Special sessions
Special session 1: Flooding and resilience to climate changeSpeakers:
Managing Director, Alpha Engineering & Design (2012) Ltd, Trinidad and Tobago
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Fazir Khan is the Managing Director of Alpha Engineering & Design (2012) Ltd. He has over 30 years' experience as a practicing professional Civil Engineer and Project Manager, working locally and within the Caribbean Basin. Fazir graduated from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Civil Engineering. He has obtained a diploma in Management for the Henley University and certificates in Project Risk Management, Project Cost and Schedule Management, and Contracting and Negotiation Skills from the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School. Fazir is a certified A+ modeler for Detention Pond Systems; Urban Storm Water Management; and Hydrological Modeling for sustainable solutions on large sites. He has a certificate in Integrated Coastal Zone Management from IHE Delft University. Apart from the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT) where he was a Past President (2016/2017), he is also a registered member of the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago and the British Hydrological Society, England. ​During his 21 years with Alpha, Fazir has worked extensively on large integrated developments, infrastructure designs, water and wastewater projects and construction activities for various public sector and private Clients. Previous to his employment with Alpha, he worked at Trinidad Contractors Limited for 5 years as a Project Engineer, assigned to several engineering and construction projects within the Caribbean region.
Director of Drainage (Ag.), Drainage Division (Head Office), Ministry of Works and Transport, Trinidad & Tobago.
Mrs. Doerga has worked with the Ministry for the past eighteen (18) years, in three (3) major Divisions, ten (10) years in the Construction Division, seven (7) years as Chief Planning Engineer in the Highways Division, and currently as the aforementioned. Mrs. Badloo Doerga graduated from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Civil Engineering and holds a Masters Degree in Construction Engineering and Management. Katherine is a registered Engineer with the Board of Engineering as well as a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT). The Director has served on multiple committees ranging from Disaster Prevention and Preparedness to Structural Assessments and Retrofitting, as well as the Community Flood Early Warning System on behalf of the Ministry.
Dr Adrian Cashman has over 40 years of experience in the water sector. He has been working in the Caribbean, based in Barbados for the past 15 years, first with the University of the West Indies and now as an international water resources management consultant. He has worked on numerous research and consultancy projects across the Caribbean. Prior to 2018, he spent 12 years with the University of the West Indies and served as the Director of the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), training and mentoring many postgraduate students who have gone on to play important roles in the water sector across the Region.
Dr Cashman’s published works cover a diverse range of fields including critical accounting, geography, water and climate change, water policy, resource management and future studies. He has worked with a wide range of international and regional organisations on water and climate related matters. Up until 2022 he was a member of Global Water Partnerships Technical Advisory Committee and continues to serve the Caribbean as Deputy Chair of the Global Water Partnership Caribbean’s Technical Committee. In 2020, he received the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Associations Gold Award for services to the Caribbean water sector.
Kennedy Lord is the Plant Manager at Seven Seas Water Group Point Fortin Trinidad, he holds a BSc Mechanical Engineering Technology specializing in Manufacturing from the University of Houston and a MBA Management from Florida Institute of Technology. He along with his Team has guided the Operations of the 6.7 Million Gallons per day Desalination Plant at Point Fortin Trinidad to achieve all Operations Performance KPI over the last 36 months. Mr. Lord worked in heavy Manufacturing as the Production Superintendent and Manufacturing System Specialist before joining Seven Seas Water. He has published articles for the International Cement Review and the Florida Tech Magazine. He is Married and father of two adult children, when he is not engaged in assisting to improve his community he is either involved in Fishing, Hiking or Golfing.
