public notice: Appointment of Ms. Jo-Ann Lawrence, Community Preparedness Officer, Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies
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The Ministry of Immigration and Border Control is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Jo-Ann Lawrence to the post of Community Preparedness Officer within the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME), with the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands as of 1st June 2021. Ms. Lawrence would be stationed in North and Middle Caicos.
Jo-Ann Lawrence holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of the West Indies, Mona. Her career profile consists of over seven (7) years of experience in the field of Disaster Management. Her journey began at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) where she participated in various multi-hazard Risk Assessment Projects and Vulnerability studies in the Mitigation Planning and Research Division (MPRD). Her strengths include Disaster Risk Management Planning, Vulnerability Assessment, Spatial Analysis, Research, Cartography and GPS Data Collection.
Ms. Lawrence has made technical contributions to the development of Disaster Risks Management Plans such as the Ministry of Tourism’s Resort Area Disaster Risk Management Plan and the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (UN FAO) Agricultural Disaster Risk Management Strategy and Plan, both in Jamaica. She collaborated on community-based disaster risk management projects, coordinated and led training in GPS data collection activities, and carried out extensive research in the updating of the DesInventar Online database. Most recently, she assisted in the upscaling of Community Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Plans for 14 communities across Jamaica.
Jo-Ann is an experienced cartographer and worked in the Surveys and Mapping Division at the National Land Agency (NLA) where she created and updated Topographic Master Map Series for Port Antonio and Negril communities (Jamaica). Her experiences also include developing community profiles, conducting hazard and facility vulnerability assessments, and organizing workshops/training events.
She is also proficient in GIS-based research and GPS mapping. She has experience applying these competencies to the mapping of vulnerable assets and emergency shelters throughout various Jamaican communities under the Adaptation Fund’s Negril Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment (Climate Atlas component) and the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Hurricane Sandy Recovery Project, respectively.
Ms. Lawrence said “I am looking forward to working within the communities of North and Middle Caicos. I intend to enhance and cultivate a culture of readiness to disasters, both natural and human-induced by raising awareness on these events while simultaneously developing and executing comprehensive preparedness initiatives and activities. I am keen to reflect the DDME’s and by extension the Ministry’s goals and missions in these communities as it relates to the reduction of disaster impacts and risks.”
Honourable Arlington Musgrove commenting on the appointment of Ms. Lawrence stated “as the minister with responsibility for Disaster Management, which includes all hazards that the TCI is vulnerable to, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Ms. Lawrence who is based in North Caicos, and I look forward to her contribution in enhancing Disaster Preparedness in the twin islands and by extension the Turks and Caicos Islands”.
