Speakers > Lysanne Charles
Lysanne Charles
Island(er)s at the Helm; University of the Virgin Islands at University of St. Martin
Lysanne Charles is a PhD candidate with the Island(er)s at the Helm Project and has a background in Sociology, Cultural Anthropology, Political Science and Mass Communications. She is an educator, activist, and artist. Her work and interests have focused primarily on the empowerment of marginalized groups.
In the past she also worked as a civil servant in the areas of policy development and implementation. Her interest in climate change and climate justice intensified after the passing of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and during the Covid-19 lockdown on the islands of St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius, when it became apparent that the development of sustainable food and shelter strategies were necessary in order to not make marginalized groups even more vulnerable.
Charles’s PhD research will employ a transdisciplinary approach to analyze and bring together stakeholders from government and the community in order to create a dynamic, viable policy and strategy roadmap for the SSS islands. She has eagerly begun with the research of this project and looks forward to working with a broad network of stakeholders across the SSS islands.