Onika Benn

Climate change negotiator, sustainability expert and stakeholder management professional are three of the terms that describe the technical expertise of Ms Onika Stellingburg. She is also, however, is a skilled communicator, analytical and critical thinker, engagement specialist and project management professional. She is known to produce results in all her endeavours, whether developing projects for funding at the community level or negotiating global agreements at the international level.

Onika currently serves as the Director for Economic Development at the Linden Fund USA, a 501 ( c ) registered organization in the United States, and registered in Guyana as the LFU Guyana Inc. In this role, she is driving the local execution of the vision for an economic rebirth of the community of Linden and Region 10 focusing on small business development, corporate social responsibility, workforce development and public-private partnership.

Her execution of this role is ably complemented by her background in multilateral diplomacy, international policy development and stakeholder engagement. She gained these skills while serving as Advisor on issues related to renewable energy, climate change, forests and sustainable development at Guyana’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Group of 77 and China (G77) Coordinator for the Climate Resolution in the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Onika has also received training by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) as a climate change negotiator, further representing AOSIS in global climate meetings through the negotiations of critical sections of the Paris Agreement Rulebook.

Locally, Onika has substantial experience working in both the public and civil society sectors at the senior technical level. She has supported the development of national budgets for Guyana through the mainstreaming of sustainable development initiatives, crafting high-level indicators and working with ministries to aid their internal planning and budgeting processes. She has also lead national consultation processes or the development of the Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040, a 20-year national development plan for Guyana.

Outside of the professional world, Onika has been very active and continuously engaged. She is one of the first Guyanese selected by the World Economic Forum youth initiative, the Global Shapers Community, working with other local leaders to develop and execute projects to improve the state of their communities. She has also orked along with the Guyana Youth and Environment Network raising over 1 million dollars for projects. Internationally, Onika serves as the Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean within the Royal Commonwealth Society and was previously the Board Member responsible for Communications within the Caribbean Regional Youth Council.

Onika is a true daughter of the soil, gaining an Associate Degree in General Studies at Queens College and her Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Guyana. She was subsequently awarded a Government of Guyana scholarship which facilitated the successful completion of her Master of Science Degree in Sustainable Environmental Management at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom. Onika spends her leisure time as an adjunct professor at the University of Guyana, lecturing students in Environment and Development and the Fundamentals of Climate Change. She is also very active in her church, serving as a board member of the church and an executive in the youth ministries department.