Jackson

Ronald Jackson has been appointed director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) with effect from June 1.

Mr. Jackson has been acting in the post since the ODPEM's former director general, Dr. Barbara Carby, resigned in August last year.

He first joined the OD-PEM in March 2000 in the capacity of regional coordinator, with overall res-ponsibility for the southern parishes. He was responsible for ensuring their readiness to respond to and cope with emergencies.

Senior director

Mr. Jackson was later appointed to the post of senior director of the Preparedness and Emergency Operations Division in June 2001, with overall responsibility for the planning, organising, directing, controlling and coordinating the work and staff of the emergency operations branch of the ODPEM. This included coordinating all disaster preparedness activities at the national, regional and local levels.

In February 2003, Mr. Jackson acted in the post of deputy director general of the ODPEM and was later appointed to the post in June 2004; a post he held until July 2006. As deputy director general, he had specific responsibility for the preparedness and emergency response operations of the organisation, including serving as the director of operations of the National Emergency Operations Centre, where he played a significant role in managing the national response to the impact of hurricanes Charley and Ivan in 2004, and hurricanes Dennis and Emily in 2005.

Odpem release

According to a release from the ODPEM Monday: "During his tenure at the ODPEM, he has been instrumental in the development of the Guidelines for Child-Friendly Disaster Management and Response, reinstatement of the ODPEM-dedicated telecommunications network, revision of the Emergency Welfare Plan, and the current initiatives being undertaken to revitalise the community disaster management groups through cooperative agreements with the Social Development Commission (SDC)."

A planner, researcher and environmentalist by profession, Mr. Jackson has worked with the Negril Green Island Area Local Planning Authority and on community development projects, including the Rose Town Redevelopment Project and other inner-city community development projects.