The National Organising Committee

About us

National Organising Committee

A National Organising Committee has been set up. It consists of a core Secretariat and a series of Focal Points with designated responsibility for specific critical areas or clusters. The National Organising Committtee is ably assisted by a local team of Lead Organisers. The Lead Organisers are highly qualified individuals in their respective fields and have specific oversight for the substantive organisation of the various Forums.

Ms. Teresa Marshall

National Coordinator

Ms. Teresa Marshall is a retired career diplomat, who spent her entire professional life in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Barbados which she joined in 1974. She retired 36 years later, in November 2010 after an 11-year assignment as Permanent Secretary and Head of the Barbados Foreign Service, where she became the Ministry’s longest-serving Permanent Secretary and the first woman to occupy that post.

A 1969 Barbados Scholar, Ms Marshall is a graduate of the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom where she studied French and Spanish. She received specialized training in international relations in Australia, and has also been trained in subjects as diverse as trade promotion, treaty negotiation, peacekeeping and public sector management.

Ms Marshall served tours of duty at Barbados’ Diplomatic Missions in Washington D.C., Ottawa, at the United Nations and in Venezuela, where she was Barbados’ Ambassador from 1995-98 with concurrent non-resident accreditation to Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay.

At the UN, Ms Marshall’s principal focus was on small states’ issues in the follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit. She was part of a core group which prepared the groundwork for the First Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados in 1994. Out of these pioneering efforts came the Barbados Programme of Action and the implicit recognition by the international community of a new category of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) whose peculiar vulnerabilities require special attention.

During her career, Ms Marshall was part of the Barbados delegation to several major meetings, including the Summit of the Americas, the Commonwealth Heads of Government, the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, the Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), the UK-Caribbean Forum, and the CARICOM-Canada, CARICOM-Cuba, CARICOM-Brazil and CARICOM-Mexico Summits.

In July 1998, Ms Marshall was honoured by the Government of Venezuela with the award of the Order of Francisco de Miranda (First Class). In June 2011 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition of her contribution to the Barbados Foreign Service.

Ms Marshall currently serves as a Director on the Board of Emera Caribbean Inc., and as a Trustee of the Charitable Trust of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP).

Mr. Tyronne Brathwaite

Deputy National Coordinator - Administrative, Financial and Logistical Matters

A graduate of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mr. Tyronne Brathwaite is a Barbadian Civil Servant with almost 3 decades of experience. He began his career in the Barbados Immigration Department and has been employed for the past 20-plus years as a career diplomat in the Barbadian Foreign Service. During this time, he has been assigned to the International Relations Division as well as the Administration and Human Resources Department of the Foreign Ministry. His most recent assignment within the Ministry is with the Multilateral Relations Section of the International Relations Division, where he has responsibility for law of the sea, environmental, climate change and sustainable development issues.

From 2009 to 2015, he had the honour to serve as Chargé d’Affaires a.i., and subsequently as Head of Chancery and Counsellor at the Embassy of Barbados in Brussels, Belgium. During this period, his areas of responsibility included Barbados’ interactions within the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, ACP-EU relations and coverage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a member of Barbados’ Permanent Delegation to the latter organisation.

Among the other highlights of Mr. Brathwaite’s career is his assignment with the Ministry’s Maritime Boundary Delimitation Unit where he has been exposed to professional training and hands-on experience in the highly specialised area of the law of the sea.

Mr. Brathwaite brings to his assignment with the UNCTAD 15 National Organising Committee a wealth of knowledge and experience in the Public Service. He is the recipient of the Minister of Tourism Award for excellence in the service industry, having achieved the accolade of Immigration Officer of the Year (1998) and having also received the Minister of Labour GIVE (Great Attitude, Initiative, Values and Excellence) Award (2007) in recognition of demonstrated dedication to, and professionalism in, carrying out his duties.

