Carla Barnett

Carla Natalie Barnett, Ph.D. is a trained economist with extensive work experience in the areas of finance, governance, leadership and social justice. Several of the agencies where her experience exceeds include the Caribbean Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Canadian International Development Agency (now Global Affairs Canada), United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 

Dr. Barnett has served as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Belize in 1991 to 1996, Financial Secretary in 2004 to 2007 and Vice-President of the Belizean Senate and a Minister of State in the Government in 2015 to 2020. She was also a member of the Caribbean Institute of Women in Leadership (CIWiL), past president of the Belize’s YWCA and served on the Board of Haven House, a shelter for battered women.

In her ascension to the post of Secretary-General of CARICOM, Dr. Barnett reiterates, “I approach my task with a willingness to listen and to share; with goodwill towards all and malice towards none.  I am here to serve, to advance the interests of the Governments and Peoples of the Caribbean Community and I will do so to the best of my ability.”