This is an edited version of one of the articles in the Caricom Energy Personality Series, an activity of Caricom Energy Month 2020.

FOR more than two decades, Heather Pinnock has channelled her penchant for architecture, development planning, urban design, project management, and the green economy for the greater Caribbean good.

Beyond her academic accomplishments — a Bachelor of Arts from the Caribbean School of Architecture, a postgraduate certificate on climate change and a master’s degree in building and urban design in development from London’s prestigious University College — Pinnock’s love for being Jamaican and from the Caribbean region is seemingly immeasurable.

“I try to manage who I think I am with my ever-changing Twitter bio,” she laughs.

Previously calling herself a “tree hugger” and a “water evangelist” on the social media platform, Pinnock emphatically states her need to live as wholesomely as she can by not taking away more from the environment than she gives back.

Equally crediting her late mother and father for the professional that she is today, she pointedly notes the influence of her father, physicist Dr Willard Pinnock, in helping her to “connect the scientific dots” that led to her current pursuits in the areas of innovation and sustainable development.

“I am someone who lives by the lessons that my parents taught me, both in imparting knowledge and by the way they [lived] their lives, how they chose to live and how they showed me to live. At the core, that’s who I am, and every opportunity I get, I promote my country and my region,” declared Pinnock.

Having lived in Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, Pinnock appreciates the unique geographical and cultural landscape of Jamaica, which has often found itself in the international spotlight for world-class achievements in sport, music and tourism.

“In particular relation to other Caricom countries, the other English-speaking islands are closer together, which forges closer relationships. That’s not the case in Jamaica, since we’re in the north — and so often times, what I found growing up was that the United States was our reference,” she explained.

Consequently, her national pride began to shape her commitment towards urban development in the region.

“The difference that I found when I began to understand the Caribbean better is that in many ways, Jamaica is the big brother or sister to some of the other islands.”

This reality quickly made Pinnock recognise that imperativeness of setting a stellar example for other Caribbean islands. Having had the opportunity to work in the housing development sector for a number of years, Pinnock was exposed to the socioeconomic inequities in Jamaica — and it was her stint at the Ministry of Water and Housing during a severe national drought that ignited her passion for sustainable development.

“I had been in development for a number of years, but the notion of the sustainability aspect really became clear to me during my time there,” she noted.

Her growing hunger for information eventually led her to join the Institute for Sustainable Development at The University of the West Indies — at a time where she thought that her chapter in the public sector was coming to an end.

“I wanted to understand our international options and possibilities. That’s where I really got exposed to [the] energy [sector] because I began to piece together all of the aspects of what makes development sustainable.”

Her full-circle moment came when she was invited to teach a master’s course on sustainable development in the Department of Physics at The University of the West Indies (UWI) — the academic specialisation where her father had spent most of his career making meaningful contributions that she grew to appreciate as her own career evolved.

“What I really enjoyed about teaching that course was that it wasn’t just about the physics of energy, but how do you apply alternate energy to every aspect of your life? For example, transportation affects your ability to get a job, education, or just getting from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’. How do we move towards sustainable mobility and living to be efficient in what we do?” she reasoned.

While most of the Caricom territories import fossil fuel to provide energy to their citizens, Pinnock believes that they collectively have the ability to tap into “sustainable tropical living”.

In her role as general manager of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) — the legislative-driven State organisation tasked with improving the coverage and quality of public infrastructure — she oversees a number of developmental programmes, introduces alternative patterns of urban settlement whilst preserving the natural environment and stimulating economic development.

Heading a team of 1,000 employees is no easy feat, but Pinnock remains steadfast in her current mission of urbanity, resilient-built environments, and the promotion of sustainable living through health, education and security in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

“The UDC is a complex and fascinating institution. I came here believing that it was just an urban development corporation, and it’s so much more. We have significant tourism assets and operate a number of those national sites — including beaches, rivers and parks,” said Pinnock.

With tourist attractions such as Kingston Waterfront, Goat Islands, Harbour Beach Park, and the world-renowned Dunn’s River Falls falling under the purview of UDC, Pinnock explained that for her, the awesomeness of UDC lies in its tagline ‘Making Development Happen’.

This article was written by Tenille Clarke, media and communications consultant, GiZ/Caricom and was produced by the Caricom Energy Unit, the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), and the European Union (EU) and German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ)-funded Technical Assistance Programme for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean.

The Caricom Energy Personality Series aims to give recognition to regional energy champions who have made exceptional contributions in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy access, resilience, and rural electrification throughout the Caribbean Community. To read more features within the series, visit energy.caricom.org