Miss Davia Carty joined the Agency in 2011 as the Project Officer. In 2014, she moved into the post of Corporate Planning Analyst before later taking on her present responsibility as head of the Strategic Corporate Planning Unit.

Her experience prior to joining the Agency spans several years and organizations including the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI), and the Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre. She was also a participant in a special internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an exchange student of the Political Science programme at the York University in Canada.

Miss Carty currently holds a Masters of Arts degree in International Political Economy from the University of Kent-Brussels School of International Studies (Belgium) and has certification/training in Project Management, Proposal Writing, Risk Management and Documentation and Process Mapping from the Bureau of Standards and University of the West Indies.

She is a member of the Young Adults Action Movement at the Webster Memorial United Church and also a member of various dance groups including the Praise Academy of Dance, the University Dance Society and the Movements Dance Theater Company of Jamaica.

Mrs. Madeka Henry Irving is the Senior Director of the Planning and Evaluation Branch at the Agency with over nine(9) years of extensive experience in research methodologies and statistical analyses, strategic management, programme monitoring and evaluation, project management, risk management, psychometrics, training, and development.

She holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Psychology(specialized in Organizational Psychology and Programme Evaluation), Master of Arts in Teaching, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (Hons) from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.

Mrs. Henry Irving has received professional certification in Strategic, and Corporate Planning from the Management Institute for National Development (MIND) and Post Diploma in Management for Development Results from the International Center for Interdisciplinary Studies -CIESI.

Before coming to the Forestry Department, Mrs. Henry Irving served as Corporate Planner for the Jamaica Fire Brigade. She also served as Project Officer for Youth Opportunities Unlimited and Part-time lecturer for the International University of the Caribbean and Tutor in the Department of Sociology, Psychology, and Social Work at UWI.

Her philosophy is ‘all men are created equal and should be valued’.

Mrs. Kadian Cruickshank currently serves the Agency as the Senior Director of Legal Services. Prior to joining the Forestry Department, she gained 10 years of experience in the legal field, particularly in the micro-finance sector.

Mrs. Cruickshank holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Technology, Jamaica and acquired her Certificate of Legal Education from the Norman Manley Law School in 2014.

Mrs. Cruickshank believes that she is a public servant at heart and is guided by the principle outlined in Titus 2:7: “in everything set an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, reverence, incorruptibility”.

She is family-oriented and enjoys playing chess and table tennis.

Ms. Novelette Anderson currently serves the Agency as the Senior Director of Human Resource Management and Development. Before coming to the Forestry Department, Ms. Anderson served as HR Director at the Restaurant Associates Limited and Director, HR & Administrative Services at the Police Civilian Oversight Authority. She also served as HR Manager at Sandy Bay Sweets Limited and the Port Authority of Jamaica.

Ms. Anderson holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Nova Southeastern University, Florida and Bachelors in Management Studies from the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Miss Tanika Stewart is the Senior Director of Forest Enforcement Services. She has been employed by the Forestry Department since 2011 and has served in the capacities of Senior Compliance and Enforcement Officer and Forest Ranger.

Before coming to the Forestry Department, Miss Stewart worked as an Intern and Assistant Environmental Officer at the Water Resources Authority. 

She holds a Master of Science degree in Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health, a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban and Region Planning, and an Associate degree in Environment Studies. She also has a NEBOSH International General Certification in Occupational Health and Safety.

She is guided by the philosophy, “every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence!”.

She enjoys bird watching, photography, and hiking.

Mr. Ainsley A. Henry’s career in environmental research and management extends more than 20 years and has mostly been in Jamaica. He holds a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree in Environmental Management and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Botany/Zoology (Double Major) from the University of the West Indies (Mona campus) along with multiple certifications in related fields.

Prior to joining the Forestry Department, he served as Programme Manager for the highly successful, Climate Investment Fund/Inter-American Development Bank funded “Investment Plan for the Caribbean Regional Track of the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR)” being implemented through the Mona Office for Research and Innovation at the UWI, Mona Campus. This programme is being executed across six Caribbean countries, namely Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Earlier in his career, he worked with both the Natural Resources Conservation Authority and the National Environment and Planning Agency (Government of Jamaica), in a variety of posts including as an Environmental Officer, a Manager and a Director.

His interest and training in forestry dates to his undergraduate studies where he not only did forestry courses, but he also focused heavily on wetlands, including mangrove forests and this continued into his graduate studies on the St Thomas Great Morass. He’s also published a number of papers on the subject matter including An Assessment of the Mangrove Forest in the Great Morass of St. Thomas and co-authored Heritage Protection, Ecological Sustainability and Economic Development... An unsustainable Trio?: A Brief Study of the Development of Falmouth Within the Context of the Cruise Ship Pier”.

Mr. Henry has held several board appointments, both internationally, including Vice-chair of the Ad-Hoc Working Group on Administrative Reform of the Ramsar Convention; Co-coordinator of the Caribbean (Ramsar) Regional Initiative on Wetlands (CaRIWet) and locally, including Council Member of the Jamaica Institute of Environmental Professionals (JIEP) and multiple boards and committees of the GOJ.

