Theme: Jamaica's solutions for climate change impacts

TEDXWorthingtonAvenue is the Jamaica event for TED’s Countdown and will be held Saturday, October
17th, 2020 at 11:00am to 4:00pm. It aims to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis in Jamaica.

TEDxWorthingtonAvenue
44 Trafalgar Road, Kingston
Kingston, Saint Andrew, 00005
Jamaica

Anthony Clayton

Professor of Caribbean Sustainable Development

Prof. Clayton, C.D. is the Alcan Professor of Caribbean Sustainable Development at UWI, and Adjunct Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Technology. He manages a large portfolio of research & development projects and has supervised or examined 50 PhD students. He has done policy studies on development issues for many governments & agencies – UNEP, UNIDO, DFID, World Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat and the OAS. As a member of the GoJ's Climate Change Advisory Board, he is a principal investigator of the pioneering Net Zero Energy Building project – the first advanced prototype of a net zero/energy-plus building in Jamaica. It seeks to research and develop practical, working solutions to transform building policies and practices and regulatory, educational & technical tools to promote energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy sources in the Caribbean. Prof Clayton has an MA in psychology and a PhD from the University of Edinburg.

David Smith

Ecologist in Sustainable Development

David is Coordinator of the Institute for Sustainable Development, Caribbean Coordinator for the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and a member of the Independent Group of Scientists that co-authored the UN Global Sustainable Development report for 2019. He has developed UWI projects in sustainable development research, distance teaching, knowledge management, disaster risk management and hazard mapping. Dr. Smith has served as president of the Caribbean Conservation Association, regional Councillor for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Executive Director of the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust and led the Energy, the Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Management project portfolios in UNDP’s Jamaica Country Office from 2002 to 2008. He has been elected to The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research’s (IAI) Science Policy Advisory Committee for a three-year term.

Dionne Nugent

Renewables Generation Engineer

Registered professional engineer Dionne Nugent is Director – Business Development at Jamaica Public Service Company. She leads the development of JPS’ Electric Vehicle infrastructure programme (e.g. utility-owned charging stations). At JPS Dionne has been Head of Engineering and Head of Generation Special Projects, a team leader for the introduction of LNG to JPS's Generation Fleet, negotiated 300MW of power-purchase agreements for renewable/thermal energy projects, and developed technical policies for the integration of Renewable Generation to the Transmission and Distribution grid. Dionne currently leads a cross-functional team in the development of ‘distributed generation’ solutions including Combined Heat and Power solutions, Utility Scale and Customer Sited Renewables projects and Energy Efficiency services. She holds a Masters’ degree in Electric Power Systems (University of Bath, UK) and Engineering Management (UWI) and a BSc in Electrical Engineering (UWI, St. Augustine).

Mark Dennis

Sustainable Energy Consultant and Developer

Mark Dennis is a sustainable energy consultant and developer with experience in energy efficiency and renewable energy development in the Caribbean. He has worked on many national RE projects: 10MW of run-of-the-river hydro feasibility studies; wind feasibility mapping; 500 kW of solar photovoltaic; Sea Water Air Conditioning; and 30 MW of waste to energy project development; with partners such as Semco Maritime (Denmark) and Naanovo Energy (UK). He advised local and regional public and private groups on utility-scale waste to energy potential and feasibility for dispatchable renewable energy mix in Barbados, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, and St. Kitts & Nevis. He facilitated the Jamaica Renewable Energy Policy (2009 – 2030); and has worked with the Development Bank of Jamaica, World Bank, CARICOM, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), European Union and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on multiple RE and EE projects.

Mona Webber

Marine Biologist & Ecologist

Prof. Mona Webber is a marine biologist & ecologist with 25 years of experience in teaching & research at the UWI Mona Campus. A Senior Lecturer, her research has focused on Zooplankton: their production, community structure and distribution, and their use as indicators of water quality and mangrove habitats, including an assessment of their biodiversity and the evaluation and development of appropriate water quality indices. She has supervised over 30 graduate students and a large number of undergraduate research projects. Her current research involves mangrove forests and associated lagoons found in the coastal areas of Jamaica to document information on the biodiversity associated with these areas and the essential role they play in protecting coastlines, especially during natural disasters, and sustainable economic activities in the hope of preventing the removal of forests/trees or other destructive activities that contribute to the depletion of the mangrove wetland ecosystems.

Naeen Jackson

Food Safety and Environmental Consultant

Naeen Jackson is a Food Safety and Environmental Consultant at Jamaica's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. A passionate farmer, she is also an avid agricultural entrepreneur. Jackson has implemented food and environmental management systems including impact assessment and policy development. She is the Lead Consultant (Enhanced Agricultural Production, Marketing Facilities and Systems) for the Essex Valley Agriculture Development Project, funded by the UK and administered through the Caribbean Development Bank. It is the largest single investment (£35.5 M) in irrigation infrastructure in Jamaica, and seeks to enhance the productivity of farmers in the Essex Valley in a socially inclusive, gender-equitable and climate-sensitive way. It is expected to impact the lives and livelihoods of more than 700 farmers on 700 hectares of land by providing irrigation water and improved access to local and global markets. Naeen is also a strong advocate for youth and women in agriculture.

Suzanne Shaw

Sustainable Energy Consultant

Suzanne Shaw is a consultant in sustainable energy, and Director at The Leap Co., a company that works with Caribbean private sector to integrate sustainability alongside profitability. She has 15 years’ international experience in energy, transport and climate change-related sectors in the field of economics, policy and finance. Suzanne has worked at 3E, a Brussels-based sustainable energy consulting firm; at the European Commission's Institute for Energy and Transport in The Netherlands; and as Director for Sustainability at the Caribbean Policy Research Institute in Jamaica. She has also consulted on projects for USAID, European Union, and Inter-american Development Bank, as well as for various Caribbean governments. Suzanne has BSc in Chemical and Process Engineering from the University of the West Indies, a PhD in Economics from Paris-Dauphine University, and an MBA from the Wharton School.