Team

Abacus for Communities is constituted of a small number of disaster management advisers and experts who, individually, have more than ten years of work experience in man-made and natural disasters, and have worked in major humanitarian emergencies in  Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Their expertise ranges from relief logistics, communications, assessments, inter-agency coordination of relief assistance and operations management to documentation and policy drafting. In tandem with its new organizational vision, Abacus for Communities is now also expanding its team of experts to include specialists in conflict management, community development and climate change.

Chairman:

Lt Col (Retd) Stacey Thompson (Kingston, Jamaica)

Having recently completed four years of service with UNDP in Geneva, along with a variety of previous experiences and knowledge of his country and other parts of the developing world, Stacey has been convinced of the urgent need for a globally institutionalized, targeted, bottom-up approach to the development of LDCs.

During 22 years of military service, he pioneered computers in the Jamaican Defence and Police Forces, and establisted the first Engineer Regiment, while inspiring similar developments in other Caribbean countries. Upon retirement in 1995, he later consulted in “Disater and Emergency Management” as well as “Information and Communications Technology” through his firm (Abacus), throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Clients have included UNDP and other UN agencies, PAHO, Department for International Development (DFID), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), World Bank, Inter American development Bank (IADB), USAID and a number of Caribbean and Central American governments.

His work experience spans: Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland (Geneva), UK, USA, Caribbean and Central America (Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat. Saint Lucia, St Kitts, Trinidad, Turks & Caicos Islands).

Col Thompson holds a first degree in Telecommunications Systems Engineering and a Masters Degree in Information Systems Design both from the Cranfield Institute of Technology (Royal Military College of Science) in the UK. His post graduate work was dedicated to the database design of a global disaster response information management system for OCHA (then UNDRO) in Geneva in 1988.

He is an UNDAC team member, who has attended and assisted with inception and refresher training with the Caribbean team in Bermuda and Montserrat, the LAC team in Panama and the Dominican Republic, the Asian team in Singapore and the European team in Norway and Denmark and was deployed for a major hurricane in the Caribbean.

Among many voluntary activities, he has served as national chairman for the “Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards” programme, national chairman of the  Jamaica Red Cross” Emergency Services Committee, Chairman of the “NEST” Children’s Home support group  and foundation Chairman of the “Caribbean Association of Military Professionals” (C.A.M.P.). He is also a Rotarian where he chaired and served on various committees.

He is married with two daughters, is a qualified private pilot, parachutist and violinist, who plays a competitive game of squash as a hobby.

Training, Operations and Logistics:

Rayon Morgan (Kingston)

“There are no limits to what you can accomplish except the limits you place on your own thinking”. This is one of Rayon’s  favorite quotes which he learned from his Christian father and grandfather who was a pastor in the community of Glengoffe in upper Saint Andrew. After graduating from the Grateful Hill Primary School, Rayon attended Oberlin High school where he excelled both as a student and sportsman (especially at athletics and football as the school team captain) and who leaves a mark on everyone that he meets on his walk through life which has made him well suited for service to communities. He graduated with five (5) CSEC subjects and one G.C.E. O level including Mathematics and English. His school motto was “Excellence is the fruit of discipline”, which he took throughout all life’s endeavors. He is a member of the 4-H club as well as the dance troop as well as part of extra curricular activities in his community, were he was a member of the Glengoffe police youth club, the Glengoffe community development committee and benevolent society and the Glengoffe elderly assistance and outreach programmed.

His traditional Jamaican upbringing has made him meticulous , hard working, trustworthy, reliable and industrious and pays close attention to details. His hobbies include; reading, listening to music, playing football, cooking, socializing with peers, communicating positive ideas and running jokes.

Accounts and Projects Administration:

Nancy Lloyd (Kingston)

A past Wolmerian, Nancy is a selfless humanitarian with strong belief in volunteerism and teamwork. “Nan” is a trained Office Administrator, including basic accounting, human relations and office management and  the “steely eyed” custodian of our accounts and administrative procedures.

Karen Thompson (Kingston)

Karen functions as our “Chief of Staff” focusing on integrity, quality control and operational effectiveness.

Product Sales :

Major (Retd) Winston Dwyer (Kingston, Jamaica)

Marketing, Promotions and Business Development:

Volunteer Shauntai Burke (Kingston, Jamaica)

Shauntai has a BA in accounting from UTEC and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Teaching at Mico University, both institutions in Kingston Jamaica, She is an very Abacus volunteer understudying in Promotions and Dealer development for for Abacus vertical rotary parking systems, a new fund raising venture for community development.

Engineering and Maintenance:

Brent Whittle (Kingston, Jamaica)

Volunteer Caroline Pradier (Paris and London)

Caroline has worked in the area of Development, with a special focus on Training, Capacity Building, and Peacekeeping issues. She has worked for the United Nations Development Programme in Niger and Switzerland, and for a New York based NGO.  She holds a Masters Degree in International Relations and has worked, for her thesis, on the notion of failed states in conflict-driven African states. She has specific interest in gun trafficking prevention, de-mining and conventional disarmament.

Volunteer Youth Advisor Kishantai (Kingston, Jamaica)

Still in 1st Form at St Hugh’s High, Kishauntai is a well read, very intelligent young lady with a lot of adult ideas about community service and development, who advises Abacus on community youth issues. We anticipate seeing her in a major leadership role in Jamaica some day.