Our Team in Barbados and the OECS

Didier Trebucq
RCO
UN Resident Coordinator

Renata Clarke
FAO
Sub-regional Coordinator
[email protected]

Claudia Coenjaerts 
ILO
Director
[email protected]

Prior to his appointment as Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the OECS, Mr.Trebucq served as UNDP Country Director in Brazil. He holds a Master of Science in Sustainable Development, with a specialism in Environmental Economics, from the “Imperial College London” (UK) and a Master’s in Business Administration from the “Institut Français de Gestion” in France.

Before her appointment in Barbados and the OECS, she worked as the Head of FAO Food Safety and Quality Unit at FAO Headquarters. She holds a PhD in Food Science and Technology from the Technical University of Nova Scotia and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of the West Indies.

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Ms. Coenjaerts joined the ILO in 1991 and has worked extensively in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Prior to taking up her current position she took an 18 month sabbatical from the ILO to act the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Labour Association in Washington, D.C. She holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. 

Cleveland Thomas 
ITU
Representative
[email protected]

Yitades Gebre 
PAHO/WHO 
Representative
gebrey@paho.org

Diane Quarless
UN ECLAC
Chief 
[email protected]

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Thomas acted as the CEO for the State Enterprise, National Information and Communication Technology Company Limited in Trinidad and Tobago. He is a certified accountant and holds a Master’s Degree in Information and Communication Technology for Regulations and Policies from the University of the West Indies. 

​Dr. Gebre has over 24 years of public health leadership and management experience, having worked with health teams and national officials in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and in 12 Eastern Caribbean countries. He joined the organisation in 2005 as Advisor, Disease Prevention and Control in the Bahamas Country Office, and has held several key  positions. Prior to his appointment, he served as PAHO/WHO representative in Suriname. He holds a Doctor of Medicine degree and a Master's in Public Health from Addis Ababa University, and a Master of Science degree in Applied Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene from McGill University.
 

Before her current position, Ms. Quarless served as the Chief of the Small Island Developing States Unit, and also as Head of Partnerships for Sustainable Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations. She holds a Masters’ degree in Development Studies with specialization in Environmental Management.

Alison McLean 
UN WOMEN
Representative 
[email protected]

Magdy Martinez-Soliman
UNDP
Resident Representative 
[email protected]

Vincent Sweeney
UNEP
Head
[email protected]

Alison brings over 30 years of experience in international relations, project management and leadership. 
Alison joined UN Women from the Ministry of Culture, Gender Entertainment and Sports in Jamaica where she served as Permanent Secretary.  Prior to this appointment, Alison served as the Chief Technical Director/Principal Director of the Office of the Prime Minister in Jamaica and her portfolio of responsibilities included gender affairs. She holds a Master of Philosophy Degree in International Relations from Cambridge University.   

Mr. Martinez-Soliman has a solid track record of accomplishments and vast experience in development. Mr. Martinez-Soliman served as Assistant Secretary-General to the United Nations Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. Prior to that, he has held different positions at the UN and UNDP Headquarters in New York, most recently serving as UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. He holds a degree in Law (Juris Doctor) from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid and the Universidad of Malaga. 

Prior to his current post, he was based in Nairobi, Kenya for 4 years as the Coordinator of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (or GPA), located within the United Nations Environment’s headquarters. Mr. Sweeney holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia, and was registered as a full member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia (APENS) in 1989. 

Katherine Grigsby 
UNESCO
Director and Representative
[email protected]

Alison Drayton 
UNFPA
Sub-Regional Director 
[email protected]

Aloys Kamuragiye 
UNICEF
Representative
[email protected]

Ms. Grigsby holds a Master’s Degree in Education from McGill University. 

Alison Drayton has worked in UNDP for fifteen years in a series of functions both globally and in the Caribbean region, most recently at RBLAC as Senior Advisor. Alison was in the NYU Masters Programme on Public Administration and holds a BA Honors in History and Politics from the University of London.

Mr. Kamuragiye previously served as UNICEF Representative to Djibouti and Morocco and most recently the UNICEF Congo office in Brazzaville. Before joining UNICEF, he served in several positions as a senior manger in the health sector in his home country of Burundi, employee of Montreal University in West Africa and WHO consultant. 

Jose Vila Del Castillo
UNODC
Regional Representative for Central America and the Caribbean 
[email protected]​

Sonia Gill 
UNOPS
Multi-Country Manager – Head of Programme 
[email protected]

Oweena Beepot Pryce
UPU
Regional Project Coordinator

Mr. Jose Vila Del Castillo previously served as the UNODC Representative for Eastern Africa.
                        

Before her appointment with UNOPS, she served as the Secretary General of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union. She holds a first-class honours degree in communication from the Caribbean School of Media and Communication at the University of the West Indies, and an honours degree in law from the University of London. 

Biography unavailable ​

Regis Chapman 
WFP
Head of Office 
[email protected]

Mr. Chapman brings 22 years’ experience providing humanitarian and development assistance globally. Prior to the 14 years’ spent with the World Food Programme, he worked with the Red Cross Movement on food security programmes and responses to natural disasters. Mr. Chapman holds a graduate degree in Marketing from Arizona State University. ​