Dr. Ernie Stapleton was previously employed as Permanent Secretary within the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) in the Ministry of Communications, Public Utilities, Posts, Physical Planning and Environment, and Labour, 2004 to February 2023. He has been working as the Coordinator/Advisor for the development of geothermal energy on the island of Nevis since 2004 until he ended his public service tenure officially in February 2023. He currently resides in Saint Lucia but is a citizen of the Federation of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis and is the Project Manager for the OECS Geothermal Energy: For Building Capacity, for Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (GEOBUILD) Programme at the OECS Commission since November 2022. He is academically trained in the areas of Economics and Accounts, Financial Economics, and Divinity Studies. Ernie has been exposed to other training activities in geothermal energy development and sustainable energy over the years while working in the public service.