He is a Scientific Diver/Trainer with the Jamaica Coral Reef Monitoring Network (JCRMN), a member of the Sea Turtle Recovery Network (STRN Jamaica), a member of the University of the West Indies Sub-Aqua Club (US-AC) and a Justice of the Peace and member of the St Andrew Justices of the Peace and Lay Magistrates Association.

Mr. Henry is an avid hiker, amateur cyclist and photographer and a certified scuba diver.

Donna Lowe joined the Forestry Department in October 2000 and is the Senior Director of Forest Science and Technology Services Division.

She has a wealth of experience which spans several positions within the Forestry Department. She has held positions such as Soil and Water Conservation Officer, Project Coordinator for the Lift Up Jamaica Project, Nursery Programme Manager, and Director of Forest Operation (Eastern Zone).

Miss Lowe is a graduate of the University of the West Indies (UWI) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. In 2005 Miss Lowe was awarded the Fulbright Organisation of American States Ecology Scholarship where she pursued her Masters in Forest and Natural Resource Management. Miss Lowe is a Director in the Pathfinder Ministry at her church.

Mr. Jerome Smith currently serves the Agency as the Principal Director of Forest Operation. Before coming to the Forestry Department, Mr. Smith served as Director of Natural Resources in the Environmental Risk Management Division of the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Ecology with a minor in Botany from the University of the West Indies-UWI- and a Master of Philosophy in Zoology also from UWI.

His noted achievements include Chair of the National Ramsar Committee, 2009-2013 and Jamaica’s Focal Point for the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2007- 2015

Mr. Smith is a member of the Jamaica Coral Reef Monitoring Network and the University Sub-Aqua Club. In his spare time, he enjoys diving, hiking and camping.

Mrs. Francine Black Richards currently serves the Agency as the Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing, a post she has held since May 2015.

Before she was appointed to this post, she served as Head of the Public Relations and Corporate Communications Branch for three months in 2010 and for the year, 2014.

Mrs. Black Richards started working with the Forestry Department in May 2010 as Public Relations and Communications Officer.

Before coming to the Agency, Mrs. Black Richards worked at the Gleaner Company as a News Reporter from 2003-2008 and as the Online Content Coordinator from 2008-2010.

She is a graduate of the Northern Caribbean University where she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication with a Minor in Business Administration. She also holds a Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of Technology. Mrs. Black Richards is a member of the Press Association of Jamaica.

Stephanie Cameron is the Principal Director of Corporate Services. Prior to this appointment, she served the Agency for five (5) years as Senior Director, Zonal Operations (Western).

She holds a Master of Science degree in International Public Development & Management from the University of the West Indies and an undergraduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning  from the University of Technology, Jamaica. Before coming to the Forestry Department, Miss Cameron worked at the St. Catherine Parish Council as the Project Manager for the St. Catherine Local Sustainable Development Plan and also Local Economic Development Officer under the Cariled Project.

She has also served as Merchandise Manager, Acting Human Resources Administration Manager, and Customer Relations Manager for Geddes Refrigeration Limited.

Miss Cameron is certified in Strategic Corporate Planning, Supervisory Management, Project Management, Quality Management Systems, and Customer Service. She is a certified trainer by the Heart Trust NTA and has done the professional development certificate course Finance for Non-Financial Managers at the Management Institute for National Development.

She is a member of the Jamaica Customer Service Association as well as two non-governmental organizations- BirdLife Jamaica and Jamaica Nature.

She enjoys doing sign language, going to the gym, and participating in outdoor activities. Her philosophy is, life is tough but I am tougher- resilient to the core.

Mr. Swayne Beckles currently serves as the Senior Director, Applied Forest Research. His journey with the Forestry Department started in 2011 as a Forest Ranger in the Legal and Forest Enforcement Services Division. He was subsequently employed as Technical Assessment Officer in the Planning and Monitoring Branch of the Forest Science and Technology Services Division until his appointment to his current post in 2022.

Mr. Beckles has a wealth of experience in forest assessment, mainly focusing on forest regeneration and restoration in swamp and terrestrial forests. Since his time at the Forestry Department, Mr. Beckles has been instrumental in developing standards for entry into and assessment of the Agency’s Tax Incentive Program. He has also played a critical role in the development of Standards Operating Procedures for Technical Assessments as well as the preparations of forest management plans.

He holds a graduate degree in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems Assessment and Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Biology from the University of the West Indies. He also has certifications in Project Management and Supervisory Management.

Before coming to the Forestry Department, Mr. Beckles served as GIS Officer at Mona GeoInformatics Ltd. and Biology & Integrated Science teacher at the CSEC level.

Mr. Beckles is a senior officer in the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force. In 2021, he was awarded by the St. Catherine Parish Council for his contribution to national youth and community development.