Staff

Our small Curacao based team provides management, administrative and technical support. 

Carla Bikker, Director (Acting)

“RAC REMPEITC has earned an excellent reputation for helping developing countries meet their international obligations to protect the Caribbean Sea”

Carla Bikker, Director (Acting)

T: +5999 839-3716

E: carla@racrempeitc.org

Carla Bikker is the Director (Acting) at RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe, seconded by the Government of Curacao (Dutch Caribbean). The Director is a direct appointment by the Ministry of Traffic, Transport and Urban Planning of Curacao.  Ms. Bikker has been working at RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe since its beginning in 1995.

Ms. Bikker has a Bachelor degree in Financial Management, English Business Communication, Project Management and Office Management.

Prior joining RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe Ms. Bikker worked as a financial and loan advisor at a bank and served as a counselor at the Prime Minister’s office.

Nadia Gour, IMO Consultant

T: (+1) 868-789-2488

E: ngour@racrempeitc.org

Ms. Nadia Gour is an Environmental Programme Officer II, employed by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) of Trinidad and Tobago. In August 2022, she was seconded by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GovTT) to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a consultant to the Regional Activity/Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Information and Training Centre for the Wider Caribbean (RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe). At the Centre, she assists 33 Caribbean nations and territories to:

• “Strengthen national and regional preparedness and response capacity;
• Facilitate co-operation and mutual assistance in cases of emergency to prevent and control major oil spills incidents”

through the Implementation of the Protocol Concerning Co-operation and Development in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region (the Oil Spills Protocol) under the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR), commonly known as the Cartagena Convention.

Prior to this assignment, Ms. Gour functioned for over 15 years as a technical officer, where she was charged with the responsibility of reviewing applications for Certificates of Environmental Clearance (CECs), inclusive of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) across multiple sectors within Trinidad and Tobago. She also represented on various Inter-agency Committees and Working Groups at the National level.  

In addition to her many years of experience in the field of environmental management, Mrs. Gour is a trained coastal management professional.  She holds a Master of Science (MSc.) degree in Natural Resource and Environmental Management, specializing in Coastal and Marine Resources Management, from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus as well as a second MSc. degree in Coastal Engineering and Management from the UWI, St. Augustine Campus.

Lukas Rodriguez, IMO Consultant

T: +1-409-749-7676

E: lrodriguez@racrempeitc.org

Lieutenant Commander Lukas Rodriguez reported to Washington D.C. in August 2020 where he is seconded to the International Maritime Organization as the U.S. Coast Guard’s consultant to the Regional Activity Center/ Regional Maritime Pollution Emergency Information and Training Center for the Wider Caribbean, where he assists 33 Caribbean nations and territories to prevent and respond to pollution from ships and enforce international environmental standards.

Prior to this assignment, he served as the Chief of Incident Management Division at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, FL and as the Chief of Contingency Planning/ Force Readiness at Sector Guam. Other assignments include: Sector Houston-Galveston, Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, FL, Fixed-Wing Aircrew member and Drop-master at Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and AV-8B Harrier Mechanic at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.

He received his commission upon graduating U.S. Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in 2008. He completed his BS in Aviation Management from the University of Southern Illinois Carbondale (2008) and is currently working on a Masters degree from the American Military University. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years prior to becoming an Aviation Maintenance Technician in the U.S. Coast Guard and being selected for Officer Candidate School.