Ava Whyte- Anderson

UNDP Assistant Resident Representative

Ava Whyte- Anderson is UNDP Assistant Resident Representative for Jamaica, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

She commenced her career within the UN System in 2017 as a Programme Analyst- Capacity Development at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multi-Country Office (MCO) in Jamaica. As programme analyst she was the lead implementer for the MCO's country programme.   

In July 2020, she served as Officer-in-Charge for the Programmes Unit and was responsible for directly managing the country programme under a policy lens, while bringing together diverse technical inputs to conceptualize the programme.  

Ava is also the current the focal point for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and South-South Cooperation.  As the DRR focal point she is responsible for supporting the five (5) territories covered by the MCO with preparing for and recovering after a disaster.  She has led post-disaster project development and implementation in countries such as Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and the Bahamas. As the South-South Cooperation focal point, she supports knowledge exchange, capacity building and networking opportunities for national counterpart across numerous territories globally.

Prior to joining the UNDP, Ava served as a Project Supervisor – Biomass at the Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) and a Manager, Customised Programmes at the Management Institute for National Development (MIND). 

She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and holds a MSc. International Trade Policy (distinction) and BSc. International Relations and Public Administration (double major) from the University of the West Indies. She also holds certificates in leadership, supervisory management, and disaster risk reduction and management.

Ava is married and a mother of a daughter. She is a lover of the Spanish culture and language.  Her hobbies include reading, travelling and spending time with her family and friends.