Angela burnett

Born and raised in The Virgin Islands (UK), Angela's passion for the smart development of her Territory led her to pursue a career in environmental management. In 2007 she graduated from Brandeis University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development. Angela also holds a Master of City and Regional Planning (M.C.R.P.) degree from the Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.  

Her primary goal as an environmental manager and planner is to promote sustainable and progressive communities that balance environmental, social and economic goals and that are resilient to climate change.   Angela has served with the Government of the Virgin Islands as the Territory’s Climate Change Officer since 2008. In this role she has designed and implemented public education programming, conducted a vulnerability and capacity assessment of the tourism sector to climate change, authored the Territory’s Climate Change Adaptation Policy, managed local adaptation projects and helped lead the development of the Virgin Islands Climate Change Trust Fund. 

The devastation of Category 5 Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever at time of landfall, prompted Angela to act on a global stage in the fight against climate change. Her book, The Irma Diaries: Compelling Survivor Stories from The Virgin Islands, is an avenue for the voices of small islanders who lived through this horrific event to be heard globally and for people around the world to connect more personally to the impacts of climate change and resolve to act.

As a part of The Irma Diaries’ platform, Angela will launch Islands for Life, a movement to use the power of storytelling from islands across the world to convert love for islands (held by their residents, tourists and diaspora) into climate change action.