Elaine Gumbs-Vlaun founded the
Sint Maarten department of Social Services, while acting as the island's original social worker. She was elected to the island council in 1983, Gumbs-Vlaun also served as part of the Cabinet of the
Netherlands Antilles. This made her the first Sint Maarten woman to be elected to a parliament. Gumbs-Vlaun was one of the founding members of the Mental Health Foundation in Sint Maarten in 2000, as part of a government initiative. In 2011, she became a member of the Social Economic Council (SER) and was reappointed in May 2014. Gumbs-Vlaun retired in 2015 upon reaching the age of 70. The chair of the SER, Oldine Bryson-Pantophlet, praised the work of Gumbs-Vlaun, saying that she kept her composure despite the sometimes heated discussions that would be held at the council. ==References==