A Scientist by training, Dr. Trotz commenced his University education in Edinburgh, and attained his Doctorate in Organic Chemistry in Toronto, Canada. His career experiences and achievements are wide and varied.  He has worked as Director, Science & Technology Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, 1993 to 1997; as Secretary, Commonwealth Science Council and Science Adviser to the Commonwealth Secretary General, 1991-1997; Secretary-General, National Science Research Council (NSRC), Guyana, 1979-1991; Dean, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Guyana 1976- 1979; Director, Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology in Guyana, 1980-1991.

Since 1997, Dr Trotz, in his capacity as Manager for the GEF-funded CPACC and MACC projects, and the CIDA-funded ACCC project, has been giving direction to the region’s efforts to build capacity for climate change adaptation. He has presented more than seventy (70) papers/lectures at a range of regional and international fora on climatechange issues.

He has been publicly recognized in his country of birth, Guyana with the Golden Arrow of Achievement (AA) in National Honours in 1983 for long and distinguished service in Science and Research, and in Barbados has been inducted as an Honorary Distinguished Fellow of the University of the West Indies. Dr Trotz served as a member of the group of scientists awarded the Nobel Prize in 2008 in the capacity of a Review Editor for Chapter 16 on Small Island Developing States in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC).

Dr. Ulric Trotz is currently the Science Advisor at the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre in Belize.

Dr. McConney engages mainly in applied marine science research related to fisheries and marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Wider Caribbean region. His emphasis is on management planning, socio-economics and governance. Elements of outreach and capacity building are often incorporated into his work.

Recent and current initiatives include Socioeconomic Monitoring for Caribbean Coastal Management (SocMon Caribbean); the Coastal Resources Co-management Project (CORECOMP); the UWI Coastal Management Research Network (COMARE Net) and MPA management effectiveness evaluation/training.

His previous professional experience includes many years as a Marine Biologist, Fisheries Officer and Chief Fisheries Officer with the government of Barbados. He has also worked with regional, national and local level non-governmental organizations, as well as regional and international inter-governmental agencies.

He is currently a Senior Lecturer of Marine Resource Management Planning at the Center for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.

Dr. Dave D. Chadee is a Senior Lecturer in Parasitology in the Department of Life Sciences, UWI, St. Augustine. Previously he was the Entomologist at Insect Vector Control Division, Ministry of Health, Trinidad and Tobago; Director of the Trinidad Public Health Laboratory; and Deputy Director of Laboratory Services, Ministry of Health, Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. Chadee is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Tropical Medicine, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, USA and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Florida, USA.

Dr. Chadee was the recipient of two fellowships, the Wellcome Trust Scholar (1985-1987) and Gorgas Memorial Institute Fellow (1998-1999) and was awarded a Doctor of Science degree in 1999 by University of Dundee in recognition of his research. His breakthrough research includes the development of the Xenomonitoring/PCR approach to Lymphatic filariasis, a new assay method for detecting mosquito preferences, the pupal index for dengue epidemiology and control, detected and eradicated two malaria outbreaks in Trinidad and the paper published in Science entitled, Genetics: a breakthrough for global public health. Dr. Chadee has published over 180 papers and book chapters and has numerous collaborations in the USA and the UK. Dr. Chadee is a graduate of Naparima College,Trinidad, Dalhousie University (BSc Hons.), The University of the West Indies (MPhil) and the University of Dundee (PhD, M.PH, DSc).

Dr. Chadee works on the epidemiology of diseases which include communicable and non-communicable diseases. Since joining UWI he has concentrated on ecology and control of parasitic diseases; biology, ecology and control of insect vectors; epidemiology of diseases of Public Health importance; insecticide resistance mechanisms and management of vector populations; development of novel approaches for vector management and control; oviposition behaviour of mosquitoes; climate change and public health diseases.

Dr. Janice Cumberbatch teaches courses in Environmental Planning, Professional Skills for Natural Resource Management, Environmental Impact Assessment and Sustainable Tourism. She completed her PhD research on participatory methodologies in 2008 and became one of the key facilitators of a Service Learning initiative at the Cave Hill Campus.

Prior to joining CERMES, Ms. Cumberbatch was the founder and Executive Director of Social and Environmental Management Services Inc. (SEMS), a private consulting firm that offered services in the areas of social and environmental impact assessments and social surveys; social and environmental policy research; social and environmental planning; community mobilization; and seminar and workshop design and facilitation.

Dr. Cumberbatch has also published several articles in the areas of environmental management, social planning and sustainable development.

Previously, Dr. Cumberbatch worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), was the Deputy Director of a local heritage NGO, the Barbados National Trust and developed and coordinated the training portfolio for the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI).

Currently, she is a lecturer of Social and Environmental Management at the Center for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.