About Us
Our Team
Our Mission
Our Vision
Resilient coastal zones that enable shoreline and waterfront development for thriving economies, social wellbeing and robust ecosystems in a changing climate.
Dr. David A.Y. Smith
Dr Smith holds a Doctoral degree in Coastal Engineering from Queen’s University, Canada, a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering Hydraulics from the University of London, UK, and a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of the West Indies. Since 1995, Dr Smith has been the Managing Director of SWI in Kingston, Jamaica.
With Caribbean communities and ecosystems coming under increasing pressure as a result of natural hazards and climate change, Dr Smith’s focus has shifted somewhat to include more projects related to climate change adaptation, community vulnerability, hazard assessment and disaster management.
He has managed many multi-disciplinary projects throughout the region, including the IDB-funded Studies for the Preparation of the Barbados Coastal Risk Assessment and Management Program.
Philip Warner
Philip Warner has a Master’s degree in Coastal Engineering from Queen’s University, Canada and over 25 years of professional experience in consulting throughout the Caribbean and North America. He has design, inspection, and appraisal experience for coastal protection, marine structures and oceanographic studies, in addition to the development and operation of numerous civil, structural, coastal and hydraulic engineering computer programs and numerical models. He also has field experience in marine structures construction supervision and inspection, hydrographic surveys and the deployment of oceanographic field equipment. His experience includes work done throughout the Caribbean region and internationally.
Jamel Banton
Jamel D. Banton, is a Coastal/Civil Engineer and Project Manager with more than 18 years of experience in coastal and marine engineering. This experience covers a wide spectrum including data collection, numerical modelling, beach design, shoreline protection, hurricane analysis, coastal zone management, storm surge mapping, storm water management and environmental impact assessments. He has worked from concept stage to construction for a range of Waterfront and Infrastructure development projects (resorts, roadways, beach creation, shoreline protection, marinas, ports, etc). He has also garnered experience in coastal hazard mitigation for climate change adaptation, and has done post hurricane disaster assessments for major hurricanes.
He has worked on projects on 30 Caribbean Islands and has also worked in Central America.
As part of his M.Sc. thesis in the Netherlands (1999-2001), he developed a hurricane wave hind-casting software, HURWave. This has been used in scores of projects across the region in storm surge mapping and coastal structure design. His publication in the ICE (Institute of Civil Engineers, USA) Journal in 2013 presented the methods applied in this software for hurricane analysis. The paper was recognized by the ICE as a “Best of Research and Practice” for that quarter.
He has designed and supervised several physical model studies in Canada (NRC) and the UK (HR Wallingford) for structure stability and shoreline morphology.
He has designed breakwaters, groynes, access channels and revetments. He matches technical knowledge with practical experience in construction administration and on-site construction management. As a project manager, he has managed multi-disciplinary project teams of structural engineers, environmentalists, sociologists, surveyors, geotechnical engineers and mechanical engineers.
Chris Hylton
Christopher Hylton specializes in Coastal Engineering and he has acquired a sound knowledge of coastal processes and coastal design solutions over 16 years in the practice. His experience has enveloped structural designs, construction management (in the capacity of Contractor) and construction supervision (in the capacity of Consultant), hydrodynamic modeling of coastal regions and marinas, oceanographic data gathering and environmental engineering applications throughout the Caribbean
Edward Albada
Edward Albada has nearly 20 years of experience in a wide-range of coastal engineering and project management roles in coastal and maritime projects. A professional civil engineer in both USA and Trinidad & Tobago, Edward specializes in coastal modelling (including wave and current forcing simulations, storm surge simulations, port/marina design and flushing analysis) and coastal design and construction-related experience in numerous shoreline stabilization schemes.
Graham Jervis
Graham Jervis is a Hydroinformatics Engineer with experience in numerical wave modelling, hydrodynamic modelling and water quality modelling. Graham also has experience in nearshore coastal processes including sediment transport modelling, storm surge modelling and the design of coastal structures for sea defence and beach enhancement. Graham has carried out a number of hydrodynamic and water quality investigations for various coastal projects in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean. He is a certified PADI advanced open water scuba diver with experience in gathering oceanographic data, deploying and retrieving wave recorders, current meters, and tide gauges. He also carries out bathymetric and drogue surveys.
Elisabeth Mondon
Elisabeth Mondon holds a Master’s Degree in Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management from the Superior Institute of Engineer Toulon & Var, France. She is a Senior Coastal Engineer with Smith Warner International. She has over 10 years of experience in multi-disciplinary projects related to coastal zone management including coastal impact assessment and shore stabilization studies. She has experience with both numerical and physical modeling of coastal processes. She is involved in various types of coastal and marine engineering projects for sea defense and beach enhancement. Many of her recent projects have been focused on the design of coastal protection and marine structures in addition to the assessment of coastal processes and numerical modelling of waves, hydrodynamics, storm surge, sediment transport, water quality, using numerous coastal computer programs. She has been extensively involved in three Dimensional Physical Modeling study in laboratory. She also has experience in oceanographic studies and deployment of field equipment for field data collection analysis and interpretation.