Mr. Carlos Wharton

Deputy National Coordinator, Substantive Negotiations

Mr. Carlos Wharton brings to the National Organising Committee a wealth of specialised expertise in international trade policy and development, acquired through a diverse career in both the public and private sectors. After graduating from the Institute of International Relations at the St Augustine Campus, UWI, with a Masters in International Relations, Mr. Wharton worked first in the Barbados Foreign Service, and then in the Ministry of International Business, before joining the Barbados Private Sector Trade Team, a division of the Barbados Private Sector Association.

Subsequently, Mr. Wharton also served as Senior Trade Policy Advisor for the Caribbean Export Development Agency, and as the Director responsible for overseeing the implementation of the CARIFORUM/EU Economic Partnership Agreement for the CARIFORUM Directorate. Most recently he held the post of Executive Director of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Within the National Organising Committee, Mr. Wharton has responsibility for the coordination of national and regional policy positions in support of the negotiating process in Geneva. In this capacity he liaises closely with the Barbados Mission in Geneva, the Foreign Trade Directorate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the CARICOM Secretariat.

He also assists the Director of Foreign Trade in servicing the work of the Global Commission on Trade and Development Options 2020 set up by the Prime Minister of Barbados and formerly chaired by the late Professor the Right Honourable Owen Arthur with a mandate to contribute tangible recommendations to the policy deliberations of UNCTAD 15.

Mr. Carver Hinds

Financial Coordinator

Mr. Hinds is a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA Canada) with a B.Sc. Accounting (University of the West Indies) and a Diploma in Public Sector Accounting and Auditing from the Certified Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Previous to this assignment, Mr. Hinds was employed at the Accountant General’s Office (Treasury Department) from his induction to the public service and was appointed Deputy Accountant General in 1998 until June 2007, when he was reassigned to the Barbados Audit Office in the post of Deputy Auditor General.

Mr. Hinds’ main responsibilities during his tenure at the Treasury included the management of the Accounts Section, the preparation of the Accountant General’s monthly and annual reports, public debt accounting and reporting, pensions computation and accounting, as well as government-wide internal audits and departmental training. His responsibilities as Deputy Auditor General included establishing and implementing the Office’s annual audit plan, monitoring and reviewing the work of audit managers and contracted private sector auditors, overseeing the Office’s accounts, reviewing the annual estimates, assisting with the preparation of the Auditor General’s annual and special reports, and the training and development of staff at all levels of the Office.

Mr. Hinds has been directly involved in the setting up and evaluation of accounting systems, along with providing technical assistance to financial personnel across the Public Service. He was a member of various steering committees which included those related to the computerisation and modernisation of the Government’s financial management systems, modernisation of Government’s procurement system and the establishment of the Barbados Revenue Authority. He also played the principal role in the design of the Cash Receipting Computerised System currently used and adopted as part of the SmartStream financial management applications.

Throughout his tenure in the Public Service, Mr. Hinds actively participated in the training of junior and senior accounting and auditing officers. In addition, he has presentations at workshops and seminars including those related to senior public service executives. Mr. Hinds has been a part-time lecturer in the area of Public Sector Accounting and Finance at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus since 1999.

Mrs. Kathy-Ann Alleyne

Senior Coordinator

Mrs. Kathy-Ann Alleyne has worked in the Barbados civil service for the past twenty-four years, primarily in the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) field. Her ultimate satisfaction came from participating in major projects that significantly improved the efficacy of tax administration in Barbados. Such a project was the design, development and implementation of a client-server-based Value Added Tax (VAT) System in January 1997. Mrs. Alleyne was responsible for the design and development of a number of modules, including the design and printing of over 6,000 VAT certificates.

Her role as Systems Analyst/Senior Programmer later at the Customs and Excise VAT Division encompassed not only the administration and maintenance of the VAT system, but that of the local area Windows-based network as well. Again in 2010, Mrs. Alleyne worked closely with a team of consultants from Latin America on the Customs and Excise Modernisation project that aimed to improve the efficiency of the VAT System administration in addition to the reform of the Excise Control System.

Subsequent to the merger of Barbados’ four tax-collecting agencies to form the Barbados Revenue Authority on April 1, 2014, Mrs. Alleyne’s duties expanded to include maintaining network security authentication, telecommunication infrastructure and monitoring performance related to network functions.

