The Caribbean ASEAN Council’s goal is to advocate the unlimited potential of the Caribbean to the nations in the ASEAN
region and vice-versa in order to foster a positive and long term relationship. The Council aims to build a global
community that further progresses dialogue, economic and trade relations between Caribbean and ASEAN countries.
Among its activities include focusing on the trade possibilities and education on relevant information that complement
the initiatives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Council is an international socio-civic volunteer advocacy programme and campaign that provides
an environment where government representatives, business persons, educators, students and other interested parties
are able to communicate and share information for mutually beneficial objectives.
Councillors
The Council's Executive Councillors voluntarily provide their time for the growth of the organization in order to reach its
objectives. With varying backgrounds, they selflessly contribute their experience advancing the goals of the Caribbean
ASEAN Council in all its undertakings.
Dr. Ria Persad
Climate Change Councillor
A mathematician, classical musician and child prodigy, Dr. Persad was born in Trinidad and Tobago and is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of StatWeather Inc. which since its founding in 2009 has been set out to solve
the world’s toughest problems in weather and climate prediction offering its services to corporations and governments.
In response to the ongoing threat of climate change, Dr. Persad recently established the StatWeather Institute for
Climate Solutions, a not-for-profit entity which aims to provide important data on climate risks to affected communities
without cost. Her academic background include attending Harvard, Princeton, and Cambridge universities among others.
Her experience in climate modeling began at Lawrence Livermore Lab’s Supercomputer Center in 1991. Dr. Persad
performed earth and solar system modeling at NASA as a space Physicist and went on to model geophysical systems at
Bell Geospace. As a climatologist at Enron and Duke Energy, she was alerted to the needs of the energy sector. She later
went on to develop state-of-the-art long-range weather prediction systems which were peer-reviewed among academia,
US Department of Defense scientists, and meteorological stations. She models complex systems for the US space
program and is an innovative Subject Matter Expert. Dr. Persad is also a classical musician and won the 2010 Bradshaw
and Buono International Piano Competition. She has given numerous piano performances in Italy and throughout the
United States, performing for charities and benefits, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in April 2011. Dr. Persad is the
founder of Freedom Scholars of America, a scholarship fund which has awarded over 100 university scholarships. She is
also an accomplished fashion model and in 2017 was named Ms. Tennessee and the 2017 Ms. United Southern States of
America National Choice Winner. She also represents Trinidad and Tobago in the Ms. World 2018 pageant.
Mr. Ricardo McKlmon
Councillor for Public Private Partnerships
Mr. McKlmon was born and raised in Guyana and is an International Marketing Professional who has more than 20 years of global experience. His previous employers include the American Chemical Society, Scotiabank (Guyana and Canada) and the Government of Guyana to name a few. Aside from the Caribbean, he has lived in Europe, Canada, the U.S. and Asia with his family. Mr. McKlmon is married to Amb. Sharlene Shillingford-McKlmon, the former Ambassador of the Eastern Caribbean States Mission to the European Union. He is also a long time Rotarian and is completing his PhD at the Antwerp Management School of Belgium.
Ms. Dina Abdullah Enriquez
Economic Development Councillor and Singapore Delegate
New York City-born and globally educated, Ms. Dina Abdullah Enriquez, is the Founder of Spin Capital PR MARKETING ANALYTICS, based in Singapore. A serial entrepreneur, she started her business life at 19 (after serving as Cultural Attache to a former First Lady of the Phillippines), setting up and exiting successful businesses in Singapore, China and in the Philippines.
At the helm of Spin Capital, with vision and a deep understanding of the cultures and commerce of the East and the West, Dina has been a global creator, communicator and activator more than four decades across industries in crowdfunding, events, public relations, marketing, advertising, publishing, F&B, and hospitality.
In recent years her focus has been PR and behavioral analytics in the cryptocurrency and the blockchain arena amongst many diverse platforms. This includes acting as an advisor and board member to ICOs to help them achieve their desired outcomes, through marketing, analytics, PR strategy, and investor networks.
Dina’s mission through Spin Capital is to Elevate, Activate and Transform the level of the blockchain/crypto world through experiential-based public relations in Asia including innovative programs and events targeted to the investor based market.
Through her plans for the Caribbean ASEAN Council, to develop relationships through business matching on both sides of the pond, with the success of these to establish a presence in the Caribbean.
