WHAT'S KEEPING ME BUSY
Work
I’ve never wanted what I do to be ‘work’. I’ve never seen ‘work’ as separate from my life, my purpose or my calling. It’s like American author Alice Walker writes in The Same River Twice: “Almost everything that I do – more and more as the years go by – has an element of joy for me, and if it doesn’t I generally don’t do it. So I see my work as very organic; it’s very central to how I live in the world.”
Special Envoy
Special Advisor
Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology (MIST)
GOVERNMENT OF BARBADOS
In July 2018, Barbados’ Prime Minister the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley named me Special Envoy and Special Advisor to the newly minted Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology (MIST). In that capacity, I am involved in Barbados’ digital transformation, offering strategic and policy guidance on the vision, mandate, structure, work plans and overall functioning of the Ministry. Along with Mr. Rodney Taylor of MIST and Mr. Mark Elliott, head accelerator of CivTech Scotland, the world’s first successful accelerator for the delivery of digital public services, I am designing and implementing CivTech Barbados to unleash the hidden potential of local entrepreneurs and innovators to help improve citizens’ access to efficient digital public services. I also advise on the National Digital Strategy, SMART Bridgetown, SMART Barbados, the University of the West Indies (UWI) Innovation Hub, investment climate efficiency and the ease of doing business in Barbados. I chair the Ministry’s Telecommunications Working Group, established by the Minister to advise on legislative, regulatory and enforcement issues in the age of digital convergence and the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
CEO
International Consultant
ACB Knowledge Consultants Inc.
ACB Global Inc.
I head my own boutique consulting firm, ACB Knowledge Consultants Inc. I am also the former and founding CEO of Invest Barbados, created by the Barbados Government to increase the island’s competitiveness as an international business and financial services hub and world-class jurisdiction for attracting foreign direct investment. I have logged more than 15 years as an international consultant developing policies, strategies and master plans in areas central to the sustainable development of small states, including ICTs and the new digital media, innovation, e-Government, media and public broadcasting, tourism development, investment and export promotion, the cultural & creative industries, and national brand identity. From 2011 to 2015, I was a member of the International Advisory Board of The Research Council, Sultanate of Oman, delivering strategic advice to foster innovation, leading-edge research, emerging technologies, and competitive advantages to help leverage the future development and prosperity of Oman.
Communicator
Keynotes | Panels | Papers | Presentations
I explore, dream, design and deliver at the intersection of technology, culture and ethical practice. I speak to audiences and participate in expert panels around the world, including in the Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and at the Headquarters of the United Nations. I am a trained journalist and editor as well as a published journal author specializing in small states’ issues. A former member of the Barbados Foreign Service, I received my Doctoral Degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, where I specialized in International Technology Policy, Innovation and Management and wrote my dissertation on Small States, the Internet and Development: Pathways to Power in a Global Information Society. I also hold the degrees of Master of Arts in International Law and Diplomacy, and Bachelor of Arts with honors in Mass Communications, Journalism and Political Science.