She completed a Masters’ programme in Labour and Employment Relations that included a three-month work attachment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. It was there that she learnt about the UNCTAD 15 Conference. Mrs. Alleyne brings her insight of ICT, her professional experience as part of various project management teams and specialised training to serve the National Coordinating Secretariat.

Ms. Deirdre Holder

Coordinator

Since 2017, Ms. Deirdre Holder has been employed as Household Facilitator with the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs in their Strengthening Human and Social Development (SHSD) programme. The ultimate objective of this programme is to contribute to the reduction of extreme poverty and unemployment in Barbados.

She has served as Clerical Officer – Caribbean/CARICOM Relations Division and Maritime Delimitations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and as Clerical Officer – Human Resource and Administration Division of the Ministry.

Ms. Holder has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Consular and Diaspora Diplomacy, through an online course offered by the Diplo Foundation, Malta. She also received training in Protocol in Diplomacy and International Etiquette at the Training Administration Division and Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean.

She assisted in the research and finalization of a paper entitled “The Caribbean and South China Seas – A Comparative Analysis in the Context of UNCLOS Articles 122 and 123”.

Ms. Holder studied the Business, Government and International Economy (Masters Module) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, and received a Bachelor of Science – Social Work from UWI, Cave Hill. She also earned an Associate Degree in Applied Arts – Social Work, from the Barbados Community College.

Ms. Felicia Hackett

Executive Administrative Assistant

Ms. Felicia Hackett, Executive Administrative Assistant, brings to the Office a wealth of work experience in the international relations arena, both in the service of the Government of Barbados and within the United Nations system.

Following an early career in the banking sector, Ms. Hackett served from 1990 to 2005 in various administrative and management capacities for the Barbados Foreign Service in its diplomatic missions at the United Nations in New York, in Caracas and Washington D.C. Subsequently, from 2006 to 2017, she spent over a decade in the UNESCO Office in New York as Administrative Assistant and Confidential Secretary to the Director.

In this capacity, she was commended for her intellectual acuity, dedication and hard work, and for her invaluable contribution to the work of that Office.

Ms. Hackett’s professional background, together with her office management and organizational skills, and her positive and responsible attitude are well suited to the challenging task of UNCTAD 15 preparations. She combines strong communications skills with an attention to detail and follow-up, providing vital support to the National Coordinator and her Team.

Ms. Jacqueline Griffith

Executive Administrative Assistant

Ms. Jacqueline Griffith is a seasoned office professional with over 32 years of administrative experience in the Barbados Public Service, the majority acquired within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. During her varied career she has held assignments as Confidential Secretary to Permanent Secretaries and Ministers, and has served a tour of duty as Attaché at the Barbados Embassy in Venezuela.

Prior to her deployment with the National Organising Committee, Ms Griffith played a central role in the Cypher Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she supervised the internal and external flow of correspondence through the Ministry’s digital network, coordinated its electronic documents management and assisted with the dispatch of diplomatic mail. In that capacity she has continually shared her considerable institutional knowledge as a mentor to new officers.

As a member of the administrative staff of the Foreign Ministry Ms Griffith has had extensive experience in assisting with the organisation and management of regional and international meetings and conferences held in Barbados, and in facilitating diplomatic delegations. She is also among a core group of staff often entrusted with the responsibility of servicing these meetings on behalf of the host country.

Ms. Marsha Branch

Social Media Coordinator

Marsha Branch is a Media & Communications Consultant specialising in Communication for Development. Key clients in the development arena include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO), the Caribbean Development Bank and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency,

She is also a freelance writer and producer with over 20 years of experience in print, broadcast and digital media.

Ms. Branch’s portfolio is varied, and includes award-winning work on sustainable development, food security, climate change, women’s and child rights; and micro, small and medium enterprise development.

These projects have been published and broadcast internationally by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) where she worked as a programme host, news anchor and producer, Central News Network (CNN), the Huffington Post, Pantsuit Nation, United Nations and others.

