Joy Grant

Last updated

Audrey Joy Grant CMG (born 1951) is the current governor of the Central Bank of Belize. [1] She was a Belizean Senator and the head of the Ministry of Energy, Science & Technology, and Public Utilities. After beginning her career in economic development projects, she became an environmental conservationist and developed numerous projects throughout the Caribbean region to protect forests and marine life.

Biography

Audrey Joy Grant was born on 5 February 1951 [2] in Belize City, British Honduras. After attending high school in Belize City, she worked for a year at Barclay’s Bank and then moved to Canada for university studies. She earned an undergraduate degree in commerce [3] and a Master of Business Administration in International Finance from the University of Alberta, Canada. [4] Grant moved to Barbados, where she worked on economic development projects for thirteen countries from throughout the Caribbean at the Caribbean Development Bank. After eight years, she relocated to Washington, DC and began working at the Belize Embassy. [3]

In 1989, Grant returned to Belize to spearhead a conservation project funded by the Massachusetts Audubon Society [5] with help from the Nature Conservancy and US scientists. The project, Programme for Belize was a co-founded by Grant and she became its first executive director, [6] acquiring over 300,000 acres (4% of Belize's land mass) of tropical rain forest as reserve for the project. [4] At the time, conservation programs were in their infancy and she won two different sustainability certifications for her program of ecoforestry of Belizean mahogany. [3] After over a decade with Programme for Belize, [7] in 2001, Grant became Vice President and Managing Director of the Atlantic Conservation Region of the Nature Conservancy. She oversaw conservation efforts in twenty of the eastern states of the US and 10 Central American and Caribbean countries, [2] and in 2003 launched an effort to create a program which encompassed the Caribbean marine basin from Cuba to Venezuela. [3] Leaving the Nature Conservancy in 2005, she began working as a senior director for the Natural Capital Project. In 2008, [2] she was appointed as Ambassador Exemplary and Plenipotentiary at the Embassy of Belize, Brussels, Belgium; [8] Ambassador Designate to the Kingdom of Spain and to the Netherlands, Germany, and France; and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the European Commission, which she continued until 2012. Grant was appointed to the committee to design the United Nation's Green Climate Fund in 2011. [2]

In 2012, Grant was appointed as a Belizean Senator by Prime Minister Dean Barrow [9] and appointed as the first [4] Minister of Energy, Science & Technology and Public Utilities. [10] The new ministry's goals were to develop a sustainable development plan [11] by integrating policy and regulatory laws on energy, science and technology into national decision making processes. [4]

She has been the governor of Central Bank of Belize since October 2016. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belize</span> Country in Central America

Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a water boundary with Honduras to the southeast. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 441,471 (2022). Its mainland is about 290 km (180 mi) long and 110 km (68 mi) wide. It is the least populated and least densely populated country in Central America. Its population growth rate of 1.87% per year is the second-highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Its capital is Belmopan, and its largest city is the namesake city of Belize City. Belize is often thought of as a Caribbean country in Central America because it has a history similar to that of English-speaking Caribbean nations. Belize's institutions and official language reflect its history as a British colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Belize</span> Politics of the country

Belize is a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the king of Belize serves as head of state and the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Belize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colville Young</span> Governor-General of Belize (1993-2021)

Sir Colville Norbert Young is a Belizean politician who served as the 2nd Governor-General of Belize. He is also a patron of the Scout Association of Belize. He was appointed as the Governor-General in 1993, taking office on 17 November of that year, and was knighted in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Belize unrest</span> Protests and strikes in Belize following tax increases and public utility blackouts

The 2005 protests in Belize are two separate but related incidents of civil unrest in the Central American nation, occurring in January and April.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Barrow</span> Prime Minister of Belize from 2008 to 2020

Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC is a politician from Belize who served as the fourth prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party.

Ralph Henry Fonseca is a Belizean politician and a member of the People's United Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate (Belize)</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Belizean general election</span>

General elections were held in Belize on 5 March 2003. Belizeans elected 29 members to the House of Representatives for a term of five years. The result was a victory for the ruling People's United Party (PUP), which won 22 of the 29 seats.

