I am placing myself in candidacy for the position of At Large delegate to the NomCom for many reasons. I’ve successfully served in this position in the 2012 NomCom, and believe that, given the opportunity, I can continue to serve the At Large community successfully for another year, as allowed by the by-laws.
I’ve been involved in Internet policy issues in my native Trinidad and Tobago since the 1990s, in global Internet Governance policy development since the WSIS in 2002, and in ICANN policy and outreach since 2005.
I have a BSc and 2 MS degrees. I am currently pursuing a PhD.
I have excellent communication and negotiation skills, and the ability to translate technical concepts to a wide audience. I have experience in executive search and human resources, via my work as a consultant with HR Consulting Associates. I’ve worked in various sectors, including Government, Private - both in the US and in Trinidad and Tobago, academia and non-governmental. I’ve also served on multi-stakeholder committees. I have experience working in multi-cultural environments, having lived and worked in Trinidad, Brasil, and several locations in the USA. I have the ability to be objective, as evidenced by my academic research skills, which require a lack of bias and extreme objectivity. I also have a passion for bringing people into policy spaces, transparency and accountability.
My passion with regard to ICANN in particular and Internet Governance in general, is outreach. When I began my participation in the international IG fora, the standard participant was Northern (USA, Canada to some extent, and Europe), male, and older. The populations that are highly impacted by IG decisions are young, from the developing world, and female. It’s vitally important that those populations have the space and place to participate in the decision-making that forms the Internet that will be so important to them both now and in the future. The NomCom is the ideal place from which to reach out and bring these people, and their views and experiences, into ICANN policy.
I currently live and work in Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to teaching in the field of Educational Technology in the Centre for Educational Programmes at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, I am active in the fields of Internet Technology, Internet Governance, Cultural Development and Caribbean ICT issues. My native language is English, I speak, read and write Portuguese, and I read Spanish.
My interest in and involvement with the Internet community began many years ago, working at the ground floor of events, providing on-line support in newsgroups to the programming community while based in the US. When I finally returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 1994, there was not yet an Internet connection to the islands. I was instrumental in creating the first local websites accessible via private leased line from Puerto Rico, and when the commercial Internet finally arrived with the birth of our first ISPs, I advised one ISP as well as countless other commercial operations on how to use this new and exciting technology.
My engagement in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) began in 2002. I was an early member of the WSIS Gender Caucus and was appointed a member of the WGIG. I have also participated in the Internet Governance Caucus, working on policy documents and was seated as a member of the IGF 2010 NomCom. I have also represented the English-speaking Caribbean in many international fora, often times being the sole Caribbean representative. Since the beginning, I have worked with regional groups on outreach to get more Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) representatives in international organisations that range from the fields of Internet Governance, through technology and education, to Gender and Development. Given these specific experiences and having witnessed the dearth of representation from the South, I have worked assiduously to make those spaces more accessible to non-anglophones from the developing world.
Given the vital importance of the Internet to global development, it is essential that ICANN receive inputs from the Global South in policy processes, as these policies being implemented now will deeply impact the future of these countries.
I have spent all my time in ICANN, connected to the AtLarge, working towards furthering end-user interests in various capacities. I was a NomCom appointed member to ALAC (ICANN 's At Large Advisory Committee) from 2005 to 2007, and was Chair of that committee in 2007. Under my chairmanship, the ALAC successfully established 5 regional end-user organisations (RALOs) to ensure that ICANN's policies were influenced by the views of the global community of Internet end users. During my tenure, this evolving ALAC submitted several policy commentaries and one major policy initiative to ICANN; the first issues report requested by an AC (domain tasting). I represented ICANN and participated in the 2007 IGF in Rio de Janeiro, where I facilitated an At Large developed workshop on Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs).
Outreach was a major focus of the ALAC in the transition from the “Interim” to the bye-law mandated ALAC. As part of this strategic outlook, we worked very hard to get ICANN’s translation and interpretation policy created and implemented. As a result, we can now proudly say ICANN meetings now have simultaneous interpretation in almost all meeting sessions, most important documents - especially policy documents - are translated in the major United Nations languages and there is much broader participation from the non-English speaking world. I was selected as the At Large's liaison to the ccNSO at ICANN for 2007-2008. I sat as a member of the Board Candidate Evaluation Committee (BCEC) of the ALAC, which selected the short list for the first ALAC Board Member in 2010; and my most recent involvement has been as the Associate Chair of the 2011 NomCom and as a voting member of the 2012 NomCom, representing At Large (Latin America and the Caribbean).
I was brought into ICANN via the NomCom in 2005. The NomCom is the part of ICANN that really can work to bring in people from geographic areas other than the traditional and broaden both the expertise available to, and experiences that can be leveraged by, ICANN. The 2011 NomCom of which I was the Associate Chair placed a sharp focus on attracting strong female candidates from non-traditional geographical areas of the world. We managed to get a record number of female candidates.
