New Staff Page : Grand Cayman Department of Environment

Bradley Johnson
Research Office II
Bio Email

Bradley Johnson
Research Office II

Bradley joined the Department as a summer student in 1993 and became a full time employee after graduating from Eckerd College in 1997 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Science. He has had involvement with most of the Department’s projects over the years but now is involved with the Nassau Grouper study, the Lionfish Control Program, and various licensing and permitting directives.

Carl Edwards
Conservation Officer
Bio Email

Carl Edwards
Conservation Officer

Carl is one of the Department’s Conservation Officers patrolling the waters around Grand Cayman and enforcing the Marine Conservation Laws.

Cheryl Henry Ebanks
Administrative Secretary
Bio Email

Cheryl Henry Ebanks
Administrative Secretary

Cheryl performs a wide variety of administrative support functions for a staff of 35, and provides bookkeeping support to the AFM in the administration of the department’s annual budget.

Croy McCoy
Research Officer II
Bio Email

Croy McCoy
Research Officer II

Croy works in the research and assessment section of DOE, working mainly with coral reefs, seagrass and mangrove systems, with coral reefs as his main focus. He coordinates the Department’s long-term Coral Reef Monitoring Programme along with assisting in the planning and implementation of other environmental monitoring and research programmes ensuring that changes in the general ecology of the marine and coastal environments are detected and these environments are safeguarded.

Gene Parsons
Sr. Research Officer
Bio Email

Gene Parsons
Sr. Research Officer

Gene’s departmental roles include fisheries conservation, coastal water quality monitoring, and local aquaculture development. He began his aquatic science career in 1975 as the C.I.G.’s first Caymanian marine biologist. In the photograph, Gene is preparing to deploy a buoy to mark a sampling station during conch survey.

Frederic Burton
Manager, Terrestrial Resources Unit
Bio Email

Frederic Burton
Manager, Terrestrial Resources Unit

Gina Ebanks-Petrie
Director
Bio Email

Gina Ebanks-Petrie
Director

Gina Ebanks-Petrie is the Director of the Department of Environment. She describes her job as challenging, but never boring, and says she feels extremely privileged to lead such a competent and dynamic team who are passionately committed to the conservation of Cayman’s biodiversity and natural environment. Gina would like to extend a very warm Caymanian welcome to all visitors to this website and hopes that you will find it both informative and inspiring.

Jane Haakonsson
Research Officer – Terrestrial Resources Unit
Bio Email

Jane Haakonsson
Research Officer – Terrestrial Resources Unit

Jane is a zoologist with an MSc in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health from the University of Edinburgh. She has previously worked at the Bristol Zoo, UK, and at the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme. She now works in the Terrestrial Research Unit of the Department and her responsibilities include updating species action and conservation plans, responding to enquiries and continuing the TRU’s many conservation projects on all three islands. Jane is also the editor of TRU’s bimonthly magazine Flicker.

Janice Blumenthal
Research Officer
Bio Email

Janice Blumenthal
Research Officer

Janice’s work for the Department of Environment focuses on marine turtle research, conservation, and public education. Current projects include monitoring and satellite tracking nesting female green and loggerhead turtles ( http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking ) and investigation of genetics, diving behavior, habitat use, and ecology of juvenile hawksbill and green turtles. These efforts are targeted toward providing information of aximum relevance to the conservation of marine turtles in the Cayman Islands, through elucidation of international migratory patterns and local management requirements. Janice is also involved in Darwin Initiative benthic habitat mapping and a variety of other DoE research and education programs.

Jeremy Olynik
GIS Officer
Bio Email

Jeremy Olynik
GIS Officer

Jeremy is a Research Officer with the department who specializes in Geographic Information Systems. He is currently working on the habitat mapping portion of the Darwin Initiative among other ongoing projects.