A few notable projects she produced, managed and/or coordinated include:

Food Security digital media campaign – FAO
Climate Smart Agriculture digital media campaign – UNDP
Leaders of Tomorrow documentary – UNDP
Trash to Art television news feature – CNN
Millennial Millionaires digital feature – Greenspun Media Group
Indigenous Caribbean Music radio documentary – BBC

Richard Rawlins

ICT Consultant

Richard Rawlins has been working in the telecommunications industry for over 21 years, and is the CEO of a Wireless Internet Service Provider company called Caritech Solutions Inc. Through his leadership at Caritech, Mr. Rawlins represents Nokia Networks throughout the Caribbean, providing technical support and consultation on their behalf.

Mr. Rawlins holds over 50 individual certifications in networking technology from Nokia Bells Labs. In addition to his vast knowledge in IP networking, Mr. Rawlins is also a talented programmer versed in many programming languages such as PHP, javascript, jquery, C#, Visual Basic, Linux Bash and Java.

He has been an integral part of the technical aspects of many national events in Barbados, including State Funerals, Independence Parades, and CARIFESTA 13.

Mr. Rawlins is currently the Senior ICT consultant of The Afrosports Network which stretches across 30 African nations.

Mr. Adisa Andwele

Events Production and Artistic Coordination

As AJA, Adisa Andwele is one of the pioneers of performance poetry in Barbados, and a leading exponent of the art form in the Caribbean. A highly respected cultural personality, he has been at the forefront of many artistic initiatives in Barbados and has written on the development of Barbadian music and culture.

As a cultural administrator, Adisa has coordinated and/or produced some of the biggest cultural/entertainment events in Barbados and has worked in that capacity throughout the Caribbean.

He is a UNDP Spokesperson on War and Poverty for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean and served as Coordinator for the Peace Ambassadors Programme in Secondary Schools in Barbados.

Mr. Darwin Dottin

For Security

Mr. Darwin Dottin is a retired Police Commissioner of the Royal Barbados Police Force. During his career as a police officer he served in several executive and functional areas of the Royal Barbados Police Force. His command positions included Divisional Commander of the Criminal Investigation Division and the Bridgetown Division. From June,1995 to July, 1998 he served as Commandant of the Regional Police Training Centre.

After being promoted to Assistant Commissioner, he held the portfolios of Assistant Commissioner in charge of Administration and Assistant Commissioner in charge of Crime Management.

He had major responsibility for overseeing the preparation of the Barbados Security Plan for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup tournament (CWC) 2007. He also assisted in regional security planning for that tournament.

Commissioner Dottin was awarded a Bachelor of Law Degree (LL.B) (Hons), UWI, Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Criminology and Police Studies – Cambridge University and the MSc in Security and Risk Management with Merit – University of Leicester. He is a graduate of the National Academy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Police Staff College (Bramshill, UK).

He is a Past President of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) and the International

Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) chair for the Central American and Caribbean region.

Dr. Elizabeth Ferdinand

For Health

Dr. Elizabeth Ferdinand is a retired Acting Chief Medical Officer of Barbados. Born in Guyana, Dr. Ferdinand came to Barbados in 1979 and spent some of her earliest years working in the then Casualty Department (now the Accident & Emergency Department) of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

While serving as Senior Medical Officer of Health with the Ministry of Health, she was invited to take charge of epidemiology and the environment departments and later assumed responsibility for the clinical side, taking charge of all of Barbados’ polyclinics looking after immunisation.

During her tenure, Barbados achieved the eradication of polio and the country has been certified polio-free. She led the team in the elimination of indigenous measles, the elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, and completed documentation for the justification to have Barbados declared measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome-free.

Ms. Gaile Thompson

Venues and Events

Gaile Thompson retired in November 2019 following a wide-ranging career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spanning 38 years. A graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in Government and Politics, she also holds a post-graduate diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy.

