The HistoryMakers

Veronica Airey-Wilson, deputy mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, was born on August 4, 1953 in Kingston, Jamaica to Narciso and Clariana Airey. Moving to Hartford in 1960, Airey-Wilson attended both Brackett Elementary School and Arsenal Elementary School. She was a member of the National Honor Society and captain of the cheerleading team at Weaver High School where she graduated in 1972. Attending Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York on a full scholarship, Airey-Wilson graduated in 1975.

In 1976, Airey-Wilson was hired by Aetna where she rose from claims adjuster to equal employment opportunity counselor. Leaving Aetna in 1985, Airey-Wilson started her own business, Verjen Boutique, in Hartford's Richardson Mall. She later returned to the insurance business by opening an AllState Insurance Company franchise, which eventually became the Airey-Wilson Insurance Group, a full service financial agency.

In 1994, Airey-Wilson was elected to the Hartford Court of Common Council, where she was the first Jamaican to serve as the city's deputy mayor and in 2003, she served as co-chair of the Youth Workforce Development Task Force. She has served as an executive member of the Capital Region Council of Government Joint Policy Steering Committee, chair of the Republican State Convention in 2002, and as an executive member of the Capital Region Council of Government Joint Policy Board. Airey-Wilson is vice president of the Association of Caribbean American Leaders and a member of the NAACP. The mother of two, Airey-Wilson attends St. Monica's Episcopal Church.

Airey-Wilson was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on February 17, 2005.