Corinth Irene Morter-Lewis is a Belizean educator and poet. She has served as the President of the University of Belize and as President of the Governing Board of International Institute of UNESCO for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarchy of Belize</span> Function and history of the Belizean monarchy

The monarchy of Belize is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Belize. The current Belizean monarch and head of state since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Belizean Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled Kingof Belize and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions as representatives of the Belizean state. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Belize</span> Economy of the country

The economy of Belize is a small, essentially private enterprise economy that is based primarily on agriculture, tourism, and services. The cultivation of newly discovered oil in the town of Spanish Lookout has presented new prospects and problems for this developing nation. Belize's primary exports are citrus, sugar, and bananas. Belize's trade deficit has been growing, mostly as a result of low export prices for sugar and bananas.

The Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area is a nature reserve located in northwestern Belize. Rio Bravo, as it is known, was established by Programme for Belize in 1988 with the purchase of 110,044 acres of land from Gallon Jug Agroindustries. With logging encroachment imminent in 1989, the Nature Conservancy joined Programme for Belize to protect the land. Additional land donations from Coca-Cola Foods, Inc. and purchases from New River Enterprises Ltd. enlarged the protected area to 230,875 acres (934.32 km2). Rio Bravo is the largest terrestrial conservation area in Belize, comprising 4% of the country's total land area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfred Elrington</span> Belizean politician

Wilfred Peter "Sedi" Elrington is a Belizean politician who has been the Foreign Minister of Belize since 2008.

The Ministry of Energy, Science & Technology, and Public Utilities (Belize) was founded in 2012. The Ministry is currently divided into the Department of Geology and Petroleum, the Energy Unit and the Science and Technology Unit. The Ministry is represented by Senator Joy Grant and CEO Dr Colin Young, and has an office in Belmopan.

Esther Ayuso, was the first female Belizean architect. She is known for her designs to improve hospitals in Belize including Belize Medical Associates, the Cleopatra White Polyclinic, Matron Robert polyclinic, the Hoy Eye Clinic and the PICU/NICU wing of Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital due to be completed in 2015. She has served as a Senator and as the Chair of the National Women's Commission, as well as the Belizean delegate to the Inter-American Commission of Women. In 2015 she was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for contributions to the community.

Lisel Alamilla is a conservationist and politician from Belize. In 2012, Alamilla was appointed as a senator and member of the Belize Cabinet as Minister of Forestry, Fisheries & Sustainable Development. She served until 2015. Alamilla won the 2012 Whitley Award for Inspirational Conservational Leadership.

Adalbert Alexander Tucker (1944–2014) was a Belizean diplomat and politician. He was the Ambassador for Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2008. He is best known for his community ecological activism for the Belize River Valley Development Program (BELRIV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tia Nelson</span> American politician

Tia Lee Nelson is an American academic, environmental activist, and public servant from the state of Wisconsin. She has held several high-profile positions at The Nature Conservancy, served as Executive Secretary of the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, and is currently Managing Director of the Climate program at the Outrider Foundation. Nelson is the daughter of former United States Senator and Governor Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Froyla Tzalam</span> Governor-General of Belize

Dame Froyla Tzalam, is a Belizean Mopan Maya anthropologist and community leader, who has served as the Governor-General of Belize since 27 May 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carla Barnett</span> Belizean economist and politician

Carla Natalie Barnett is a Belizean economist and politician, currently serving as Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) since 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "Joy Grant Leaves F.I.U. for Central Bank as Governor | Channel5Belize.com".
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Nomination of Members of the Transitional Committee for the Design of the Green Climate Fund" (PDF). New York, New York: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Knight, Deborah (11 March 2003). "A conservation pioneer from Belize joins forces with the Nature Conservancy". Seattle, Washington: Grist. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Senator, The Honourable Audrey Joy Grant". Ministry of Energy, Science & Technology and Public Utilities. Belmopan, Belize: Government of Belize. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Programme for Belize". Halesworth, Suffolk, UK: World Land Trust. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Anne Sutherland (1 January 1998). The Making of Belize: Globalization in the Margins. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 103–. ISBN   978-0-89789-579-8.
  7. ↑ "Programme for Belize celebrates tenth anniversary | Channel5Belize.com". channel5belize.com.
  8. ↑ IBP, Inc (3 March 2012). Belgium Country Study Guide Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments. Lulu.com. pp. 242–. ISBN   978-1-4387-7392-6.
  9. ↑ "PM Names High Powered Senators To New Cabinet". Belize City, Belize: 7 News Belize. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  10. ↑ John Martino (2013). Worldwide Government Directory with Intergovernmental Organizations 2013. CQ Press. pp. 170–. ISBN   978-1-4522-9937-2.
  11. ↑ "Belize Sustainable Energy Strategy". Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). 2012. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Past Governors". www.centralbank.org.bz. Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.