Ms. Thompson began her service in an administrative capacity at the Barbados High Commission in London, and then at the Embassy in Brussels. Thereafter she was appointed to the career Foreign Service, and assigned to Headquarters where she held positions in the International Relations Division and subsequently in the Protocol Division. She concluded her career as Deputy Consul General of Barbados at the Consulate General in Miami.

Ms. Thompson brings to the National Organising Committee over a decade of experience in the Protocol Division where, as Deputy Chief of Protocol, she had responsibility for relations with the diplomatic corps, including matters of accreditation and privileges and immunities.

As a major part of her portfolio, she also had extensive hands-on involvement in state ceremonial matters, and in all aspects of the logistical planning and execution of major Government events, including official visits, and regional and international Conferences. In ensuring their successful delivery she has worked closely with the management of the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre and with all relevant Government Departments and other national and external stakeholders.

Mrs. Cicely Walcott

Tourism and Host Country Promotion

Mrs. Cicely Walcott has a wealth of tourism experience spanning forty years, in a well-rounded career both in the private and public sector. She started her career in the Prime Minister’s Office and was later promoted to the Civil Aviation and Tourism Division, which was the start of her career in tourism. As Chief Research Officer in the Ministry of Tourism, her responsibilities included developing and guiding the Government’s tourism policy.

Mrs. Walcott joined the private sector as the Assistant and then Executive Director of the Barbados Hotel Association (now Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association). She later served as Senior Vice President, Barbados Tourism Authority (now Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.). She was a founding member of the Tourism Development Corporation and served on its Board from 1987-1991.

In 1994, she created the company Alpha Corporate Services, Inc. Her specialty was event planning and tourism marketing, planning and development. Mrs. Walcott led the bid for the Cricket World Cup 2007 for the Accommodation and Immigration Segments of the successful Bid Document.

She organized small to large conferences, including the two of the biggest conferences held in Barbados – Caribbean Tourism Conferences CTC-20 and CTC-24 held in 1996 and 2000 respectively. She was a crucial liaison in the successful securing and execution of the PGA Tour’s World Golf Championship in 2006 – the first world class event to be held in Barbados.

Mrs. Walcott was also engaged in marketing consultancies for the ICC T20 World Cup (2010), the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (2011-2016), the Organization of American States (2019) and the Barbados Food, Wine and Rum Festivals (2010-2014).

Mrs. Walcott is a graduate of Queen’s College, Barbados, the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus – Bachelor of Arts (Economics & French) – and Cornell University Summer Programme in event and conference management.

Mr. Ian Estwick

For Ground Transportation

Ian Estwick retired after 34 years with a leading Canadian commercial bank which saw him undertaking job stints in Antigua, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts, St, Lucia, St. Vincent and Barbados.

As a former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Cultural Foundation in Barbados, he had lead responsibility for the production of the annual Crop Over Festival and was producer of the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts. He also led the Barbados contingent who performed at Trelawney, Jamaica for the Opening Ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Additionally, he led the contingents which represented Barbados at CARIFESTA in Suriname (2003) and Trinidad & Tobago (2006) as well as at the African Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) Arts Expo in Santo Domingo in 2006. In 1985, he co-founded the satirical Laff-it-Off production which celebrated its 35th anniversary on stage this year.

Ian is the current Chairman of the Transport Authority and is a Distinguished Lieutenant Governor and former Trustee of Kiwanis Eastern Canada and the Caribbean Region.

Dr. Sharon Marshall

For Media, Public Relations and Branding

Dr. Sharon Marshall is an award-winning broadcast journalist, author and public relations executive. She is a former television news anchor with the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in her native Barbados. Television audiences throughout the English-speaking Caribbean and the West Indian diaspora in London, Toronto, New York and Miami would also have seen her as one of the presenters of the regionally syndicated magazine programme Caribscope produced by the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU).