Elisabeth has also worked as a hydrology and hydraulic engineer and was involved in the design of hydraulic structures, stormwater drainage, water quality and flood impact assessment, as well as floodplain modelling, hazard mapping and management plans in estuaries and urban areas. Her experience includes work done throughout the Caribbean region, Australia, Africa, France and French Polynesia.
Danielle Dowding- Gooden
Danielle Dowding-Gooden holds a Master’s Degree in Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management from TU Delft in Holland. Within this degree, there was a great emphasis placed on Coastal Zone Management, particularly the special vulnerability of the coastal zone to disasters and natural hazards and how best to manage this vulnerability. In addition to her specialized training, she has nine years of design experience in various types of coastal and environmental engineering projects. These projects range from the design of coastal defence systems and disaster hazard mapping, to flood plain analysis and drainage design. Danielle has a strong understanding of the scientific background and physical processes of coastal hazards as well as watershed analysis and stormwater runoff hazards. She has valuable experience and training in the analysis of coastal zone systems and hydrodynamic processes, the numerical modelling of nearshore wave transformation, storm surge analysis, the design of coastal defence and beach enhancement structures and the design and management of stormwater runoff systems.
Renée McDonald- Lyn Shue
Renee McDonald completed her MSc in Marine Environment and Resources at the University of Southampton, The University of Bordeaux 1, the University of the Basque Country in 2013. Along with her role as marine environment specialist at SWI, she recently organized and chaired the first ever Caribbean Coastal Conference, sponsored and hosted by the Caribbean Development Bank in Barbados. She is an extremely versatile and well-organized professional, and was the 2015 candidate selected for International Seabed Authority funded at-sea training program aboard RV Da Yang Yi Hao, at the Southwest Indian Ridge, Indian Ocean, nominated by the Jamaican Government. The main objectives of the cruise were to perform an investigation for polymetallic sulfide mineralization, as well as an investigation into the environmental baseline along the SWIR hydrothermal system. Renee also holds a post-graduate diploma in environmental management.
Cabral Barriteau- Foster
Cabral Barriteau-Foster, a qualified PADI open water diver, holds an MSc in Coastal Engineering from the University of Plymouth in the U.K. His expertise primarily in the construction and administration of Coastal Infrastructure projects and as such he is experienced in construction supervision and quality control.
Cabral also has experience in contract administration and procurement for large scale design and research projects including coordination with government agencies and development banks.
Ashley- Jade Grennell
Ashley-Jade Grennell is a recent graduate of the UWI with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. She has experience in quality control in road works through her time at the National Road Operating and Construction Company prior to joining SWI. Since joining our team, she has been assisting in the design of coastal structures, computer modeling of coastal processes, field data collection, preparing design specifications and bills of quantities, construction inspection and supervision.
Roberto Lyn
Roberto Lyn has worked with SWI for 17 years. He has an Autodesk Software Training Certificate from Novgar Services Limited, Jamaica and an ArcGIS Software, ArcMap Training Certificate from Mona Geo-informatics. He uses appropriate computational methods, existing source
documentation, ESRI and/or Autodesk software tools to develop, populate and manage GIS and/or CAD data for use in the design process; produce high-quality maps and drawings from GIS, CAD, and other related data; display and produce hardcopy and softcopy output from GIS and/or CAD.
Condrae Rainer
Condrae Rainer is new to SWI but has proven himself to be a hardworking and proficient member of the team. His duties include preparing engineering drawings (2D and 3D), miscellaneous GIS data manipulation and representation, estimating quantities for bills of quantities, site visits and supervision of workmen, if required for construction projects, and assisting with miscellaneous field work for data collection.
Corinne Smith
Corinne Smith is a meticulous, accomplished editor with 20 years of experience in editing and proofreading reports for projects focused on disaster risk management, development, and coastal and environmental engineering. In additional to ensuring that all project documents are properly edited and formatted.
Dyonne Harper
Dyonne Harper is the important first point of contact for visitors or callers to our Kingston office. She has been part of our team since 2005 and has kept our team and office organised, managed all travel arrangements, and been the glue that keeps it all together.
Our Associates
Timothy Thwaites
Mr. Thwaites is a Surveyor with extensive experience in terrestrial, hydrographic and aerial data collection and processing. Timothy mobilizes optical, satellite, sonar, and drone/UAS instrumentation to capture measurements to facilitate numerical modelling, design and construction exercises in the coastal and nearshore environments; he also collates and merges disparate datasets, including coordinate system transformations, reprojections and format conversions. He has collected data across Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean, merging a strong theoretical grasp of data collection techniques and the practical skills to mobilize resources and execute field exercises wherever tasks are located. Timothy holds a Master of Science degree in Surveying from the University College London (UCL), and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography & Geographic Information Systems (G.I.S.) from the University of Toronto.
Lia Nicholson
Lia Nicholson received her Master of Environmental Management from Yale University in 2014, specializing in climate science, adaptation and mitigation. As a Yale post-graduate Gruber Fellow, she promoted community-based climate adaptation in Antigua and Barbuda. Her areas of expertise include project development, leading consultative processes, social science research and network models, developing policies and strategies, and environmental impact and climate vulnerability assessments.
