Antigua and Barbuda’s environment ministry has confirmed a key leadership transition within its environmental governance structure, naming long-standing climate action leader Ruleta Camacho-Thomas as Acting Director of the country’s Department of Environment. The change officially takes effect on July 20, and comes as outgoing director Ambassador Diann Black Layne steps into pre-retirement leave ahead of her full departure from the role.
Beyond her new acting appointment, Camacho-Thomas already holds the position of Antigua and Barbuda’s National Climate Ambassador, bringing decades of frontline experience in environmental advocacy to the top leadership post. Over the course of her professional career, she has been a consistent and vocal representative for the twin-island nation at major regional and global environmental forums, where she has centered the needs and concerns of small island developing states (SIDS) in worldwide climate policy negotiations.
A leading voice for global climate justice, Camacho-Thomas has worked for years to amplify awareness of the unequal burden of climate change carried by low-lying and vulnerable island nations. She has repeatedly drawn international attention to the existential threats these countries face from accelerating sea-level rise, growing intensity of extreme weather events, and a cascade of other climate-driven hazards that disproportionately impact SIDS despite their minimal contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.
In her new capacity as Acting Director, Camacho-Thomas will take on oversight of all existing programs run by the Department of Environment. She will also maintain her ongoing work advancing Antigua and Barbuda’s core environmental and climate action priorities, working to deliver progress both at the domestic policy level and on the international climate advocacy stage.