keynote speakers
Griselda (Gay) G. Santos
Through previous roles at the World Bank Group and International Finance Corporation, Gay has more than 25 years of experience in investment and portfolio management, credit operations, operational risks, ESG and advisory services. She retired from the World Bank Group in 2019. Today, she is the Regional Director for Southeast Asia at Water.org. Water.org is a global NGO co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White in 2009. It seeks to solve the global water and sanitation crisis. It is a pioneer in market-driven financial solutions to increase sustainable access to finance to safe water and sanitation. Gay is also a financial inclusion advocate and serves as the chair of the Financial Inclusion Committee of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines and a Trustee of Fintech Alliance Philippines and Global Spectrum (advocating for autistic individuals). She worked in various USAID projects as principal specialist in Risk, SME finance, E-Commerce and Financial Inclusion. She sits as an independent director in UNO Bank, a digital bank in the Philippines. She developed the new financial literacy training program of the Philippines’ conditional cash transfer program. She is also a regular writer in major newspapers in the Philippines. She authored/co-authored international studies in Financial Inclusion, SME Finance, Insurtech and Social Enterprises. She holds a MBA from Johns Hopkins University and a Certificate in Internal Audit from George Mason University.
Milika Nagasima Sobey
Dr Milika Naqasima Sobey is an indigenous Fijian who currently works as a Technical Adviser-Coastal Ecosystems for GIZ Pacific. Milika was an academic for 20 years, teaching and conducting research at the University of the South Pacific. Her research interests included nutrient cycling, fisheries, coral reef ecology and water quality. She has worked at IUCN Oceania managing donor funded Climate Change Adaptation projects in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. For freshwater systems, Milika has worked on water quality monitoring, freshwater fisheries, catchment management and most recently on the political economy of the water sector in select Pacific Island countries. Milika was one of the founding members of the Women in Fisheries Network and continues to do voluntary work for Nature Fiji-Mareqeti Viti and Fiji Environmental Law Association.
James Ellsmoor
James Ellsmoor is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, writer, and influential advocate for island sustainable development. He is the CEO of the sustainable impact consultancy Island Innovation, with experience working on islands on every continent. James is widely recognized for his work in renewable energy and sustainability, having contributed extensively as a columnist for Forbes and regularly interviewed for international publications. With a systems approach encompassing climate, oceans, energy, tourism, and conservation, James focuses particularly on small island developing states (SIDS) and sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJs). Through initiatives such as the Virtual Island Summit, he brings together representatives from diverse islands worldwide, showcasing their leadership in global sustainability and addressing pressing issues like climate action. As a sought-after speaker and consultant, James’s expertise and ability to communicate complex concepts drive positive change and shape the future of sustainable development on a global scale.
Kamanamaikalani Beamer
Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer is a full professor and the inaugural Dana Naone Hall Endowed Chair in Hawaiian Studies, Literature, & the Environment at Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge (HSHK) at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. He serves a dual appointment in HSHK and in the William S. Richardson School of Law, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law. Dr. Beamer has multiple publications in the study of aloha ʻāina and the Circular Economy (CE). His books include No Mākou Ka Mana: Liberating the Nation (2014) and Islands & Cultures: How Pacific Islands Provide Paths Toward Sustainability (2022). He served two consecutive terms as a Commissioner on the Hawaiʻi State Water Resource Management Commission (2013-2021). After eight years of service, his accomplishments include restoring water to forty-five streams across Hawaiʻi and challenging the U.S. Navy on issues at Red Hill. Dr. Beamer is a father, organizer, and activist in movements to advance aloha ʻāina and water justice.
Manuel Sapiano
Manuel Sapiano is the Chief Executive Officer of the Energy and Water Agency (EWA) within Malta’s Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise. In this role, he coordinates a team of experts with responsibilities for the formulation, evaluation, monitoring and implementation of national policies concerning the use of energy and water in a sustainable manner and the formulation of plans to meet National and EU energy and water resources management targets. Mr Sapiano is a hydrogeologist, with specific specialisation in island and coastal hydrology. He has previously led the Agency’s Water Policy Unit, where he had the responsibility of coordinating the implementation process of EU related water legislation in the Maltese islands. He has been involved in the implementation process of the EU Water Framework Directive since 2002, where within the Common Implementation Strategy of this Directive, he fulfils the role of Water Director for Malta.
Høgni Hoydal
Høgni Hoydal was born in Copenhagen in 1966 and lives in the village of Hoyvík outside Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands. He is married to Hildur Hermansen and together they have three children and four grandchildren. Høgni Hoydal has worked as a public school teacher, as a deckhand on coast guard vessels and as a worker in fish factories in the Faroe Islands. He is educated in both the Faroe Islands and in Denmark, with a Master degree in History and Communications Science from the University of Roskilde, Denmark in 1994. From 1995 to 1998 he worked as a journalist at the National Faroese Television. Høgni Hoydal was first elected to the Faroese Parliament in 1998. He has been leader of the Republican Party of the Faroe Islands since 2000.
Former cabinet positions in the Faroese Government include: Deputy Prime Minister from 1998-2003 and in 2008; Minister with special responsibility for the Faroese independence process 1998-2003; Minister of Judicial Affairs and Nordic Cooperation 1998-2003; Minister of Culture and Education 2000, 2002 and 2019; Minister of Foreign affairs and Nordic Cooperation 2008; and Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture 2015-2019. Høgni Hoydal was elected as one of the two Faroese Members of the Danish Parliament from 2001-2011 and 2015-2019. He has been a Member of the Nordic Council from 2011 to 2015 and from 2019-2021 and was member of the Presidium of the Nordic Council from 2012 to 2015. Høgni Hoydal is also the author of two books on Faroese political affairs and history
Ronald Roopnarine
Dr. Ronald Roopnarine is a researcher and academic with a thorough background in Disaster Risk Resilience and Sustainable Land and Water Resource Management. Presently, Dr. Roopnarine is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Food and Agriculture, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus (FFA, UWI) responsible for teaching and development of courses related to Agri-environmental Disaster Risk and Climate Resilience. He is also the Network Manager of Caribbean WaterNet, (Caribbean arm of CapNet UNDP) and a consultant for various international and regional developmental and state agencies. He has also served on numerous projects implemented by various UN agencies such as UN-water, UN- FAO, UN Environment and UNDP. Thus far he has amassed significant experience in Integrated Water Resources Management, Land management and Climate Change Adaptations, with specific focus on Caribbean Small Island Developing States.
Miguel Ângelo Barreto da Moura
Miguel Ângelo Barreto da Moura is Secretary of State of Agrarian Economy and advisor of Water and Sanitation at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Cabo Verde. He is also President of the Board of Directors of the Water and Sanitation Agency, Expert and Evaluator of Research Projects at the Secretariat of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education of the Government of Cabo Verde, Research Project Evaluator at the University of Ceará, Brazil and the coordinator of the Task force for the creation of the Water and Sanitation Fund (FASA) in Cabo Verde, where he was also the non-executive Administrator until 2021. Adding to this, Miguel is the National Coordinator of the Integrated Water Resources Management Action Program (PAGIRH, INGRH) and Coordinator of the ANAS Strategic Planning Department.
Miguel holds a Master and Doctorate degree in Development and Environment from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) (2011 – 2015), discussing the Economics of Water Resources Planning in Cabo Verde (Water as Social and Economic Good and Economic and Functional Evaluation of Water of Dams in Cabo Verde); published scientific articles on water related issues published in Brazil and Cabo Verde and co-author of 4 books.
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