Lisa Andon

Micronesia Trust Fund Deputy Executive Director
GLISPA Fiscal Host

Lisa joined MCT in 2004 as the Deputy Executive Director and Grants Program Manager, after nine years at the Pohnpei State Government where she served as an Executive Assistant for the Economic

Development Authority and as an Historic Preservationist for the Division of Historic Preservation and Cultural Affairs (HP&CA). She earned her B.A. in American Studies from Grinnell College in 1992 and came to Pohnpei as a Peace Corps Volunteer the same year. During her Peace Corps service,

she taught English as a Second Language and Math at the Our Lady of Mercy Vocational Training School and volunteered part-time at the HP&CA. During her subsequent, formal employment at the HP&CA, she managed projects and led the development and opening of the Nahnsehleng Maritime Center. She returned to the US to complete an M.A. in American Studies with a Graduate Certificate in Historic

Preservation and concentrations in Pacific Islands Studies and Cultural Resource Management at the University of Hawaii, Manoa in 1999. She is also a 2005 alumna of the University of California, Berkeley’s Beahrs Environmental Leaders program. In addition, she has completed Unitec New Zealand's Pacific Conservation NGO Management and Leadership Training course in 2010, earning a Post-Graduate Certificate. She lives with her family in Wone, Kitti on the island of Pohnpei and enjoys baking and gardening in her spare time.

Dr. Spencer Thomas

Grenada’s Ambassador and Special Envoy for Multilateral Environmental Agreements
Prime Minister’s Representative
GLISPA Treasurer

Dr. Spencer Thomas, Grenada’s Ambassador and Special Envoy for Multilateral Environmental Agreements is the country’s lead negotiator for climate change and biodiversity. He is a former Financial Secretary and Economic Policy Adviser in the Ministry of Finance, Grenada. Dr Thomas served on the Bureau of the Convention of Biodiversity and as Chairman of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice. He also served as Regional Councillor of IUCN and as a Vice President of IPBES. Dr Thomas has over 25 years of experience in the area of biodiversity diplomacy.

H.E. Hersey Kyota

Palau Ambassador to the United States
GLISPA Board Chair 
President's Representative Member

Hersey Kyota was appointed as Palau’s Ambassador to the United States in November 1997. In 2015, as Washington D.C.’s longest serving ambassador he was appointed as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and is responsible for representing the Washington diplomatic corps at major functions such as the State of the Union.

Prior to his appointment as Ambassador [JR1] on November 12th, 1997, Ambassador Kyota conducted legal research from 1981 to 1984 for the Palau House of Delegates. From 1985 to 1988, he served as chief clerk in the Palau National Congress for the Palau House of Delegates. His position as Director of the House of Legal Counsels’ Office from 1989 to 1990 was followed by his service as a senator in the Palau National Congress from 1990 to 1996. H.E. Kyota also sat on the Board of Directors for the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures from 1992 to 1996.

Ambassador Kyota received both a bachelor’s (1977) and Master’s (1979) degree in Art from the International University of San Diego. He and his wife are the proud parents of five children. Ambassador Kyota has a passion for fishing and a demonstrated commitment to building a sustainable and resilient future for islands globally.

Ambassador Kyota was appointed Chair of the Global Island Partnership Board during its annual meeting in Turin, Italy in October 2015. He was re-appointed for a second term in October 2017.

Email: chair@glispa.org

Hon. Josh Tenorio

Lieutenant Governor, Guam
Governor General’s Representative 

The Honorable Joshua “Josh” Franquez Tenorio is the 10th elected Lieutenant Governor of Guam. He is an experienced administrator with a demonstrated history of managing large organizations in both the public and private sectors. Since taking office in January 2019, Lt. Governor Tenorio has spearheaded efforts that embrace sustainable development; reduce homelessness and poverty; expand drug and alcohol treatment programs, and improve the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. He is the Co-Chairperson of the Guam Green Growth (G3) Steering Committee.

As the first LGBTQ person to be elected Lt. Governor in the United States, he advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion and is a founding member of the non-profit, Equality Guam. After graduating from the Guam Community College Vocational High School, Lt. Governor Tenorio served as Speaker of the 17th Guam Youth Congress. He earned a B.A. in Political Science and History from the University of Guam. He is a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management at the National Center for State Courts and is a certified court manager and executive.

His many awards and honors include the 2021 NLGA Energy and Environmental Stewardship Award, presented in partnership with the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) and Baker Hughes. Lt. Governor Tenorio resides in the southern village of Talofofo but was raised in the central village of Sinajana by his parents, the late Jesus Atoigue Tenorio, a retired telephone man; and Therese Taitano Franquez Tenorio, a retired school teacher. His late grandfather, Jose Cruz Franquez, was his role model.

Dr. Joth Singh

Director of Policy and Strategy Programs - Caribbean Division,
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
GLISPA Advisor

Dr Joth Singh joined The Nature Conservancy in March 2022 as Institutional Partnerships Director within the Caribbean Division and was promoted to Director of Policy and Strategic Programs of the Division in May 2023. He is also currently the TNC representative on the regional Conservation Trust Fund Board of Directors – the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund.

Before joining TNC, Joth held senior positions in various non-profit and multilateral organizations and has worked internationally, regionally within the Caribbean, and nationally in Trinidad and Tobago. His responsibilities have spanned a range of environmental and development areas of focus, and included leading the Wildlife and Habitat program at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, managing the environmental portfolio at USAID’s Eastern and Southern Caribbean Mission, management of the Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Facility within the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, and heading the Environmental Management Authority of  Trinidad & Tobago.

He holds an MSc in Environmental Management from the University of London, a Ph.D in Environmental Chemistry from the University of the West Indies, and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow working on ecotoxicology at Canada’s Dalhousie University/Bedford Institute of Oceanography. He grew up on the island of Trinidad exploring nature with his family and spends as much time as he can enjoying the natural world.

Celeste Connors

CEO, Hawai’i Local2030 Hub
GLISPA Advisor on High-impact initiatives

Celeste Connors has twenty years of experience working at the intersection of economic, environment, energy, and international development policy. Before joining the Hawai'i Local2030 Hub (formerly Hawai‘i Green Growth) she was CEO and co-founder of cdots development LLC, which works to build resilient infrastructure systems and services in vulnerable communities. Celeste previously served as the Director for Environment and Climate Change at the National Security Council and National Economic Council in the White House where she helped shape the Administration’s climate and energy policies, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Prior to joining the White House, Celeste served as a diplomat in Saudi Arabia, Greece, and Germany. She also held positions at the U.S. Mission to the UN, served as the Climate and Energy Advisor to the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and worked for City of New York.

Celeste is a Senior Adjunct Fellow at the East-West Center and was a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in the Energy, Resources and Environment Program. She holds an MSc in Development Studies from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and a BA in International Relations from Tufts University. Celeste has served on numerous boards including her current service on Hawaiian Electric Industries, the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA), the Institute for Sustainability and Resilience at the University of Hawaii and Icebreaker One. She previously served on the Board of America’s Service Commissions, the IUCN World Conservation Congress National Host Committee, and was a Term Member on the Council on Foreign Relations. Celeste grew up in Kailua, O‘ahu.

Janaka de Silva

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Senior Programme Coordinator, Ocean Team, Centre for Conservation Action
GLISPA Advisor

Dr. Janaka De Silva specializes in Marine and Coastal issues. His experience includes working in the Government, Academic and Non-Profit sectors and has included, designing, implementing and managing ecosystem based programs that integrate forests, watersheds and marine systems, providing advice on species management to governing bodies and developing and implementing results based monitoring at program and project level scales.
He currently manages IUCN`s Global Plastic Portfolio  “Closing the Plastic Tap” that is being implemented in 11+ countries that advances knowledge and takes action to address the impact of plastic waste and leakage on the marine environment. Janaka also supports the Ocean Teams programme of work on Ocean Multistressors and Sustainable Blue Economy.

Karolin Troubetzkoy

Executive Director, Marketing and Operations of Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain Resorts, St. Lucia.
GLISPA Advisor

Karolin Troubetzkoy’s extensive experience in tourism management has seen her rise to the very top of her profession, serving as President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) from January 2016 - June 2018. She was only the second woman to serve as President in CHTA’s 50+ year history.

In Jan 2019, she was appointed Envoy to the Caribbean Challenge Initiative to bring awareness and build up resilience of the marine and coastal resources in the Caribbean. In July 2020, she accepted the Chairmanship of the Saint Lucia National Conservation Fund and in this capacity, has joined the board of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund.

Now joining the GLISPA family, Karolin will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from the private sector and non-profit arena, boosting our work and outreach, and forging closer ties with our Caribbean membership.

Ariane Steins-Meier

Innovation and Scaling Director, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance
GLISPA Advisor

Ariane leads ORRAA's innovation policy work globally, with a goal to advancing existing and building new partnerships with public and institutional funders. Ariane joined ORRAA from Rare where she was Vice President for Global Development and Executive Director for Rare Europe. She has also previously worked at The Nature Conservancy on their efforts around the Convention on for Biological Diversity as well as with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation in Bonn.