David T. Popo is a national of St. Lucia, and received his secondary education at St. Mary’s College, in St. Lucia. David is a Sociologist and received his Bachelor of Science (Joint Honours) degree from the University of Wales Swansea, United Kingdom, majoring in Development Studies and Sociology.

David has been employed as the Coordinator of the Youth and Development Office of the Archdiocese of St. Lucia, and from 1992 to 1996, was the Regional Coordinator for Caritas International. During this period, Mr. Popo coordinated a number regional social development programmes: Disaster Management, Community Safer Retrofitting Housing, Youth Skills Training, Legal Aid, Adult Literacy for Rural Transformation, and many other community development programmes. As a Development Sociologist, David has also provided services as a part time tutor and marker for the University of the West Indies Distant Education Center, for undergraduate courses in Industrial Sociology and Caribbean Sociology. Some of the main courses include: industrialisation models of the region, technology and changing work patterns, gender and development, plant sociology, and family, education and religion. David has been a facilitator in the training of trainers of both public sector agencies and civil society organizations in community disaster management and participatory approaches.

David Popo has over the past 20 years served on a number of development organizations. From 1984 to 1986, he was a member of the Development Fund Committee of the Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC). He was a member of the St. Lucia National Disaster Committee, the St. Lucia Youth Mentoring Programme, the CARE Vocational Steering Committee, Caribbean Hazard Mitigation Policy Committee, and a founding member of the St. Lucia Folk Research Centre. From 1992 to 1996, he facilitated the design of training modules in Disaster Cycle Management, and was also a Training Instructor in Disaster Cycle Management under the USAID/OFDA technical assistance programme to the region. David has also provided voluntary services in the media sector, and during the period 1997 to 1999, moderated a series of radio Talk Shows on a wide range of social issues on Radio St. Lucia. He currently serves as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Caribbean Development Bank Disaster Mitigation Programme.

David T. Popo has been a Programme Officer at the St. Lucia-based OECS Environment and Sustainable Development Unit (then Natural Resources Management Unit) since April 1996 and, at present, serves as the Function Manager for the Sustainable Livelihoods Functional Area which incorporates the Small Projects Programme for that Unit. In addition, he is the OECS Secretariat’s focal point for Disaster Management.