Omar recently re-joined the Foundation as its Chief Executive Officer in October 2018, after being the Foundation’s Programme Officer in Education for Sustainable Development from 2009 – 2014. During his original tenure at the Foundation, he also coordinated the first Latin American/Caribbean Hub of the Sub-Global Assessment Network, the follow up global programme of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.
He brings significant experience in the field of development and sustainability education and management, having served as the National Coordinator of the UNESCO Schools Network, leading national and regional efforts at sustainability and diversity in education. As an education programme consultant, facilitator and invited expert, he has contributed to key initiatives such as UNESCO’s global programme on bullying and school violence and UNESCO’s Caribbean climate change education agenda; Curriculum development for countering extremism in the Americas; and national whole school approaches on mainstreaming the Sustainable Development Goals.
Omar is deeply interested on how and why people work together and communicate, especially towards common goals and particularly in civil society. Chasing these interests, he has worked on development communication and development management projects as a consultant with the University of the West Indies, various United Nations Agencies and other National Civil Society Organisations. In addition, he has sought to enrich his own experience and others through his tenure as a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Commission on Education and Communication; Advisory Board member of the Youth of the UN Group of Trinidad and Tobago; Fellow of the International Professors Project; and a Director of CAISO: Sex & Gender Justice.
He has a BSc in Environmental and Natural Resource Management (U.W.I.) and a Masters – Business Administration (Innovation) with professional certification in Project Management, Environmental Human Rights and Climate Change Communication. He is also currently a student of the 10th cohort of the Master of Studies (MSt) in Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge.