Omar is the Chief Executive Officer of The Cropper Foundation (TCF), a Trinidad & Tobago non-profit organisation advancing sustainable development in the Caribbean for over 20 years. At TCF, he leads work across multiple sustainability-focused interventions that include data science and technology for sustainability, natural capital accounting and economics, and civil society governance and strengthening. A keen collaborator himself, he has positioned TCF as a reliable partner and credible voice among state actors, private sector interests, and civil society advocates.
Combatting inequality has been the throughline in Omar’s unique trajectory spanning the sciences, education, and civil society leadership. His desire to serve and centre marginalised populations anchor his pursuit of equity across diverse vulnerabilities, regardless of the field of endeavour.
He has led national and regional efforts at enhancing sustainability and diversity in education through his work with UNESCO’s Schools Programme in Trinidad and Tobago. Here, he oversaw projects that included bullying and school violence and UNESCO’s climate change education agenda. He was also integral to the curriculum development for countering extremism in the Americas and implementing national whole-school approaches to mainstreaming the Sustainable Development Goals.
His reputation in the development arena has earned him consultancies with the University of the West Indies (UWI), various United Nations agencies, and other civil society organisations. He currently serves as a director of one of the Caribbean’s most influential LGBTQ+ non-profits, CAISO: Sex and Gender Justice and has previously served in other roles such as member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Commission on Education and Communication.
Omar has a Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge, a Masters in Business Administration and Innovation and a BSc in Environmental and Natural Resource Management from the University of the West Indies.
In my work, change happens when others are equipped, empowered, and encouraged to create change for themselves. In my work supporting civil society organisations, change has happened when environmental groups have been able to challenge local government authorities to restrict extractive activities, when disability CSOs have been able to advocate for more inclusive legislation, and when LGBTQ+ groups have deepened their ability to positively impact their beneficiaries by strengthening their operational and financial management capacity.Omar Mohammed