviation of poverty in one’s life.

Originating from a family of seven and being the last of five boys for his mother, Todd noted that he saw faith in his mother. Even though there were many occasions when there was not much to eat daily, his mother still ensured that she put food on the table when she received finances from her domestic work, which sometimes amounted to three or four jobs per day.

Todd mentioned that he began his school career at the Vreed-en-Hoop Primary School. After he wrote the Common Entrance Examination, now known as the National Grade Six Assessment, he gained a place at the West Demerara Secondary School.

He further noted that since his older siblings had already dropped out of school and began working to assist his mother with providing daily food at an early age. He had no choice but to remain in school and get a good education.

“It was because of the fact that they were always trying to find a little end job so that we can eat, but being the last boy, I was not allowed to drop out of school… Many times I think of the sacrifices my brothers made… their working made things a little easier for myself and my young sister,” Todd told Pepperpot Magazine.

While attending West Demerara Secondary School, he explained that the school had been gutted by fire and began offering half-day sessions. Todd said that the half sessions were posing a great difficulty in terms of his ability to learn and focus. Unknown to his mother, young Todd travelled to Georgetown to seek a transfer to a school that had a whole day session.

“My mother was very busy with the number of jobs, sometimes three jobs in a day, and by the time you are finished cleaning at one location, you have to travel to another, so I decided one Monday morning to take a journey on the steamer boat at that time, you had the steamer coming from Vreed-en -Hop to Georgetown, and without telling my mother anything, I decided was going to come into the Ministry of Education,” Todd explained.

As a young boy, since he did not know Georgetown, he asked for directions to where the Ministry of Education’s Central Office was. When he arrived at the Ministry, he asked to speak with the person in charge and was told that he was too young to speak to anyone, so he had to wait a very long time to get attention. When he was finally attended, he was placed at St. John’s College.
“When I shared my story with her. She didn’t like my method of how it was done, but afforded me the opportunity nevertheless. I was all excited that I was going to a whole day session school in Georgetown, so the ride on my way to school was not a terrifying one,” Todd explained.

But Todd’s school life at St. John’s College was again interrupted when that school was also gutted by fire during his second year there. “I knew that it was not a possibility that I can go to the Ministry again and get another school for a whole day session, so I endured the half day sessions again, but it was a little better than what I had previously experienced,” he explained.

After completing schooling at St John’s College, young Todd then journeyed to the Bishops’ High School to do Sixth Form. During the July/August holidays, he worked as a handy boy at retail stores in Georgetown packing boxes, clothes, shelves, etc., to earn enough to purchase school supplies for the next term and help to contribute to the home.

After completing his schooling, Todd then went to work at the Guyana Revenue Authority as an Inspector of Taxes before migrating to the British Virgin Islands for a short while before returning to Guyana because there was no university there.

It was after joining the Guyana Police Force he also enrolled at the University of Guyana, where he pursued a degree in International Relations and then a second degree in Law.
Todd was admitted to the Bar in Guyana and Belize and is recognised as an international Professional trainer on peace and security with the International Consulting Cabinet in Geneva and a member of the Peace and Security Advisory Council to Caribbean Nations, MACBAN Corp USA.

Todd has experience in all law areas and has litigated, from admission to bar to current, over 300 cases. In addition, he is a coach to many young attorneys and law students from both the University of Guyana and Charisma University.

Todd is a member of Charisma University’s Senate and was appointed in 2021 as an Adjunct Professor at Charisma University where he currently lectures Master of Laws (LL.M) students in Conflict Resolution and Communication and Theory in Conflict Resolution. Todd also lectures LL. B students at the said University in the areas of Legal system and Constitutional Law.
Having received many outstanding awards for his work and given his vast experience, Todd continues to push the value of education in helping to achieve your biggest dreams.