Dalano DaSouza is a Caribbean Policy Analyst. He holds a BSc (Economics and Management), MSc (Banking and Finance) and PhD (Economic Development Policy) and is currently Assistant Lecturer in Economics at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Dalano is also a Caribbean podcaster and is one-half of the popular ‘A Lawyer and a Policy Analyst Walk into a Bar’ podcast which raises awareness about Caribbean economic, political, legal and social issues.
Jill Dauchy is the founder and chief executive of Potomac Group LLC, a financial advisory firm based in Washington DC that specializes in advising governments on complex matters of the sovereign balance sheet.
Ms. Dauchy's career as a trusted advisor to governments and public entities spans more than twenty years and over a dozen countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Prior to forming Potomac Group, Ms. Dauchy was Managing Director at Millstein & Co.
Ms. Dauchy is the host of Sovereign Debt, a podcast that is regularly downloaded in over 120 countries. In addition, Ms. Dauchy serves as an external expert to the IMF and is a member of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), where she regularly participates in the Principles Consultative Group, the Committee for Sovereign Risk Management, and the Committee for Debt Transparency.
Ms. Dauchy earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business and an M.A. in International Studies from the Lauder Institute, both of the University of Pennsylvania. She also received a B.A. in Soviet/Russian studies from Barnard College of Columbia University. She is fluent in French and Russian.
Dr. Tsendsuren Davaa is a senior customs officer and Secretary of the Trade Facilitation Working Group of the General Customs Administration of Mongolia. She has over 26 years of practical and academic research experience in Mongolian Customs. Her career started as an examination officer and promoted team leader, senior officer and deputy director of the department over the last 10 years.
Tsendsuren holds a master's degree in Public Finance from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Study in Japan and she received her Ph.D. degree in Business Administration from the National University of Mongolia. Her customs career development took advantage of the capacity building programme which the WCO developed for its Member Customs administrations.
In 2016, she was selected to participate in the WCO-Career Development Programme. In this opportunity she worked at the WCO Secretariat for 10 months.
Over the years she has attended various WCO, WTO and UN workshops and seminars, including a trade facilitation, risk management and customs modernization. In 2017, she was accredited as WCO Customs Technical and Operational Advisor.
To date, her 32 articles and research have been published at the the national and international level. Her academic interests include trade facilitation, risk management, customs valuation, customs modernization and coordinated border management. She is a visiting professor of National University of Mongolian and Citi University of Mongolia.
John David is an Information Systems Officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) where he works for the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) Programme. He has worked in the technical field of customs automation for almost 26 years. John currently coordinates the technical development and support of ASYCUDA systems including the most recent version - ASYCUDAWorld.
John was raised in the UK, Botswana and Switzerland. He graduated from Bristol University with a Master's degree in Computer Science. He has participated in international conferences with the WCO, EU, OIC-IDB and COMESA where he delivered presentations and demonstrations of ASYCUDA systems.
William Davis is an Economic Advisor within the secretariat to the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Metals, Minerals and Sustainable Development (IGF). His work relates to the development of sustainable and efficient critical mineral supply chains that can meet the needs of the energy transition. Previously, William served as a Senior Economist at the Natural Resource Governance Institute. He has authored many publications relating to sustainable critical mineral value chains and has over 15 years’ experience as a development economist, focusing on international trade, industrial policy and the extractive industries. He holds an M.Phil in Economics from Oxford University.
Ashley Davis is an international Spoken Word Artist, based in Dallas, Texas. Her chosen moniker, CRUSH, is also a self-descriptive acronym which stand for Creating Realities Using Spiritual Hands. Her poetry has taken her across the nation and beyond.
She is a member of the Dallas Poetry Slam team, which is ranked first in the southwest United States, and second across the nation (2020). As a stand-alone act, she has also achieved a national number fifteen ranking offstage,Crush is a businesswoman, curator, and visual artist, whose motto is, aptly, “Do everything with love”.
Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota as Permanent Representative of Brazil to the World Trade Organization and other economic organizations based in Geneva.
He was previously the Consul General of Brazil in Tokyo (2021-2023) and Consul General of Brazil in Mumbai (2019-2021). Mr. Patriota served as the Special Representative of Brazil to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (2018-2019), and before that the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva (2015-2018). A career diplomat since 1983, he has been a delegate of Brazil accredited to the Organization of American States in Washington from 1990 to 1994, the Latin American Integration Association, in Montevideo from 1994 to 1997, the Embassy of Brazil in New Zealand from 1997 to 2000, the Delegation of Brazil to the WTO and the World Intellectual Property Organization, in Geneva from 2005 to 2008, and was twice posted at the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations in New York from 2008 to 10 and from 2013 to 2015. He was International Advisor to the Brazilian Minister for Science and Technology from 2003 to 2004 and Deputy Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Republic from 2010 to 2013.
Augusto Jorge de Albuquerque Veiga is the Minister of Culture and Creative Industry of Cabo Verde and the President of the National Commission for UNESCO in Cabo Verde. He pursued academic studies in Political Science and English Language at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College, in the United States of America.
Augusto is an accomplished entrepreneur and music producer. He has been actively engaged in the music and cultural events sector since 1994, building an extensive professional record as an executive producer and promoter of initiatives aimed at fostering and elevating Cabo Verdean artistic creation.
He formerly served as Director-General of the Atlantic Music Expo (AME), an international platform dedicated to the exchange and promotion of Cabo Verdean music, through which he played a decisive role in enhancing the country’s visibility and reputation on the global cultural and musical stage. He has also been a member of the Youth for Democracy (JpD), a member of the Political Commission of the Movement for Democracy (MpD), and a municipal councilor at the Praia City Council. Since 2016, he has dedicated himself fully to the music sector, contributing significantly to the development and consolidation of the national cultural and creative industries.
On August 8, 2024, Dr. Veiga assumed the office of Minister of Culture and Creative Industries and President of the National Commission for UNESCO in Cabo Verde, within the Government of the Tenth Legislature, reaffirming his unwavering commitment to the promotion of culture, the arts, and creativity as fundamental pillars of the nation’s sustainable development.
Susanna De Beauville-Scott brings over 25 years of experience to her work in conservation and sustainable development in the Eastern Caribbean.
Her expertise spans ocean governance, marine spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management, environmental impact assessment, climate change adaptation, biodiversity management, and fisheries.
A certified project manager, she has led several national and regional projects. Currently, Ms. De Beauville-Scott serves as the Director of the Sustainable Ocean Management Programme at the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission where she provides strategic leadership, collaboratively guiding the development and implementation of initiatives in ocean governance and management across the OECS region.