Dr. Cassander Titley-O’Neal is the Executive Director of Environmental Systems and a native British Virgin Islander who has spent all of her life living between Virgin Gorda and Tortola. She has always had a passion for the sea and the environment from a very early age, and this was heavily influenced by her late father Amos Jerome O’Neal. This love for the sea and the environment is what led her to pursue degrees related to the environment, become a certified SCUBA diver, and has participated in several local sports fishing tournaments.
Sandy, as she is affectionately called by persons in the community, completed her BSc. in Marine Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina in Wilmington in the United States in 1999; a MSc. in Applied Marine Science from the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom in 2001; and most recently, a PhD. in Marine Biology from the University of New Brunswick in Canada in 2011.
Work Experience
Dr. Titley-O’Neal worked at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) from December 2011 to March 2017. She worked her way up to Principal Lecturer and ended her tenure as the Dean of Arts, Science and General Studies, a post that she held for roughly over a year. Dr. Titley-O’Neal taught the following courses:
- BIO 104 – Environments of the BVI
- BIO 110 – General Biology I
- BIO 112 – General Biology II
- BIO 220 – Ecology
- BIO 240 – Marine Biology
- BIO 260 – Research Methods
- CHE 110 – General Chemistry I
- CHE 112 – General Chemistry II
- SCI 235 – Science Seminar
Outside of her teaching duties, Dr. Titley-O’Neal served as an Advisor to the Beta Omicron Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (2012 to 2017), an international honor society of two-year colleges, state colleges and community colleges. As an Advisor, Dr. Titley-O’Neal attained the following:
- Faculty Scholar (2015)
- Paragon Advisor (2014)
- Certified Leadership Instructor (2013)
- submitting various local environmental impact assessments (including limited environmental impact assessments);
- submitting environmental appraisals and scoping studies; and
- acting as an Environmental Advisor to several entities during the construction phase of their projects.
Upon completion of her Bachelor degree, Sandy returned to the BVI and worked at the then Conservation and Fisheries Department (CFD), Government of the Virgin Islands, from 1999 to 2000 before pursuing her masters degree in applied marine science. During her short tenure with CFD, she completed two (2) government reports: Status of the Red Hind (Epinephelus guttatus) in the British Virgin Islands (2000) and Preliminary Assessment of Salt Island Sound – September 1999 (2000).
In 2002, Caribbean Basin Enterprises (CBE), a locally based Engineering and Project Management company, entered into joint venture with Louis Berger International to complete the National Sewerage Programme Wastewater Master Plan for the British Virgin Islands. This project investigated the envisaged use of a national sewerage programme to service the islands of of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.
Dr. Titley-O’Neal served as the “eyes and ears” for the Government of the Virgin Islands as the approved Special Inspector to The Planning Authority of the Virgin Islands for projects that required one under the Physical Planning Act (2004). Some of the projects that Dr. Titley-O’Neal served as the Special Inspector in the British Virgin Islands include the following:
- Leverick Bay Hotel & Marina Ltd. – Land Reclamation (2019)
- Peter Island (2000) Ltd. – Breakwater Installation (2016)
- Nanny Cay – Expansion Project (2015 to 2016)
- Nanny Cay – Boat Yard Land Reclamation (2013)
- Nanny Cay – Floating Docks (2012)
- Nanny Cay – Breakwater Realignment (2012)
From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Titley-O’Neal served as the Government appointed Environmental Scientist to The Planning Authority of the Virgin Islands, which is charged with reviewing all development and sub-division applications for approval in the British Virgin Islands.
In addition to the above work experience, Dr. Titley-O’Neal has published in several scientific journals, see our Documents Section for further details.