About

 

 

Senior Staff

Biographies

Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee, Jr (B.Sc. 1stCl.Hons., DPhil)

Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr. is the Director of the Mona GeoInformatics Institute at the University of the West Indies. He is a US Eisenhower Fellow and a Senior Lecturer at the University.

He is the Chairman of the Water Resources Authority & the National Works Agency. He sits on several other boards, including the Main Board of Grace Kennedy Ltd, its Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee and Audit Committee, as well as a Director of GK Foods & Services Limited and Hi-Lo Food Stores, also Director at the Bureau of Standards of Jamaica. He received his PhD in Geography from the University of Oxford, which he completed in 2 ½ years, at the age of 23. Since then, he has received several awards both locally and internationally for research and business development. He is also the author of the award winning Natural Hazards Atlas of Jamaica.

Dr. Ava Maxam (BSc Hons., PhD), UWI

Dr Ava Maxam joined the Mona Geoinformatics Institute (MGI) in November 2006 shortly before completing PhD studies in Oceanography at the University of the West Indies, where she also obtained a Bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Zoology and Botany. She is currently Deputy Director of MGI, where she manages the Natural Hazards & Environment Division, the Human & Social Division, and the Software Development Division. As lecturer at the University of the West Indies, she delivers Geographic Information Systems (GIS) courses to graduates, undergraduates and professionals.

Dr Maxam’s range of professional experience has spanned from coastal processes modelling and spatial analysis, to developing spatial solutions for clients across private and government sectors. She has led consultancies in GIS application, coastal hydrodynamic modelling, as well as oceanographic, environmental, ecological and bio-physical assessments. She has been instrumental in the development of award-winning GIS applications ranging from Jamaica's first navigation system to the Integrated Crime and Violence Information System in use by the Government of Jamaica for networking and analysing crime data. She has also collaborated across the Caribbean on projects ranging from reef valuation, shoreline and land cover change studies, to designing databases, applications and map tools for Coastal Zone Management. Her academic research has led to publications on the effect of ocean circulation on Jamaica’s coral reefs and coastlines - highlighting the importance of coral reefs in ecological nurseries, creating unique circulation systems, and trapping particles. She resides on several Technical Committees related to the environment, education and business development.

Michael Evelyn

Michael Evelyn joined MGI in January 2011. He has Geography, GIS, Political Economy and Legal training. Prior to joining MGI he held a senior management position at JNBS. In addition to banking, his professional experience includes GIS and economic development. He manages the marketing and sales efforts at MGI.

Robert Robinson

Robert Robinson joined the Mona Geoinformatics Institute in December 2005. He has over 15 years accounting experience and has special training in Forensic Accounting. He currently manages the Finance & Administrative Division and is completing his Chartered Accountant certification.

Lisa-Gaye Greene (BA Hons., MSc.), UWI

Lisa-Gaye is a graduate of the Lund University where she completed her MSc in Geographical Information Sciences (GIS) and she also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of the West Indies.  She has over 11 years of experience in GIS and is responsible for overseeing the management of MGI’s Human and Social Division. Her responsibilities include Project Management, Proposal Preparation, Coordinating Data Collection Exercises, Spatial Analysis, GIS/GPS Training, and Cartography. Her projects have included the mapping and spatial analyses of major crimes, road traffic crashes, violence-related injuries and health data, to name a few.  She is a member of the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA).  Mrs. Greene was the recipient of the 2013 FIA Road Safety Scholarship Programme where she pursued studies in road safety policy and promotion.  Her research collaborations and publications have looked at the geospatial analysis of crime and health outcomes.  Along with her Medical Sciences faculty colleagues, she was awarded the Principal’s Award for Best Research Publication in 2018 from the UWI Mona. 

Alexander Grennell (ASc.)

Alexander Grennell joined the company in April 1995 and continues to be responsible for the installation and maintenance of computers and network systems, supervision and management of the document scanning process as well as creating 3D Architectural models and virtual tours. MGI has now ventured into the use of Drones/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Alexander Grennell is the person responsible for the operation of the drone.

Luke Buchanan (BSc Hons.), UWI

Luke Buchanan joined the Mona GeoInformatics Institute in December of 2007 as a GIS Officer; in 2011 he was appointed as the Senior Field Officer and in 2013 became a Projects Manager. Luke is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mona where he received an honours degree in Geography and also focused on several Geological disciplines. His responsibilities over the years include in-house mapping, field mapping, cartography, project management, proposal preparation, planning and execution of field data collection, assisting with GIS training, social media content creation, and managing MGI’s social media. Luke has also been the GPS Navigation Specialist since 2011 where he is responsible for the collection and configuration of spatial data and the building of navigable maps for JAMNAV.

Ryan Nembhard

A graduate of the University of the West Indies, where he completed a degree in Marine Biology (BsC.) Initially joining the company as an intern in 2012, he is now an Assistant Projects Manager within the company’s Department of Natural Hazards and Environments. His responsibilities now include: Project Management, GIS Data Collation, Cartography, Assisting with GIS Training & Documentation (Proposal & Project Report Preparation).

MGI CORPORATE ASSOCIATES

MGI FELLOWS

Daniel Coore

Senior Lecturer - Department of Computing

Rafi Ahmad

Lecturer in Geology, Department of Geography and Geology, UWI; Head - Unit for Disaster Studies