Our Team
Working tirelessly to make the link between DATA and BETTER decisions!
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Mariagrazia Graziano
Project Officer, EC-JRCMariagrazia is a biologist with a PhD in marine ecology, marine resources management and conservation. She has a background in experimental ecology methods to highlight biodiversity changes in relation to human impacts and protection measures (Marine Protected Areas) and in applying causal framework (such as Driving-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) to describe the interactions between society and the environment. Her work focussed on marine protected areas to creating knowledge bridges and transferring scientific information to local communities and policy makers. She joined the Joint Research Centre- European Commission (JRC) in October 2013 to support the BIOPAMA project. She is the focal contact point for the Caribbean region.
Jose Courrau
Thematic Expert, IUCNDr. José Courrau is a Costa Rican biodiversity conservation expert with more than 30 years of experience. Dr. Courrau began his career in the National Park Service of Costa Rica as a protected area manager. During his professional career, he has worked for government agencies, international organizations (IUCN, UNESCO), universities (University of Queensland, Australia), and international NGOs (World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International). Dr. Courrau has distinguished himself internationally on different topics related to protected areas; in particular, management effectiveness, the planning of sites and systems of protected areas, the management of visitors in protected areas, among others. José has contributed to biodiversity conservation in several countries around the world. Currently, he works for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in the Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. From this position, Dr. Courrau is responsible for all aspects related to biodiversity conservation, in particular, protected areas management effectiveness, the Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas, the World Heritage Convention, the Red List of Species and the Red List of Ecosystems.
Hyacinth Vaughn Armstrong
Protected Areas Officer, BIOPAMAHyacinth is a dual national of Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados and has worked in the conservation field for over 15 years. She joined IUCN in October 2013 and is coordinating the Caribbean component of the BIOPAMA Programme.
Julian Walcott
Technical OfficerJulian is trained in Ecology and Natural Resource and Environmental Management. Key interests include the management of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and the use of Geographic Information Systems for spatial and temporal analyses.
Justin Springer
Technical Assistant, BIOPAMAJustin is a dedicated ecologist who started as a research assistant at UWI, Cave Hill in 2012. He has a background in Landscape Ecology and his MSc thesis (Cranfield University, UK) investigated the link between landscape morphology and connectivity for jaguars in Bolivia. Justin has a keen interest in integrated landscape management and linking field research and spatial analysis for biodiversity conservation at various scales.
Dionne Carbon
Research OfficerDionne is a former Geography lecturer at the Dominica State College. She holds a degree in Geology from the University of Geosciences (Wuhan, China) and Natural Resource and Environmental Management from the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill). Dionne has been working part-time with the Caribbean Gateway since 2016 as a Research Assistant engaging with key stakeholders, managing data and providing support to activities relating to the Caribbean Gateway.
Jay Belmar
Communications OfficerJay hails from Bequia in the Grenadines and is a creative communications professional and multimedia journalist with over 9 years experience in film, radio and communications. She has a Master of Arts degree in Multimedia Journalism (Broadcast) from the University of Westminster (United Kingdom). As the former Communications Manager of the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture (SVG), she secured the engagement of the private and public sectors, as well as non-governmental organizations and community groups. One major accomplishment she is most proud of was the introduction of the Tourism Education Comic Book Series and the Tourism Radio Drama. She has had the opportunity to research, document and self-produce a twelve minute investigative film on the pressures facing the whaling tradition in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The film ‘Big Fish’ was part of the official selection and screening at the 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival. Jay is extremely passionate about volunteering, travelling, learning about new cultures and documenting human stories, societal, and environmental matters through the use of multimedia.
Anton Shepherd
Web Application DeveloperAnton has worked as a Developer, Consultant and Project Manager of Web / Mobile technologies for regional and international partners. His passion for the opportunities that lie at the intersection between technology and business drives his continued interest in creating data-driven solutions that impact and improve lives.