For nearly the past four years, the V.I. Economic Research Bureau has operated under acting leadership, but that changed Monday when Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. named Haldane Davies as its new director.

A former University of the Virgin Islands executive and the most recent president of the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean in Jamaica, Davies brings a mix of academic, administrative, and economic development experience to the role, according to Bryan. He spent 16 years at UVI, including eight as vice president for Business Development and Innovation, and was elected to the board of the International Economic Development Council in 2020.

Beginning in 2022, Davies also chaired the V.I. Public Officials Compensation Commission, which drew public criticism earlier this year after recommending nearly $200,000 in salary hikes for senior government officials. The raises quietly took effect Jan. 1 — two years after the commission’s report was due — and were revealed days later, sparking backlash from lawmakers and residents.

He replaces Bernesha Liburd, who had served as acting director since former Sen. Allison DeGazon stepped down from the role.

On Monday, Bryan called Davies an accomplished public servant, educator and policy strategist with decades of service to the U.S. Virgin Islands and broader Caribbean. He noted having a long personal and professional relationship with Davies dating back to their time on the EDA board in the late aughts.

“His expertise in economics, institutional development and strategic planning is both comprehensive and proven in every role he has held. Dr. Davies has brought clarity of vision, a steady hand and unwavering commitment to public progress at a time when our territory faces both immense economic uncertainty and transformative opportunity,” he said before thanking outgoing director Liburd and lauding her work at BER.

Taking the lectern, Davies said he was honored and privileged to be home again.

“Being able to continue to contribute to our economic growth and development and our well-being is something that I’m focused on,” he said, thanking Bryan for the opportunity. “We believe that the territory has a lot of potential — in growth, a vision for the future — and as a result, together we will work with all partners, not only through the Bureau of Economic Research, but also through the USVI Economic Development Authority, the Department of Labor and all other government and intergovernment agencies to advance the cause of economic development.”

Bryan also used Monday’s briefing to announce the disbursement of $22.5 million in retroactive wages, which the 36th Legislature authorized last month by loosening restrictions on funds the territory received from Jeffrey Epstein-related settlements. Bryan said the approximately 2,000 who are owed $2,500 or less will be paid in full, and people who are owed more than that will receive a payment of 14 percent of their total balance.

The administration also issued $5 million in tax refunds to 1,700 taxpayers last week.

“I want to make clear that if we hadn’t been paying retro, we would have been current on all taxes to date,” Bryan said.

Bryan capped off his prepared remarks by announcing that the government had signed and executed a contract for the St. Croix Central High School demolition and touting other milestones like the upcoming christening of the Spirit of 1733 — the new ferry servicing Red Hook and Cruz Bay — and a ribbon-cutting for a solar array on St. Croix.

Asked by the Source Monday about reports of St. Croix’s last remaining Kmart closing, Bryan countered with a question.

“You think when Kmart closed in New York, they were looking for — the governor of New York was looking for who’s going to come next,” he asked, before acknowledging that he was disappointed for the store workers who are slated to lose their jobs. “I think it’s a clarion call to all of us that … big box retail — and retail on a whole — is on a decline nationally. We seem to think that we live in a special world here in the Virgin Islands.”

“On the bright side,” he added, “I understand there’s a local department store that is mimicking what Kmart would offer, and that money will now be staying local rather than going to some corporate place, and they’ll be hiring as well too.”

Bryan said the reality is e-commerce will continue eating away at local commercial activity.

“So now we have to figure out … what are we going to do locally to compensate for that?” he asked. Bryan acknowledged during this year’s Spring Revenue Estimating Conference that retail in the territory is “dying” and called for an internet sales tax to bridge the gap.

Asked later if there are any updates regarding measles, of which there have been multiple outbreaks on the U.S. mainland, Bryan said there are no local cases before lamenting that the media seemed to be looking for “bad news.”

“Let me think about some bad news to tell you: it rained all weekend. We didn’t get to go to the beach — it’s terrible,” he said lightly before reminding Virgin Islanders about the upcoming 2025 hurricane season. Bryan then highlighted developments at the V.I. Energy Office, including an appliance rebate and its solar loan program.

Bryan also fielded questions from a reporter on the White House’s consideration of a U.S. Virgin Islands shipping registry and a viral social media post from former Sen. Nellie O’Reilly, who called on Virgin Islanders living abroad to “please come back home.”

“We need you. We can do this,” she wrote.

The post elicited hundreds of responses from users purporting to be Virgin Islanders who were unwilling to return because of the high cost of living, limited opportunity and infrastructural deficiencies.

“The funny thing is,” Bryan said Monday, “is I never thought of anybody to come home to enjoy the Virgin Islands. We’re asking people to come home to work. We’re asking people to come home and take responsibility in making the Virgin Islands a better place for your auntie, your mommy, your cousin. I mean, what do people think? I mean the people who live here, like we don’t want Instacart and we don’t want to get Uber pick us up and we don’t want to be able to get Amazon arrive four hours later? You think the people here want to pay … high insurance that make it hard to buy a house and then not have credit? No, we don’t want that. But guess what? It’s important for us to build our community rather than build somebody else’s community.”

Bryan said he didn’t work for “anonymous people that I’ll never meet or never know” and that every program the government passes is for the benefit of Virgin Islanders.

“So it’s like you calling from the plantation and saying, ‘you know y’all, we’re gonna need some help down here to get but who to get us free?’ And you’re saying, ‘oh no, it’s too busy up here in the States where it’s nice, I don’t have time for the revolution,’” he said. “The Virgin Islands is going to always be hard — it’s an island. We’re never going to be able to provide every amenity of a Miami or a New York City, but it’s getting better every single day.”