Lysanne Charles is an artist, educator and activist whose work has centered on empowerment of marginalized groups across issues using tools in education, the arts and activism. She is a native of the Dutch Caribbean islands of Saba and St. Maarten, with family ties to St. Eustatius, Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba. 

Lysanne has bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina Pembroke and masters degrees in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam Graduate Schools of Science. In the past she worked as an Instructor of Caribbean Studies, Caribbean History and Social Studies and was employed as a civil servant for the Government of Sint Maarten in the areas of policy development and implementation. 

As a part of Islander(s) at the Helm, Lysanne Charles will utilize a transdisciplinary approach to analyze and bring together stakeholders from government and the community in order to co-create a viable and sustainable policies and strategies roadmap in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the SSS islands. Charles’ research project is entitled, “Community Engagement in Sustainable Governance: The Co-creation of Climate Policy on St. Martin, Saba and St. Eustatius” and she will be based at the University of St. Martin.