In addition to her duties in front of the camera, Dr. Marshall served in senior management positions as Director of News and Current Affairs with CBC, and as Manager, Programme Operations with the CBU. Since leaving journalism, she has headed public relations departments in the fields of telecommunications and financial services, most recently as Public Relations Executive with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

She received an award for Best Television Feature/Documentary from the Barbados Association of Journalists (BAJ), and the Outstanding News/Feature Presenter TV award from the Caribbean Publishing and Broadcasting Association. In 2013, she was awarded the Gold Quill of Excellence by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for Communications Skills. She has served as President of the BAJ and the Barbados Chapter of IABC, as well as Deputy Chairman of CBC.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude) in Radio Production from Howard University, and was awarded a Master of Arts in English and a Ph.D. in History by the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill.

Ms. Roshanna Trim

Youth Forum

Youth Activist, Mentor and Leadership Trainer, Roshanna Trim is the current President of the Barbados Youth Development Council and Chairperson for the Caribbean Regional Youth Council.

Ms Trim served as Prime Minister of the Barbados National Youth Parliament (2014-2016), and was a member of the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Committee (2016-2017). In 2015 she was adjudged the most exceptional Youth Parliamentarian at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Regional Youth Parliament. She has also served on the National Youth Policy Implementation Committee.

Ms Trim is currently a student at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, where she is pursuing a BSc in International Relations. In 2013 she was awarded an Associate Degree from the Barbados Community College with Majors in Law, History and English Literature.

Roshanna Trim has a keen interest in governance development and a deep commitment to youth empowerment. She believes strongly in the capacity of young people to contribute to national progress through a positive youth development approach. It is this spirit that she confidently expects will contribute to the success of the UNCTAD 15 Youth Forum.

Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight

Civil Society Organisations Forum

Dr. Shantal Munro Knight is a development and trade policy specialist and is the recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Cannabis Licensing Authority. She has over 20 years’ experience in the non-profit sector and was the former Executive Director of the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC). She specializes in the areas of trade policy, public policy, leadership, capacity building, advocacy, policy research, and organisational change management.

She has written, co-written and led the development of numerous research papers on issues including the adjustment impact of trade liberalisation, climate change, gender and regional integration.

She has also held a number of positions on boards and committees of regional and international organizations including CIVICUS, the Global Environment Fund Small Grants Programme and the Commonwealth Foundation. Dr. Munro-Knight was a member of the Barbados Government Committee for National Reconciliation and the Barbados Government Committee on Governance and former Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation Civil Society Advisory Group.

She has participated extensively in UN processes, including processes leading up to the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 3rd International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) where she was the lead NGO spokesperson under the UN NGO Major Groups.

She is a social commentator, a former talk show host and columnist for a local newspaper in Barbados. She was selected as one of a hundred top global leaders in 2015. Dr. Munro-Knight has a doctorate in Public Policy and Administration and holds a Masters in International Trade Policy. She was also a part time lecturer and tutor at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus in Political Science for over five years.

Mr. Peter Williams

Commodities Forum

Mr. Peter Williams is Senior Vice President of Emera (Caribbean) Incorporated (ECI). Before taking up his role at ECI, he was Managing Director of the Barbados Light & Power Company Limited, a subsidiary of ECI. Mr. Williams is also a member of the Board of Directors of Dominica Electricity Services (DOMLEC), and Past Chairman of the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC).

Mr. Williams holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Manchester University (UK), an M.Sc. (Electrical Power Systems) from the University of the West Indies and an MBA from The Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario, Canada.

He is a Member of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (USA), and is a Past President of the Barbados Association of Professional Engineers. Mr. Williams was the recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary in 2010.

Mr. Williams is the President of the Rotary Club of Barbados for the Rotary year 2019-2020. He is the founder of Suzuki Music (Barbados), whose aim is to promote talent education for very young children based on the method developed by Japanese violinist, Dr. Shinichi Suzuki.

Mr. Williams also serves on the Boards of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic School, the Barbados Private Sector Association and First Citizens Bank (Barbados) Ltd. In 2011, he was appointed to the Privy Council of Barbados, an advisory body to the Governor General of Barbados.

Prof. V. Eudine Barriteau

Gender & Development Forum

The Most Honourable Prof. V. Eudine Barriteau is a Professor of Gender and Public Policy, with a distinguished record as a Caribbean scholar and administrator. Professor Barriteau served as the first Head of the Centre for Gender and Development Studies: Nita Barrow Unit.

