Women To Watch Awards 2026 honors Dr. Valrie Grant

Dr. Valrie Grant is an award-winning entrepreneur, geospatial and innovation leader, strategic

advisor, international speaker, author, adjunct professor and podcast host. She is the Founder and Chairwoman of GeoTechVision, a knowledge-services company, and the Founder of Jamaica Flying Labs, among several other technical and capacity-building initiatives. A lifelong learner, Valrie is deeply passionate about technology and entrepreneurship and is especially committed to mentoring women entrepreneurs and young people. Her work consistently centers on addressing digital inequality, expanding access to technology, and empowering youth through education and innovation.

Dr. Grant is currently the Caribbean Lead in Fugro’s Climate and Nature Practice and serves as a Strategic Advisor on Geospatial Maters to the OECS Commission. A proud Caribbean woman, she uses every opportunity to elevate regional perspectives, champion data-driven decision-making, and advance fit-for-purpose, locally grounded solutions for Small Island Developing States. She has held and continues to hold leadership roles on national, regional, and international boards and committees, including the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC). She currently serves as Chair of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Private Sector Network (PSN), serves on the Steering Committee of the Caribbean Geospatial Development Initiative (CARIGEO), and sits on the Board of the VM Foundation.

She is a 2020 WE Empower UN SDG Challenge Awardee and the author of Every Day is Day One: Maintaining the Startup Culture and Mindset and Hills and Valleys: Poems of Resilience. Dr. Grant is also the host of the podcast Mapping the Conversations, where she explores the intersection of geospatial technology, innovation, leadership, and the evolving relationship between humanity and the Earth. In addition, she is a co-founder and co-host of DBA Chronicles, a non-profit and podcast dedicated to the Doctor of Business Administration journey and applied scholarship.

Dr. Grant holds a BSc in Geology from the University of the West Indies, an MSc in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Environment from Manchester Metropolitan University, an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her doctoral research focused on Factors Influencing the Adoption of National Geospatial Information Management (NGIM) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).