CDEMA’s new Executive Director Elizabeth Riley to assume office on July 1

Vincent Byron Jr, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs of St Kitts and Nevis, and the present Chairman of the Council of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. He announced that Elizabeth Riley had been appointed as the new Executive Director of CDEMA. She would handle the office from July 1 2021. previously Riley since April 2012, held the post of Deputy Executive Director

Riley had been acting as the Executive Director of CDEMA from May 1 2021. Riley joined the team of CDEMA in 2001 in its coordinating unit. Being an Executive Director, Riley would be responsible for preparing total directions and leadership to CDEMA. Riley’s work would include resource mobilization, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder and partnerships relationships. Riley carries the experience of over 20 years in the field of disaster management at the international and regional levels among various capacities.

In CDEMA, Riley had inter alia presented leadership for the Agency’s technical programming and gave strategic guidance in the fields of Preparedness and Response, Information Management, Mitigation, Recovery, Mitigation, Education and Training
Riley had field experience in the leadership of CDEMA deployment teams in consequence of Hurricanes Irma (2017) and Dorian (2019).

Riley has been playing a role of perfect leadership during the region’s coordination of the region’s response during the problematic situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Riley also played an essential role as a leader during the answer to the eruption of La Soufriere Volcano and during the floods in Guyana and Suriname.

Riley had also given lectures on Disaster Management at the University of West Indies. Riley also contributed to a range of technical advisory committees.

Ms Riley holds a Masters Certificate in Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation and Information Systems from the University of Laval, Quebec. A M.A (Econ) in Environment and Development from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom and BSc. (Hons) in subject of Geography from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.