Director, Water and Sewerage Authority, Trinidad and Tobago
Keith Meade is a water resources management professional with over 20 years’ experience in the water sector. He has practical experience in hydrology, water resources assessments and planning, strategic business management, disaster management, environmental management and forest management. At present, Keith Meade is a Senior Manager at the Water and Sewerage Authority in Trinidad and Tobago and heads its Water Resources Agency. Keith possesses a MSc. In Water Resources Management and a BSC. Forestry from the University of Michigan, USA. Keith has conducted independent research on the impact of climate change on the water resources of the Great Lakes, and runoff patterns under various land-use practices in the Northern Range of Trinidad. He is presently involved in an Inter-Agency partnership which is establishing a Community Flood Early Warning System, and in the expansion and modernization of the hydrological monitoring network of Trinidad and Tobago. Mr. Meade spends time in fitness and faith based activities.
Dr. George Sammy is an Environmental Engineer based in Trinidad and Tobago and offering environmental consultancy services throughout the West Indies. He earned a doctorate in Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1983, and his expertise in Environmental Impact Assessment is internationally recognized. In July, 2021, Dr. Sammy was lead author of “A Handbook for Environmental Impact Assessment Practitioners in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States”. He has also developed and presented a large number of EIA training courses as part of university degrees and as stand-alone courses.
Dr. Sammy’s experience with water supply projects dates back to 1974, when he was a junior engineer on the design of the Arena Dam and Tumpuna Weir. He subsequently worked on the site selection of the intakes for the Northern Range Valleys Projects and the intake for the original North Oropouche River Project in 1976. From 1977 to 1980, he was initially the Assistant Resident Engineer and subsequently Resident Engineer on the construction of the Arena Dam and Tumpuna Weir. In 1983, he was assigned the Construction Manager of the entire Caroni-Arena Water Supply Project. Between 1985 and 1986, Dr. Sammy was the Project Manager on the design of the Point Fortin Water Supply Project. George’s Environmental Engineering experience covers a wide range of project types including water supply pipelines in Trinidad and Water Supply Projects in St. Lucia, Tobago and Dominica.
Pat Shako joined the Department for International Development (DFID) Caribbean - now UK FCDO in 2018 as the Climate and Disaster Resilience Adviser. She currently helps to conceptualise and oversee the implementation of a portfolio of projects involved in building resilience and disaster risk reduction support for 7 ODA eligible countries across the Caribbean. Pat also provides technical support to the UK on policy and political climate change issues for an extra 5 Caribbean countries.
Work areas focus on climate change adaptation across multiple sectors including incorporating resilience systems into public financial management and disaster management systems (including social protection systems); ecosystem-based solutions for resilience; renewable energy; as well as blue economy and disaster risk finance instruments for small island developing states.
Prior to this role, Pat has worked as staff with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and has provided leadership on conservation and regional water issues during her positions with Global Water Partnership – Caribbean, and The Nature Conservancy.
Pat holds a M.Sc. in Natural Resource Economics, and a MBA Finance and has worked across the Caribbean for over 25 years.
Candice Santana was raised in a rural village, Tabaquite on the edge of the Navet Dam in Trinidad and Tobago and found her calling in the water sector early in life. She completed tertiary studies in Water Resources Management and Technology and Project Management while engaged in academic work in Agriculture, Climate Change and Rural Development. Ms. Santana is currently part of a dynamic team in the Water Resources Agency (WRA) at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) with responsibility for the collection, analysis, modelling and reporting of hydrometeorological and hydrogeological data and information. She is currently working on Water Security initiatives and a Water Sector Information Management System. Through the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA), Candice has worked on policy development, water security, capacity building mechanisms and other projects for the Caribbean Region in water, climate change, resilience, and adaptation. She is currently serving as the 1st Vice-President.
Business Continuity and Emergency Management Consultant
Colonel Williams served as a commissioned officer in the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force for thirty-four years, retiring in April, 2009. With respect to disaster risk reduction, he has been in the business for just over twenty years to date, amassing experience in directing response operations, leading rapid needs assessment teams, and adapting, developing and teaching disaster management subjects. He spent seven years as Director of the now-defunct National Emergency Management Agency (now re-incarnated as the ODPM) and two years (August 2010 –August 2012) as the Chief Disaster Management Coordinator at the Ministry of Local Government. Most recently, he held the appointment of Deputy CEO at the ODPM for a brief period of 10 ten months.
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