Spice Island Cultural Festival (Montreal) Magazine July 2023 | Page 46

Grenada To The World . . .

Caylah

Cruickshank Program Manager at the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program [ USA ].

When describing Caylah Cruickshank ’ s career path , one must admit that it is far from ordinary . A young Montreal native , Cruickshank moved to New Orleans , Louisiana at 19 years old to pursue her dreams of playing Division 1 basketball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ). Upon graduating from Tulane University ( 2018 ) with her Bachelor of Science in Business Management , the young athlete was granted another scholarship to earn her Master of Public Administration at the University of Oklahoma ( 2020 ). As a graduate student at the University Oklahoma , she explored career opportunities in Collegiate Athletics , where she worked for both Athletics Human Resources , and Marketing , under the department ’ s Diversity Council program . While Cruickshank enjoyed her experience in the sports world , after graduation , she was presented with an opportunity to use her managerial skills to bring about change for communities that need it most .

Today , Caylah Cruickshank , is the Program Manager at the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program ( SCIPP ), a climate hazards research team funded by the U . S . government ’ s National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationAdministration ( NOAA ). Cruickshank works with scientists to help organizations across the South-Central U . S . reduce the impacts of weather and climate on their communities , now and in the future . Much of her work focuses on managing SCIPP ’ s grant , which involves overseeing the budget , submitting reports to NOAA , executing major meetings , and occasionally assisting with research projects . At work , she is especially passionate about championing efforts that recognize , and address disparities in weather and climate impacts for communities of colour . As a strong advocate for diversity , equity , and inclusion ( DEI ), she also participates in the development of diversity-related education , hiring , programming , and strategic planning for the University of Oklahoma ’ s Atmospheric & Geographic Sciences DEI Council .
Though Cruickshank has been away from home , one thing remains central to her : her West Indian roots . Born to Grenadian parents , she grew up appreciating Caribbean teachings , culture , and customs . Montreal cultural groups such as , the
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