Event Overview:

The climate-crisis is multi-faceted and effects citizens globally, with the Caribbean being particularly vulnerable to direct and indirect effects of climate change. Learn from a panel of Caribbean mental health and scientific experts on the impacts of disasters on health, stigma and society.

Meet Your Presenter:

Marjahn Finlayson MSc, PhD Candidate

As described by King Charles III, Marjahn Finlayson is a Bahamian climate change pioneer. She has been awarded a Masters in Research in Climate & Atmospheric Science from the University of Leeds and is currently a PhD candidate in the at the University of Bologna’s FRONTIERS Future Earth, Climate Change and Societal Challenges program under scholarship from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). She has been featured in many national and international media for climate and tropical cyclone expertise. Marjahn also has represented the Bahamas as UN Pool of Experts for the World Ocean Assessment. Marjahn actively collaborates with organizations in the Bahamas and across the Caribbean to improve climate education and policy, literacy and societal equity.

Tezel Lightbourne MPH, PMDPro

Miss Tezel Lightbourne is a Public Health professional from The Bahamas with a demonstrated history of advancing health equity in health topics such as non-communicable diseases and mental health, communicable diseases, and public health emergencies, gained through nonprofit, non-governmental, governmental, and commercial organizations in the Caribbean region and the United States of America. She is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Regal State of Health Consultancy, a boutique consulting firm that designs culturally rooted public health solutions for a healthier, more dignified Caribbean region.

Her expertise in climate work is guided by the One Health approach, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of the health and well-being of humans, animals, and the environment. It highlights that changes in one area influence the others. Additionally, she values learning and educating others about how the social determinants of health make marginalized groups more vulnerable to climate-related health impacts. This knowledge is vital for mental health professionals so they can offer holistic patient care and also advocate for systemic changes to address climate impacts.

She holds a Master of Public Health with an Epidemiology concentration from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a Bachelor of Science in Biology Pre-Medicine from Philander Smith University, both in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She was also a 2018-2019 Global Health Corps Fellow serving at Housing Works, Inc. in New York, USA.

Andrea Gaymes – Mohess MSc, Registered Counselling Psychologist

Andrea Gaymes–Mohess is a Caribbean mental health professional and a registered Counselling Psychologist from the island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, serving the Eastern Caribbean region. She is a recent Queen Elizabeth Scholar, having completed a research internship program at McGill University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), School of Population and Global Health, Climate Change and Mental Health Lab, supervised by Dr. Jura Augustinavicius, her research hours focused on the lab’s research/projects that support the Black Anglophone Communities in Montreal, and exploring how climate change affects this community and their well – being and how research can help the community implement adaptive strategies through intergenerational connection. Additionally, through this program, she received training and exposure to climate change challenges in the Canadian context, including climate psychological interventions, climate displacement, climate migration, and climate justice.

Andrea has been in the field of mental health and psychology for the past 17 years and sees herself as a Caribbean professional having worked on different islands in the Caribbean mainly the island the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and she continues to serve the region as a consultant psychologist and researcher on many local and regional projects and stakeholder events.