She was also the first woman at The University of the West Indies to be appointed Campus Coordinator, School for Graduate Studies and Research. She became the second woman to be appointed Deputy Principal at the Cave Hill Campus on August 01, 2008. On August 01, 2014 The UWI Open Campus welcomed Prof. Barriteau as its second Principal, a position she held for nine months before assuming the Principalship of the Cave Hill Campus on May 01, 2015.

Prof. Barriteau has received a number of national, regional and international awards and recognitions. On November 30, 2019, in celebration of Barbados’ 53rd Anniversary of Independence, The Order of the Freedom of Barbados, the country’s highest national honour, was awarded to Prof. Barriteau in recognition of her outstanding contribution to tertiary education and pioneering leadership in the development of gender studies and the promotion of gender equality.

On February 07, 2016, as Grenada celebrated its 42nd Anniversary of Independence, the Government of Grenada presented The Order of Grenada Gold Award for Excellence to her, in recognition of her contribution to education. In July 2011, she was bestowed the 10th CARICOM Triennial Award for Women at the Opening Ceremony of the 32nd Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in St. Kitts. Prof. served as the President of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) from 2009 to 2010.

She was an inaugural International Research Fellow at the Centre for Excellence in Gender Research, GEXCEL, Örebro, Sweden in April 2008, and returned in November 2010 and March 2013 by special invitation. In 1997, she had the honour of being the Inaugural Fellow of the Dame Nita Barrow Distinguished Women in Development Visitor Programme at the University of Toronto.

She was awarded a Howard University Doctoral Fellowship in 1992 and was a LASPAU/Fellowship scholar at New York University 1982 – 1984. In 1992, she became a Scholar of the American Association of University Women and prior to that, the first Caribbean scholar to be awarded the Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund Scholarship in 1991.

Prof. Barriteau’s research interests encompass feminist theorizing, gender and public policy, gender issues in higher education, investigations of the Caribbean political economy, theorizing heterosexual women’s socio-sexual unions, educational leadership and change.

She is the author of The Political Economy of Gender in the Twentieth Century Caribbean published by Palgrave International, and won the University of the West Indies Press’ inaugural best-selling text book prize for the edited work Confronting Power, Theorizing Gender: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in the Caribbean. Her latest publication is the edited collection, Love and Power: Caribbean Discourses on Gender which was published by UWI Press in 2012. She has co-edited four other publications as well as published over thirty book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Mr. Adrian Green

Creative Industries Forum

Mr. Adrian Green is an arts-educator, performer, writer and visual artist. He is currently conducting research towards a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies. He holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism, a Bachelor’s in Advertising and an Associate Degree in Graphic Design.

Mr. Green’s journey as an educator began at the Coleridge and Parry school where he taught visual art for five years. He has since then worked as a personal development educator with the Freemind Institute and has taught courses in mass communication and writing at the Barbados Community college.

He spent a period of three years with the Info-Life program helping to design an HIV educational course which was presented to almost every class at almost every secondary school on the island.

As a spoken word artist, Mr. Green has performed to audiences in Europe, North America, Africa and across the Caribbean and has produced three spoken word albums. As an actor he has been featured in three films and a number of stage presentations.

He has a weekly column published in the Sunday Sun newspaper, and has developed courses using poetry and spoken word as personal development vehicles. Mr. Green is currently working on his first book.

Dr. Annalee C. Babb

Trade Digitisation Forum

Dr. Annalee C. Babb is an international consultant with more than 15 years in executive management, specialising in international technology policy, innovation and management, telecommunications policy analysis, digital convergence, broadcasting, new media entrepreneurship, branding, marketing, investment and export promotion.

She is currently the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy and Special Advisor to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology, Government of Barbados. In those capacities, she offers strategic and policy guidance on the Ministry’s vision, mandate, structure, work plans and functioning.

