May 7, 2024
Bahamian conservation leader Rashema Ingraham has been appointed as Caribbean Program Director for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT), an international conservation organization active in The Bahamas, Florida, and across the Caribbean.
Ingraham has served for the past eight years as Executive Director of Waterkeepers Bahamas, where she distinguished herself as an effective leader, accomplished conservation advocate, incisive communicator, educator, and community organizer. While at Waterkeepers, she co-founded the coalition “Our Islands, Our Future,” to oppose oil exploration in The Bahamas and played a pivotal role in establishing the now-growing Bahamas Mangrove Alliance (BMA), a multi-organizational effort to retore mangroves in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. At all points in her career, Ingraham has focused on driving positive change at the nexus of environmental health, community-based solutions, and sustainable economic growth.
“Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is pleased to welcome Rashema Ingraham to this important leadership role,” said BTT President and CEO Jim McDuffie. “BTT is working across the Caribbean with governments and communities to conserve water quality, marine habitats and the valuable fisheries they support. Rashema’s experience and proven leadership will help ensure our success in these vital pursuits.”
Based in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Ingraham will lead BTT’s Bahamas Program, focusing on government affairs, public policy, engagement of stakeholders and communities—especially Bahamian flats guides and lodges—and other high impact work in pursuit of the organization’s conservation mission. Beyond The Bahamas, she will be an integral part of BTT’s regional team working in Belize, Mexico and other Caribbean nations.
“Joining Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is an incredible opportunity to broaden conservation efforts in The Bahamas and across the Caribbean,” said Ingraham. “I am ready to step into this role and engage governments, communities, and both cultural and economic stakeholders to preserve our marine habitats and fisheries for a thriving future. At my core, I am inspired to do this work so that my own children and their peers can grow up and thrive in a healthy world around them. I am excited to expand my impact by joining BTT’s highly effective team as we work together to marshalling the voices of our many fishing guide and lodge allies to achieve habitat conservation and advocate for truly sustainable development, balancing the needs of our fishers, our local communities, our economies, and our fisheries.”
A proud graduate of the University of The Bahamas, Ingraham was previously selected by the international Waterkeepers Alliance as one of the “Top 20 Global Waterkeeper Warriors” and named to the list of “40 Under 40 Most Successful and Influential Professionals in The Bahamas.” A frequent and passionate keynote speaker and expert panelist at international conferences, she was a presenter at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, a panelist at the United Nations 2023 Water Conference in New York, NY. Most recently, she was a featured moderator to represent the Bahamian point of view at a program sponsored by the Clinton Global Initiative focused on highlighting the role of women in climate leadership across the Caribbean.
BTT was founded in 1997 with the mission to conserve bonefish, tarpon and permit—the species, their habitats and the fisheries they comprise. This mission is pursued across the southeastern US, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea through science-based conservation, education and advocacy.
