Industry Forum

 

“Tourism, the Creative Industries and the CARIFORUM EPA: What’s the Story”

 

Panelists include:

Karen Jennings-Crooms, Tourism Co-ordiantor
Ministry of Tourism

Karen Jennings-Crooms serves as the Tourism coordinator at the Ministry of Tourism, and heads the Tourism Advisory Unit. She has over 15 years of experience in the Tourism sector, and has worked in the both in Miami, Florida and Washington, DC.  Before coming to the Ministry, Ms. Jennings-Crooms served as the Executive Director for a community –tourism organization in Washington, DC where she was responsible for developing and promoting cultural heritage tourism for 15 communities, encompassing the Anacostia Trails Heritage Areas located just outside of Washington, DC.   Prior to this, she served as the Marketing and Public Relations Manager for the City Museum of Washington, DC, and as a Travel Specialist with the National Geographic Society.

Ms. Jennings-Crooms has a Master’s degree in cultural heritage tourism, and a Bacheolor of Arts in English.  She recently relocated to Trinidad to assume her position with the Ministry of Tourism.

 

Debbie A. Mohammed, Lecturer
UWI, ST. Augustine

Debbie A. Mohammed is a lecturer in International Trade at the Institute of International Relations. Her current research interests include  CARICOM competitiveness, services exports and sector identification and development.

 

 

 

A representative from the Ministry of Trade.

 

Mrs. Ingrid Ryan- Ruben, Director of Culture
Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism

Ingrid Ryan Ruben is the Director of Culture in the Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism. She has significant experience in Business Development and Change Management. She has been involved in various transformation projects including the Development of the Change Management Framework for Public Service Transformation and the Conceptualisation, Development and management of the New-systems Facilitator Initiative, to name a few.

Ingrid is a trained teacher who worked in the secondary school system for twelve years before transferring to the public service. She holds a Masters degree in Public Management (Summa Cum Laude), from Pontifica Universidad Madre y Maestria, Dominican Republic and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, (Upper Second Class Hons) UWI. She also has a myraid of training in professional skills areas like Leadership in the Project Environment, Alternative Dispute Resolution, ISO, Root Cause Analysis, Process Management, Measurement and Improvement, Emotional Intelligence and Managing Change for Organisational Excellence. She is also fairly fluent in Spanish, having studied and lived in a Spanish speaking country.

She has twenty years experience working in project management, organisational development and people development. As a creative, innovative user of Human Resource Management solutions for goal achievement, she combines a unique understanding of human development, with extensive knowledge and training in management and human relations to achieve phenomenal results with people and their organisations.

 

 

Mr. John Arnold – Event Coordinator
Tobago House of Assembly - Division of Tourism and Transportation

 

John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of the West Indies, St.Augustine; a Professional Certificate in Event Management from the  George Washington University;  a Certificate in Hospitality Sales and Marketing from the American Hotel and Motel Association; a certificate in Harmony and  Arrangement from Berklee College of Music, Boston; and just graduated with the Executive M.B.A (with distinction) from the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, U.W.I.

 

John has been employed with the Division of Tourism  and Transportation since 2003 and is considered the main brain behind many of the events initiated by the Division of Tourism and Transportation, Tobago House of Assembly including  Tobago Jazz Festival and many other signature events in Tobago.
John is a composer, accompanist, arranger, and is frequently sought after for choral and music workshops in the region and has conducted sessions in the Caribbean and Latin America. John is also the founder and musical director of the illustrious Signal Hill Alumni Choir and has toured all over the world as ambassadors of Trinidad and Tobago’s great culture. He is also the leader of Tobago’s only Jazz ensemble the Kariwak Players.