He has been with the department since February 2006 and is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Jerrica Wood
Sustainable Development Officer
Bio Email

Jerrica Wood
Sustainable Development Officer

Jerrica joined the Department in April 2017. Her background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Integrated Wildlife Conservation and a Master of Science degree in Sustainable Development in Practice. During her undergrad degree Jerrica worked with the DOE as a student intern. Today, Jerrica’s role within the Department is to assist in the development and implementation of the DOE’s sustainable development initiatives and programmes at the department and national level and to assist in the assessment and monitoring of coastal and terrestrial development likely to impact the natural environment.

John Bothwell
Research Officer II
Bio Email

John Bothwell
Research Officer II

John Bothwell is the Department’s Research Officer with responsibility for the annual Conch Survey and monthly Marine Quality Water Analysis programmes. He also leads on CITES and other MEA issues for the Department and works on many of the Department’s public education programmes. He tries not to get too busy to help other Officers with their in-water research, as long as they handle the data management and analysis.

Kevin Jackson
Marine Service Technician
Bio Email

Kevin Jackson
Marine Service Technician

Kevin keeps DoE operations running smoothly – whether that involves repairs to machinery, boats and vehicles, designing and constructing customized research gear, or lending a hand with the work in the field.

Leah Grant
Research Officer – Sustainable Development Unit
Bio Email

Leah Grant
Research Officer – Sustainable Development Unit

Leah joined the Department as a summer student in 2002 and became a full time employee after graduating from the University of Guelph in 2011. Her background is in Environmental Economics and Policy and her role within the Department is to assist with the reporting of the Department’s recommendation on Coastal Works and Planning applications, assisting the public and private development sectors in achieving sustainable development and monitoring the Environmental Management System. She also assist in various research projects within the department, including the Turtle Nesting programme.

Mark Orr
Chief Conservation Officer
Bio Email

Mark Orr
Chief Conservation Officer

Nathan Dack
Sustainable Development Officer
Bio Email

Nathan Dack
Sustainable Development Officer

Nathan joined the DOE in May 2014 as a Sustainable Development Officer working in the Sustainable Development Unit and as a part of the Technical Review Committee. He recently graduated with degrees in Environmental Biology and Environmental Monitoring from universities in the UK. He also has past experience working at the DOE as a student intern and has worked in environmental waste management consultancy in the UK. Nathan’s role within the Department is focussed around the review of Coastal Works and Planning Applications with involvement in other sustainability projects.

Phil Bush
Manager – Marine Research
Bio Email

Phil Bush
Manager – Marine Research

Phil is Secretary of the Marine Conservation Board, and presides over the issue of fishing licensing and permits. He also heads up our year-round research into the Nassau grouper, and manages the data collection and reporting for CARICOM projects.

Robert Walton
Marine Parks Officer – Sister Islands
Bio Email

Robert Walton
Marine Parks Officer – Sister Islands

Robert is the Marine Parks Officer for Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. His duties encompass all aspects of Marine Conservation, assisting scientists in field studies and enforcement and compliance of Marine Conservation Laws.

Ronnie Dougall
Conservation Enforcement Supervisor
Bio Email

Ronnie Dougall
Conservation Enforcement Supervisor

Ronnie supervises the team of Conservation Officers enforcing the Marine Conservation Law.

Scott Slaybaugh
Deputy Director – Operations & Enforcement
Bio Email

Scott Slaybaugh
Deputy Director – Operations & Enforcement

Tim Austin
Deputy Director – Research & Assessment
Bio Email

Tim Austin
Deputy Director – Research & Assessment

Tim is the Assistant Director, and oversees the Department’s diverse marine and terrestrial research and conservation programmes on all three islands.

Wendy Williams
Environmental Assessment Officer
Bio Email

Wendy Williams
Environmental Assessment Officer

Wendy’s role within the Department entails assisting in the assessment and monitoring of coastal and terrestrial development likely to impact on the natural environment. This includes reporting the Department’s recommendations on Coastal Works and Planning applications, assisting the public and private development sectors in achieving sustainable development and inputting to Environmental Impact Assessments/studies for proposed development projects. Wendy also coordinates the reporting of the Country’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions to the UK.