UnaMay Gordon is an experienced climate change professional who believes strongly that development is about people. Her public advocacy and promotion of women’s leadership in all spheres of life are unmatched. After years of working in the field of international development and with the private and public sectors across the Caribbean region, she now spends her time as a consultant and senior climate change and resilience advisor to institutions and companies at global, regional, and national levels.

For many years, Gordon served as the government of Jamaica’s focal point to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where she also functioned as head of delegation and chief negotiator to many Conferences of the Parties (COPs). For COP 23 and 24 she served on the Bureau, a role that required her to assume functions as vice president of the COPs.

Gordon is recognized globally for her innovative leadership in the climate space and for her effective cross-cultural communications and networking skills. She believes in collective action and serves on a number of boards of organizations and institutions including the Caribbean Women in Leadership and now serving as the chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Community Climate Change Centre.

She holds a master’s degree in environmental sciences from Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands and has been awarded an honorary doctorate of laws in humanity from the United Graduate College & Seminary mainly for her work with rural communities throughout the Americas and the promotion of women and youth leadership.