Title
Director of Development
Institution / Organization
Universty West Indies (UWI), Jamaica (by distance)
Bio
Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy heads the regional Office of Global Partnerships and Sustainable Futures (formerly Office of Development) at The University of the West Indies (UWI). The Office focuses on advancing the university’s commitment to climate-smart and sustainability teaching, research and advocacy, strengthening linkages between the regional university and multilateral development partners and deepening the university’s engagement in national and regional processes to advance the 2030 development agenda. The Office also coordinates the Global University Consortium on Climate Action (SDG 13), which brings together universities from across 6 geographic continents to collaborate on climate change teaching, research and advocacy within the International Association of Universities’ (IAU) Cluster on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development. Dr. Richards-Kennedy has over 20 years’ experience in development management and development financing. Prior to taking up her role as Director of Development, Dr. Richards-Kennedy was the Assistant Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten between 2014 and 2016. Her previous appointments include Chief Technical Advisor, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) – Washington DC, Consultant, The World Bank – Washington DC and Programme Specialist, UNESCO – Paris. Over the course of her career, Dr. Richards-Kennedy has led the design, execution and evaluation of diverse development programmes as well as managed multi-donor trust funds, working in collaboration with a range of development partners in Europe, Africa, North America and Latin America and the Caribbean. Fluent in Spanish, French and English, Dr. Richards-Kennedy holds a Doctorate in Education from The University of Sheffield, an MSc (Development Management) and an MBA (International Finance) from American University in Washington DC as well as a Postgraduate Diploma (International Relations) and BSc in Foreign Languages from The University of the West Indies (St. Augustine, Trinidad). Her research focuses on the societal impact of university research, knowledge brokerage and development effectiveness.