She also advises on national digital transformation, telecommunications policy, the creation of a Barbados Tech Accelerator for the delivery of digital public services, the National ICT Strategic Master Plan, SMART Bridgetown, SMART Barbados, the University of the West Indies Innovation Hub, e-Government, e-Governance, investment climate efficiency, and the ease of doing business in Barbados.

From 2011 to 2015, Dr. Babb was a member of the International Advisory Board of The Research Council, Sultanate of Oman, where she provided strategic advice to foster innovation, leading-edge research, emerging technologies, and competitive advantages to help leverage the future development and prosperity of Oman. She served as the founding Chief Executive Officer of Invest Barbados from 2006 to 2008. She is a former diplomat, having served in the Barbados Foreign Service, as well as a former journalist.

Dr. Babb received her Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, where she wrote on “Small States, the Internet and Development: Pathways to Power in a Global Information Society”. She also holds the degrees of Master of Arts in International Law and Diplomacy, and a Bachelor of Arts with honours in Mass Communication, Journalism and Political Science.

She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Mr. Adisa Andwele

Events and Production Manager, Village Marketplace

As a cultural administrator, Adisa has coordinated and/or produced some of the biggest cultural/entertainment events in Barbados and has worked in that capacity throughout the Caribbean.

He is a UNDP Spokesperson on War and Poverty for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean and served as Coordinator for the Peace Ambassadors Programme in Secondary Schools in Barbados.

H.E. Ambassador Chad Blackman

His Excellency Chad Blackman, is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.

Ambassador Blackman has worked in the international development sector for over fifteen years, and has engaged as an international trade law specialist and development consultant respectively.

He has served as a youth development consultant with the Commonwealth Secretariat in London and was Senior Partner in an international law firm specializing in tax, shipping, international trade and data protection laws.

Currently, Ambassador Blackman is the Chair for the Trade and Environment Committee in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and former Chair of the Trade and Development Committee. He chairs the SIDS Group in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and is a UN International Gender Champion.

He has undertaken both the LLB Law and LLM International Trade Law at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. Additionally, he is an Associate member of the London-based Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Ambassador Blackman speaks English, French, Spanish and German.

Mrs. Shani Griffith-Jack

Mrs. Shani Griffith-Jack is First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Barbados to the United Nations and other International Organisations at Geneva. She has been attached to the Mission since December 2011. She has worked with the Government of Barbados in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade for the past thirteen (13) years after leaving the private sector where she worked in the banking, insurance and legal services sectors in Barbados.

Mrs. Griffith-Jack is an economist by training and an experienced international trade and development specialist. She has lead responsibility for the Mission’s Trade and Investment and Environment programmes including the issues of trade in services, fisheries subsidies, trade facilitation, electronic commerce, climate change, sustainable development and disaster risk reduction. Since 2014, Mrs Griffith-Jack has been the lead technical expert for the Small Island Developing States Group in UNCTAD.

During her tenure in Geneva, Mrs. Griffith-Jack has served as the Chairperson of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation and Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices in the WTO. She is currently the focal point for the ACP Group for trade in services and electronic commerce and for the CARICOM Group for trade in services and WTO Reform.

About us

National Organising Committee

Ms. Teresa Marshall

National Coordinator

Mr. Tyronne Brathwaite

Deputy National Coordinator - Administrative, Financial and Logistical Matters

Mr. Carlos Wharton

Deputy National Coordinator, Substantive Negotiations

Mr. Carver Hinds

Financial Coordinator

Mrs. Kathy-Ann Alleyne

Senior Coordinator

Ms. Deirdre Holder

Coordinator

Ms. Felicia Hackett

Executive Administrative Assistant

Ms. Jacqueline Griffith

Executive Administrative Assistant

Ms. Marsha Branch

Social Media Coordinator

Richard Rawlins

ICT Consultant

the office of the NATIONAL organising committee For UNCTAD 15

1 Welches Plaza,Welches,St. Michael,Barbados

the office of the NATIONAL organising committee For UNCTAD 15

1 Welches Plaza,Welches,St. Michael,Barbados