The ICANN Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT) made several recommendations towards the better functioning of the NomCom, especially with regard to increased transparency and accountability to the ICANN community. I followed their work closely, especially since I am involved in work with NGOs in Trinidad and Tobago with regard to transparency and accountability in national governance and procurement. One major concern is the maintenance of candidate confidentiality while being open and transparent about NomCom processes. Another of my major focus areas in the 2011 NomCom was this issue - managing the flow of information and balancing openness about the process with candidate confidentiality. There's still much to do with regard to implementing the ATRT recommendations, and the next few years will be crucial.
To more specific points:
I have adequate time available to undertake the role;
- I work at a University, so my time is flexible. The UTT is also very supportive of staff members’ service to the community, and up to 20% of our work hours can be devoted to this without issue. Additional time is available as my teaching schedule gives me between 2-3 days free per week.
I have excellent communication and negotiation skills to work with a committee of 20-21 members;
- Worked as consultant for HR Consulting Associates - also acted as a headhunter
- Consulting - worked in union negotiation with regard to change in Job descriptions and duties arising out of the implementation of new HR management software.
- I’ve also worked in multi-stakeholder steering committees in the cultural arena in Trinidad and Tobago. These committees consist of stakeholders from government, the private sector, the cultural and entertainment industries, technology and the community. It was necessary to understand and work with very disparate points of view in order to successfully execute national projects.
I have a clear understanding of the duties and responsibilities of each position for which the NomCom is selecting candidates;
- I’ve spent 6 + years in ICANN, 1 as ALAC chair, and 1 as liaison to ccNSO. I have a broad knowledge of ICANN as an organisation, as well as the various positions, having had to work with many of the other SO/AC members.
- I’ve participated in NomCom as Associate Chair in 2011, then as LACRALO regional nominee from ALAC in 2012 NomCom. These positions required me to have more than just a working knowledge of the positions within ICANN that the NomCom fills.
- I possess a thorough knowledge of the ICANN bylaws, as a result of my work on creating the RALOs, as well as current work on the ALAC Rules of Procedure Working Group.
I have experience on or with groups, committees etc that are similar to ICANN
- Sat on the Academic Committee for the University of Trinidad and Tobago Centre for Education Programmes
- Sat as Associate Chair of 2011 NomCom
- Member of the Executive of Trinidad and Tobago Fullbright Alumni Association
- Member of the Executive of Old Hilarians’ Fundraising Fete Committee - raised millions for the school over the past 16 years.
- Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society
- Sat on many multi-stakeholder committees for organising national Trinidad and Tobago events, such as Carnival (budget of over US$200 million) ; Tobago Gospel Festival (Budget of over US$1 million)
- Member of the multi-stakeholder Working Group on Internet Governance
I have strong organization and leadership skills;
- I have done considerable work over the years in event and project management. This role requires strong organizational skills. My skills have led to the successful implementation of many large-scale projects, including the Miss Universe Pageant, Trinidad and Tobago 1999; the World Beat Music Festival, Trinidad, 1999; the Inaugural Tobago Gospel Music Festival, 2000;the fundraising activities for my Alma Mater over the past 17 years; the 2010 International Conference of Supreme Court Judges, and many more.
- With regard to my leadership skills, I have always, since a very young age, been selected by my peers to take a leading role in any project or organization in which I have participated or worked. My natural inclination is to take the lead where necessary to get the work done, as opposed to seeking out a named position, but over the years I have consistently been identified by senior management as a strong leader.. I was identified for leadership management training at General Electric Silicones (1993), by the Fulbright Committee for the Hubert H. Humphrey (Fulbright) Fellowship (2000), by my senior management when I worked for the Tourism and Industrial Development Company, which sent me to Franklin Covey, Dale Carnegie and numerous other leadership training workshops as well as placing me on the Executive Committee of the company while still a junior manager.
- I am not afraid to show strength where needed to bring divergent views to the discussion table and keep them there towards an amicable settlement; however, my leadership style is consensus based. These skills served me in good stead in my work as a consultant in human resources, where I worked with clients with widely disparate views in contentious labour negotiations.
I believe that my passion for ICANN and the NomCom process, and my long term interest in the globalisation of Internet policy processes would be an asset to At-Large and to ICANN in the NomCom. My personality, ability to gain the trust and confidence of my colleagues, my lack of bias, and my leadership abilities will add great value to the NomCom deliberations. I am certain that my wide and diverse contacts in the region, my native facility with English, the working language of the NomCom, and my previous experience both in ICANN and in the NomCom will allow me to continue to serve as an excellent member of the NomCom for the At-Large Community.
