Invest SVG has appointed a new executive director to spearhead its organisation. At the helm, effective August 1, 2013, is Bernadette Ambrose-Black whose appointment coincides with the organisation’s ongoing 10th anniversary celebrations.{{more}}

Vincentian by descent, and having strong familial ties to the island, Ambrose-Black brings with her an array of experience and a wealth of knowledge, not only in international development, but also in the field of trade, export development, marketing and investment. Ambrose-Black holds undergraduate degrees in English/Psychology and Law, a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations, a Master of Science in Government (Democratic Governance, International Politics and Development) and is completing a PhD. in International Relations. She has a diverse range of professional experience having worked within the 15 CARICOM Member States. Ambrose-Black has worked as an individual consultant, working with and managing projects funded by various international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), European Union (EU), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to name a few. She has extensive experience in the field of project management, having served as a regional project manager/coordinator on a project funded in part by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank, the regional Ministries of Agriculture and the Caribbean Agribusiness Association. She has also worked in the capacity of de facto CEO of the Jamaican Chapter of the Caribbean Agribusiness Association. Conterminously, Ambrose-Black has worked with the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce and with the Association of Caribbean States. She has worked at the IDB Headquarters in Washington, DC, and has also served as a part-time politics lecturer and/or tutor at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. While in Jamaica, she hosted an interactive radio programme titled “Agroscope: Grow What You Eat and Eat What You Grow,” which focused on a wide range of issues within the agribusiness sector.

The bilingual Ambrose-Black has made her indelible mark in propelling the economy of Small Island Developing States (SIDs) in the Greater Caribbean Region (Latin America and the Caribbean), as she was also instrumental the development of the regional/CARICOM standards for natural packaged coconut water. Additionally, Ambrose-Black has provided community service at the St Andrew’s Home for the Aged and the Emmanuel Community for Battered Children and Abused Women. Currently, she volunteers as the director and public relations officer of the Sickle Cell Awareness Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago and is a founding committee member, and provides project management services for the Association for Trinidad and Tobago Nationals in Jamaica.

With her new appointment, Ambrose-Black is not only happy to be home, but also looks forward to fulfilling the mandate of Invest SVG, as she propels the organisation to another level and places SVG on the map as a lucrative destination, the jewels of the Caribbean, the gem of the Antilles, ideally suited not only for tourism, but also trade and investments; “the Caribbean you are looking for.”