Council Members

Melanie Carmichael

Proudly raised in Red Bay, Grand Cayman, Melanie has served on the National Trust Council as a General Elected Member since 2019 and currently sits as a Member of the Planning Appeals Tribunal of the Cayman Islands. Educated in Holland and England, Melanie is a trained professional and Notary Public who has worked in the offshore business sector for over 20 years, both as a Senior Corporate Administrator and as a Senior Trust Administrator for a private Cayman Islands Bank. Melanie has dedicated herself to building community for over 10 years, she has been an active volunteer in the grassroots organisations such as CPR Cayman, Amplify Cayman and Sustainable Cayman working to encourage the thoughtful development of our Islands. Outside of work, Melanie enjoys time on the water with her family and she especially enjoys Cayman’s natural wildlife and her garden which is a safe haven for an array of water birds and a flock of West Indian whistling ducks.

Alice Mae Coe

Alice Mae’s dedication to the National Trust for the Cayman Islands began when she became a life member during the Trust’s first meeting in West Bay, Grand Cayman. This meeting aimed to promote the creation of the NTCI under the National Trust for the Cayman Islands Law 1987 (Law 22 of 1987), now known as the National Trust Law (2010 Revision). The NTCI’s mandated purposes resonated with Alice Mae, who grew up in a family that respected and cherished nature’s beauty and bounty, particularly in the mangrove-protected haven of the North Sound. Her family’s frequent outings on the catboat to fish or explore the grounds along the rocks reinforced the significance of environmental conservation in her life. Moreover, her 45+ years of employment with a prominent local law firm instilled in her a deep regard for the importance of following laws for the good of society and its people. Throughout her tenure, Alice Mae was fortunate enough to witness the development of many laws that continue to influence Cayman’s local businesses and international financial industry, including the National Trust Law. Alice Mae’s interests span a wide range of community-focused activities, but what unites them is her unwavering commitment to standing up for what is right, even in the face of adversity. For her, doing what is right is more important than personal gain or self-interest.

Dan Peterson

Dan is a Senior Investment Advisor at CIBC First Caribbean International and began his involvement with the National Trust by helping to secure corporate donations from several institutions in Grand Cayman. In addition to his career in finance, Dan enjoys spending his time volunteering with a number of associations both on and off the island. He is the current chairman of CIBA’s Membership Committee and remains a committed supporter of education. He has been a part of the National Trust since 2018 beginning as a Co-Opted member, and most recently serving as Treasurer since 2021/22.

Peter Davey

Peter Davey has served on the Trust Council for nine years, the last four as Vice Chairman of the Trust as well as Chairman of the Environmental Advisory Committee. He was responsible for establishing the National Trust’s Malportas Bird Reserve, supported of course by the legal and technical expertise of his colleagues. His term came to an end in 2021. Peter is a founding member of the National Trust, the Cayman Islands Bird Club and the Cayman Islands Motorsports Association, for which he served as Vice President for one year. Peter owned jewelry businesses in George Town from 1983 to 2009, including the The Jewellery Center, where as a designer, he penned and created many pieces. His deep interest in the natural world and desire to protect it and give it space, is expressed mainly through his birding activities and his past attempts to photograph every dragonfly and butterfly species occurring in the Cayman Islands. During this exercise, he added two species of dragonfly to Cayman’s list, The Blue-faced Darner and the Halloween Pennant and also re-discovered a small population of Gold-rimmed Swallowtails, which has since been extirpated on account of quarrying. As experienced birders, Peter and Christine Mailer have been reviewers for eBIrd since its inception. Peter’s passion for the long-term success of the National Trust remains unabated.

Fred Burton

Fred has lived and worked in the Cayman Islands since 1979. In 1990, he founded The Blue Iguana Recovery Programme as a National Trust volunteer. He has authored a number of books including Threatened Plants of the Cayman Islands – the Red List as well as The Little Blue Book. Fred currently holds the post of Manager of the Terrestrial Unit at the Department of the Environment. He formerly worked as the Environmental Programmes Manager of the National Trust and was a key player in establishing the Cayman Islands’ terrestrial protected area systems and worked on wildlife conservation habitats. In 2007 Fred was awarded an MBE for his services in conservation of endangered species. Most recently he has served as an active member on the National Trust Council, Environmental Advisory Committee and the Blue Iguana Conservation Steering Committee.

Tabitha Crowley

Tabitha Crowley (better known as Tabi) was born in West Bay and delivered at home by midwife Delva Ebanks (her Aunt). As a generational Caymanian and life member of the National Trust for over 20 years she loves and believes in preserving the islands’ heritage. Tabi has 26 years experience in management and human resources and has been the Director of Feed Our Future for over 5 years. Tabi brings resourcefulness and valuable connections to the Trust and has served on many local committees. She enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Emily DeCou

Em DeCou is a Caymanian sustainability consultant and climate justice advocate passionate about Island culture and quality of life. Upon leaving a decade-long career in the Financial Services Industry and Legal sector in 2022, she founded sustainability consultancy firm TRUE.M to guide individuals, businesses, and organizations in transitioning to zero-waste lifestyles and operations. In 2023, she became the first Caymanian to gain the Total Resource Use & Efficiency (TRUE) Advisor qualification from the United States Green Building Council. In the sustainability sphere, Em is a Sustainable Cayman Ambassador, a Leading Member of Amplify Cayman, a Coastal Lagoon Ecosystem Educator with The Cayman Islands Mangrove Rangers, and a proud member of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.

