Women Plus Water Conversations

The Water-Climate Crisis in Small Island States

The first event of the 2025 conversation series focuses on the Water-Climate Crisis in Small Island States.

Thursday, January 23, 2025
12:30-1:30 pm CST
Online (Zoom)

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Women Plus Water

Host

Hayden Billingy
Technical Officer, Caribbean Biodiversity Fund

Guests

Ashley Lashley
Founder, The Ashley Lashley Foundation
Dr. Gerry Eijkemans
Director, Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity,
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

More Info

Ashley Lashley
Ashley Lashley is the founder of The Ashley Lashley Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering young people to lead climate and health action initiatives and fostering sustainable development globally. With a passion for environmental stewardship and youth engagement, Ashley has spearheaded several impactful programs, including the HEY Campaign, SIDS Global Children and Youth Action Summit, Eco-Fit Youth, the Barbados Youth Climate Action Summit and the Global Climate Fund, addressing the intersections of climate change, health, and community resilience. She was crowned Miss World Barbados in 2018. Ashley has trained over 500 youth on the intersection of climate change and health.

A proud advocate for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Ashley serves as the CARICOM Youth Ambassador, UNICEF Youth Advocate and Youth Advisor to the CEO for the Global Centre of Adaptation for Barbados, where she champions youth-driven solutions to regional and global challenges. Her efforts have been recognized internationally, making her a sought-after speaker at events focused on sustainability, health, and leadership.

Gerry Eijkemans
Dr. Gerry Eijkemans is the Director of the Department of Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity of the Pan American Health Organization. She has over 30 years of experience in different parts of the world (Latin America, Asia and Africa). Her leadership has spearheaded programs that prioritize promoting and protecting people's health.

Hayden Billingy
Hayden Billingy is a Development Consultant from St. Vincent and the Grenadines who holds a BSc (Hons) in Forest Engineering and an MSc in Natural Resource and Environmental Management, specializing in Applied Meteorology. He has also received training in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation from Florida International University and in Climate Change Diplomacy from the United Nations University. Hayden is currently pursuing an MSc in Geography at the University of Saskatchewan.

With over 18 years of experience in Protected Areas and Park Planning, Forest Ecosystem Management, and Environmental Assessment, Hayden specializes in Climate Change, focusing on vulnerability assessments, community mapping, and adaptation strategies. He also has experience conducting training and implementing climate and water-related projects. In addition, he has over nine years of expertise in Project Management, with a proven track record of working and collaborating with NGOs, CSOs, and international donors on environmental and climate change initiatives.

Hayden has worked with several international organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, UNESCO and the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF).

In addition to his environmental work, Hayden is an award-winning songwriter, international recording artist, producer, author, actor, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. An ardent lover of nature and people, his work centers on building local communities and empowering them to become environmental stewards. He focuses on enhancing their capacity to improve local livelihoods while strengthening community resilience to the impacts of climate change, thereby laying the foundation for sustainable development.

Event Details

When:: January 23, 2025
Time:: 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM CST
Location:: Online (Zoom)