Non-profit Island Green Living Association, a trailblazer for sustainability in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has tapped the expertise of its own board vice president as interim CEO.
Dawn Henry, Esq., former Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and head environmental steward for the territory, who was elected to the board in 2024, will oversee the day-to-day operations while searching for a permanent administrator. She brings a wealth of experience, including leading a department of 200+ employees and managing a budget of approximately $30 million, and is highly informed and deeply committed to environmental concerns across the territory.
“There is no one more knowledgeable or dedicated to the environmental wellbeing, and with that the health and welfare of the community, than Dawn,” said Harith Wickrema, president of Island Green Living. “We are fortunate that she is able to commit to a leadership role overseeing operations while she guides strategy over the next few months. Her allegiance to Island Green’s sustainable programming, and interest in expanding the protection of the environment, food security and economic wellbeing, with far reaching education and community engagement in the territory, promise to take the organization to the next level.”
“One of the most urgent environmental challenges we face is plastic pollution,” said Henry, interim CEO and vice president. “Virgin Islanders deserve clear, accessible information about the environmental and health impacts plastics pose. I believe that Healthy People Build Healthy Environments, and that education is the foundation for informed choices, healthier families, and a more resilient Virgin Islands.”
Island Green programs include aluminum and ocean-bound plastics recycling, which has kept more than 5 million cans and 152,000 lbs. of plastics out of territory waterways and landfills; the ReSource Depot reuse store, which has given a new lease on life to more than one million pounds of used building/construction materials, furniture and home goods, clothing, etc.; food security initiatives; agricultural and greening education; community advocacy on the dangers of plastics, toxic sunscreen and safe alternatives and so much more. The “Ban the Burn” campaign to stop the incineration of vegetative debris following the 2017 hurricanes is credited with contributing to the territory’s excellent air quality, among only three places in the world meeting the WHO’s clean air standards.
Born in the USVI, Dawn Henry received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma School of Law and returned home, where she practiced environmental law for over 20 years. As DPNR Commissioner, one of her primary responsibilities was serving as an environmental steward for the territory, including the Division of Environmental Protection, Coastal Zone Management, and the Division of Fish and Wildlife. She championed the plastic bag ban and served in a leadership capacity on the Commissioners’ Debris Management Team, helping to develop a debris management plan to address the Territory’s green waste following the devastation of the 2017 hurricanes. She also advocated for sustainable alternatives to air curtain incineration and authored legislation aimed at broader reforms in waste collection and management.
Henry currently leads Nehemiah Project, LLC, an environmental consultancy, and Virgin Islands Environmental Association, another environmental non-profit, and serves as Senior Advisor to the nonprofit Beyond Plastics.