Mike Gibbs

Mike is the retired President of Kensington Management Group, Ltd, where he worked from the company’s inception in 1999 until the end of 2020. He has over 40 years of experience in the financial services industry and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He spent four years in Hong Kong and the rest of his career in Cayman. Mike has held various roles in accounting, audit, operations, systems, and management, including 12 years with Bank America and four years with Johnson & Higgins/Marsh Management Services. He is also a past Chairman of the Insurance Managers’ Association of Cayman and a Past President and active member of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce.

Chris Luijten

As a Cayman Islands resident in 2020 working closely with key stakeholders in the media, government and various grassroots movements, Chris was able to bring about a movement that helped accelerate the implementation of new legislation to protect mangroves. Together with Martin Keeley I helped form the Mangrove Rangers which launched in 2020. Aside from mangrove conservation work, Chris is an Entrepreneur in the b2b SaaS technology vertical through various companies on which he serves as Investor and Board Member. He is the CEO of ITCA, a company that helps software companies with fighting against software piracy. He and his family are very passionate about the environment, and support a variety of causes such as the Virunga National Park in Congo, Skyscanner, and the Sea Shepherd. Chris has served as National Trust General Elected Council Member for 2022/23 as well as the Fundraising Committee .

Arthurlyn Pedley

Arthurlyn has had a long association with the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. From its formation, she volunteered for the Memory Bank Programme. She went on to work for the organization as ED then as HPM for five years. In those roles, she served on Trust Council. This past year, as a General Council member, she has been the Vice Chair of the Historic Advisory Committee. She is also a long-serving, active member of the West Bay District Committee. Arthurlyn is passionate to preserve our built heritage so that future generations will have tangible contact with their past through buildings and sites of historic significance. A retired educator, Arthurlyn enjoys the outdoors: walking, swimming, and pottering around her garden. Because of her love for Cayman’s history, she has taken up part-time work writing historic articles and posts for the Cayman Islands National Archive.

Laura Powery Egglishaw

Laura Egglishaw (née Powery) was born in West Bay and one of the ‘1000’ babies delivered by midwife ‘Ms. Leila Yates’. Laura attended West Bay Primary School; C.I.High School; I.C.C.I., and received a scholarship from the C.I.Chamber of Commerce to attend St. Godric’s College, Hampstead Heath, London. Laura is a generational Caymanian whose family instilled in her a respect, love and gratitude toward the environment. Volunteering and family & community values have always played a large part in Laura’s life. She volunteers for LIFE; the Neighbourhood Watch Programme and more recently, West Bay Beautification Task Force. Laura is an executive member of the Grand Cayman Garden Club and a member of the C.I. Sailing Club. Laura has volunteered for the National Trust since the 1990’s and most recently served as General Elected Council member and as Chair of the Nominating Committee.

Jordan Rivers

Jordan Rivers is a passionate trailblazer and prominent voice advocating for change across a plethora of areas in the Cayman Islands’ tourism arena. As a Generational Caymanian he is committed to sustainability and creating a positive impact on both the industry and the environment. Jordan is a former Cadet Corps Corporal and embodies honesty, integrity, discipline, compassion and love of country. He is a vocal advocate for environmental issues, particularly focused on conservation and protection, and he has fostered a virtual community of like-minded individuals who share his enthusiasm for creating a better world.

Candy Whicker

Candy was born and educated in London and worked as an investment banker there until moving to Cayman in 1989 with her husband Simon. She worked for Barclays Private Bank in Cayman for 10 years and served as a director of various Cayman based investment funds, whilst raising their two children. Since leaving Barclays she has embarked on a second career in the world of documentary film. She has worked independently on a couple of film projects, including a short biography about the life and work of local artist David Bridgeman and on a feature length Cayman made documentary ‘The Great Disconnect’. Her most recent project was a feature length documentary about the Cayman charity Beacon Farms, which premiered in Cayman in February 2023.

Over the years she has volunteered for a number of organizations and charities including Riding for the disabled, Cayman Prep and High School, the Cayman Islands Sailing Club, the Pink Ladies and CPR. Candy is a keen gardener and champion of the natural world. She loves reading, sailing, traveling and planting trees wherever she can.

Hannah Reid-Ford

A multigenerational Caymanian, Hannah Reid Ford has a background in communications and environmental policy. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Journalism from Emory University and an MSc in Environment, Science & Society from University College London. Hannah serves as Communications Specialist with the Ministry of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency. In her spare time, she runs a blog and social media pages exploring the traditional environmental knowledge of the Cayman Islands. Hannah is a long-time volunteer with the National Trust and was previously an elected member to the National Trust Council, serving from 2019 to 2021.