Mr. John Robert Guray Visionary Councillor
Mr. Guray is a Filipino management executive with over 20 years of business experience in sales, marketing and
operations management roles with leading blue chip companies in the Philippines, including the PLDT Group and Globe
Telecom - two of the largest companies in Asia, following his stint as a Political Affairs Officer III at the Philippine House
of Representatives. His solid relationship management background, functional experience in operations management
and expertise in information and communication technology have enabled him to provide quality service to B2B
customers and efficient execution of strategic plans throughout his career, with emphasis on improving efficiency,
productivity and organizational consistency, including but not limited to the managing operations set-up (including
human capital and infrastructure components), policy and process development, and expansion. He is the Founding
Chairman of Three Rivers Management Solutions Inc., an international management consultancy and professional
development firm providing services across a wide range of industries and sectors. Prior to founding Three Rivers, Mr.
Guray's most recent career assignments were as Vice President of Operations at TeleDevelopment Services Inc. and as
Head of SME Channel Management at the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). Mr. Guray earned his
Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering from De La Salle University-Manila and completed the
Management Development Program at the Asian Institute of Management. Throughout his academic years, he has been
an active student leader in the institutions he attended and in national organizations, including having been President of
the De La Salle University Student Council, National Executive Vice President of the National Federation of Student
Councils, and Chairperson of the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia - Student Conference (Japan).
Mr. Rasheed Griffith
Digital Economy Councillor
Born and raised in Barbados, Mr. Griffith has a degree in Mathematics and is completing his degree in
Philosophy from the University of the West Indies. He also attended the Shanghai Education and Training Center for
Commerce and earned a Certification in Financial Sector Management. Mr. Griffith is an Information Technology
professional with proficiency in e-Commerce, cyptocurrency and related fields and was formerly the Marketing Strategy
Lead at Bitt Global, a pioneering global financial technology firm based in Barbados. He recently ventured to the ASEAN region as the Compliance Manager of Coins.Ph, one of Southeast Asia's
leading mobile financial technology companies with offices in the Philippines and Thailand. He was the youngest
Caribbean national to be invited by the Government of the People’s Republic of China on a bilateral macroeconomic
policy mission. His recent government engagements include being a Panelist at the Domestic Financial Institutions
Conference in Barbados sharing the panel with a Senior Adviser of the MIT Digital Currency Initiative and the Head of
Information Systems of the Central Bank of Barbados. He was also invited by the Central Bank of the Philippines to
provide advice on the system governance structure of the proposed national retail (electronic) payments system for the
Philippines.
(Datu Sadja) Dr. Matthew Pajares Yngson
Representative Councillor
The Representative Councillor of the Caribbean ASEAN Council is concurrently the Diplomatic Affairs Envoy of the Eastern Caribbean-Southeast Asia Chamber. He is a national of both the Republic of the Philippines and the Commonwealth of Dominica and a multidisciplinary professional with almost three decades of experience in various fields. Dr. Yngson holds a Doctorate in Professional Studies in International Relations and Diplomacy from the American Management University - California, a Master of Arts in International Relations and Cultural Diplomacy from Charisma University - Turks and Caicos Islands U.K., and has taken two Bachelor's degrees in Business Administration, with one focused on Computer Applications. He has also received education from other esteemed institutions such as the University of Virginia, University of the West Indies, McGill University, University of Geneva, and the University of London among others. He has accomplished subject matter courses from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and the International Trade Centre, a multilateral agency under the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Dr. Yngson is also the only Filipino-Dominican alumnus of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Study Conferences since its establishment in 1956. He is also an altruist and has received numerous honours and awards for his philanthropic endeavours. This include being bestowed the nobility title of "Datu Sadja" and the princely title of "Rajah of Tambulian", by His Majesty Sultan Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, the 35th Sultan of Sulu, for his humanitarian work for the underprivileged Tausug people of the Sultanate of Sulu, a traditional monarchy in the southern Philippines. For his exceptional services to the Rwandan diaspora, he has also been conferred the "Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Lion of Rwanda" by His Majesty Yuhi VI Emmanuel Bushayija, titular King of the Royal House of Rwanda. For its part, the Most Serene Society of Saint Marc-Haiti also honoured him for his charitable services to Haiti and the Caribbean region. Dr. Yngson has been admitted as a Knight Commander in the Order of the Knights of Rizal, the patriotic order of chivalry of the Philippines and a chartered award of the republic. He has also been professed as a Knight in the Order of Saint George (Hungary), a chivalric order founded in the 14th century with Special Consultative Status at the United Nations.
The Caribbean ASEAN Council functions as an international non-government organisation with the full support of its Aministrative Team led by our Secretariat. Please connect with them directly for more information about our various activities.
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