About Kara Roopsingh
Country: Trinidad and Tobago
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Program: Managing heritage sites, mitigating climate degradation, M&E
Kara Roopsingh is a cultural heritage expert who has worked in the heritage field in the Caribbean for the past 14 years as a professional heritage researcher, instructor, project and program leader. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geography and history and a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in geography from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.
Kara is currently the senior heritage preservation and research officer at the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago (NTTT) where she has worked for the past nine years. The NTTT is the national agency responsible for safeguarding tangible heritage across the country. Kara is also currently leading the two-year grant project entitled Resilient Heritage Trinidad and Tobago, which addresses the documentation, conservation and enhanced resilience of heritage sites and is funded by the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Through sharing research and engaging in education and outreach programs, she hopes to motivate persons of all ages to value and safeguard the unique multi-cultural heritage of Trinidad and Tobago, especially from the impacts of climate change.
As a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at UC Davis, Kara is interested in learning about communicating climate change issues, climate change adaptation measures, and how that informs public policy. In her fellowship year, she aims to complement her geography and heritage background by increasing her knowledge of climate change policy implementation, inclusive governance strategies, and community engagement to create a more inclusive approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation in Trinidad and Tobago.
Available to speak on the following topics:
- Safeguarding tangible cultural heritage in Trinidad and Tobago
- Rural heritage
- Sense of place
- Heritage resilience for climate change