Rear Admiral (RAdm) Antonette Wemyss Gorman assumed command of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) on 22 January 2022 when she was appointed Chief of Defence Staff of the JDF. She commanded the Caribbean Military Maritime Training Centre, JDF Coast Guard and the Maritime Air and Cyber Command.

She also held a myriad of other portfolios, which includes the Force Executive Officer, where she provided guidance and oversight of the Force transformation process, and led the development of the Force Strategic Defence Review. She has sailed the Caribbean; deploying to Haiti, the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Cayman Island, Curacao and other islands on multiple military and diplomatic missions. She has completed training at Britannia Royal Naval College, HMS Dryad, United Kingdom and at the US Naval War College. RAdm Wemyss Gorman also holds a Master’s Degree with distinction in National Security and Strategic Studies from the University of the West Indies.

Dr Eduardo Ali is Pro-Registrar and Deputy CEO of CXC. He leads the Western Zone Office in Jamaica focusing on educational transformation, qualifications management and regional and international partnerships.

Dr Ali’s 30-year career has positioned him in influential roles in the Caribbean, North America, and the Middle East within the government, private sector organizations and senior roles in universities.

An international scholar, Dr Ali holds an EdD in Educational Policy Studies and a MSc in Educational Leadership from Sheffield and Leicester universities. He has taught graduate students and published extensively in education policy and planning, globalization, quality assurance and leadership.

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Professor Asha Singh Kanwar, one of the world’s leading advocates of learning for sustainable development, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning. Throughout a career spanning over 35 years, she has made outstanding contributions in the areas of teaching, research and international development.

Professor Kanwar received her undergraduate, Master's and MPhil degrees from the Panjab University in India and a DPhil from the University of Sussex, UK. Her areas of expertise include open distance and technology-enabled learning, open educational resources, quality assurance, gender and organizational development. Professor Kanwar has written and edited a dozen books, published over 100 papers and articles, and delivered numerous keynotes at prestigious international conferences.

Prior to joining COL, Professor Kanwar was a senior consultant in open and distance learning at UNESCO's Regional Office for Education in Africa (BREDA). She has also served as Director, School of Humanities and as Pro-Vice Chancellor at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi, India. She was a Fulbright Fellow for post-doctoral research at Iowa State University in the US, where she was later invited to teach. Currently, she serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies and Education (IITE).

Professor Kanwar won several international awards, including the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) Prize of Excellence, and the Meritorious Service Award for outstanding contributions in open and distance education from the Asian Association of Open Universities. She has been conferred nine honorary doctorates from Universities in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.

PROFESSOR CANUTE THOMPSON is Professor of Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, and Head of the Caribbean Centre for Educational Planning. He is author of two award-winning books and articles, among his collection of eight books and over a dozen journal articles, and the operator of leadershipreimagination.com website.

Dr. Taneisha Ingleton is the Managing Director of the HEART/NSTA TRUST, Jamaica’s leading human capital development agency. Prior to this appointment Dr. Ingleton served as Vice-President of Administration and University Registrar at the Caribbean Maritime University.

In this capacity, Ingleton had responsibilities for Human Resource, Student Administration/Services, Legal Services, Marketing and Communications, Security, General Services and the Secretariat. She served as the Chief Operations Ocer of the University and was in charge of all university functions. Prior to her appointment at the Caribbean Maritime University, Ingleton served for seven (7) years at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information. For four (4) of those years, she served as Director/Principal for the National College for Educational Leadership and as its Director of Programmes for three (3) years.

Is an Education Programme Specialist at UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC), based in Santiago, Chile. He is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting the regional program on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the region. He also assists member states in the development, implementation, and assessment of national policies for Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI), STEM Education, and ICT in Education.

Dr. Iriarte has extensive experience in Education, Science, and Technology, having worked as a TVET teacher, lecturing at universities, teacher training institutions, producing research, and holding several middle and top-level management positions at public and private institutions.

Dr. Iriarte holds an Associate degree in Electronics, a bachelor’s degree in Education Science, a master’s degree in Technology Education from Aichi University of Education (Japan), and a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Kagoshima University (Japan). He also pursued graduate studies on TVET and ICT at Dr. Frank Niethammer Institute (Germany), Nagoya University (Japan), Latin American Institute for Educational Communication (Mexico), and Queensland University of Technology (Australia).

Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen is a highly accomplished Gabenor Board Faculty Consultant at the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) with expertise in optical communication, industrial engineering, instrumentation, satellite communication, and more. He holds a Ph.D. in Wireless Communication from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and has extensive teaching experience in prestigious institutions. Dr. Ulaganathen actively contributes to higher education curriculum development programs and has been involved in consultancy work, including 5G network development in Malaysia. He is a published author with over 25 research papers in esteemed journals and serves as a reviewer for international publications and conferences.

Dr. Ulaganathen's dedication to research and academic excellence is evident through his publication record, which includes over 25 research papers in prestigious journals like the Advanced Journal of Technical and Vocational Education and the International Journal of Electronics and Radio Engineering. Moreover, his expertise is sought after as he serves as a reviewer for notable publications and conferences, including IEEE, PIERS, HINDAWI, and others. Dr. Ulaganathen's profound knowledge and contributions have established him as a reputable figure in the field of electrical and telecommunications engineering.

With a strong academic background and hands-on experience, Dr. Ulaganathen brings a wealth of knowledge to the field of electrical and telecommunications engineering. As a Gabenor Board Faculty Consultant, he continues to make significant contributions to research, education, and consultancy, cementing his reputation as a respected figure in the industry.