Island Green Living Elects Two New Board Members
Island Green Living Association has elected two new board members to its board of directors:
Curtis Penn and Shena Esannason, both USVI residents and pillars in the community. The St.
John-based non-profit is known for its sustainability accomplishments, including waste reduction
via their chipping/composting program; renovation of the hurricane-damaged Island Green
building and reopening of the Resource Depot; support for bans of plastic straws and toxic
sunscreen; community environmental education programs, etc.
Additionally, the board elected Harith Wickrema, David DiGiacomo, Akhil Deshwal, Rob Crane
and Dr. David Minner to its newly formed executive committee, charged with driving the
priorities of Island Green.
“We are fortunate to have Curtis and Shena among our esteemed board members and pleased
with our newly elected executive committee,” said Harith Wickrema, Island Green president.
“We have an ambitious agenda for 2020-2021, expanding our mission to include food
security/sustainability in the territory while continuing to promote “rethink, reduce, reuse,
recycle,” composting, eliminating dangerous Styrofoam and disposable plastics, community
education on environmental toxins, etc. These individuals will play a crucial role in helping us
achieve our goals.”
Shena Esannason has worked for the VI Waste Management Authority on St. John since 2007
and is the owner of SGE Health & Life Coach. She is dedicated to the environment and also
cares deeply about the community. Esannason is running for the Virgin Islands Board of
Elections in order to ensure a fair election process and encourage young people to become the
next generation of voters and leaders.
She has served on boards such as The Head Start Policy Council as Secretary from 2013-2016
and The Coral Bay Community Council from 2018-2020. In 2019 Esannason became a
participating member of The Rotarian-St. John Chapter and a volunteer for the Junior
Achievement program. She is a certified health and life coach and is currently working on her
BA in psychology. Esannason is the proud mother to three children.
Curtis Penn has been integrally involved in the territory’s tourism and hospitality arenas for
decades. His Caribbean Seashells Vacation Villas and Seashell Boat Charter are highly regarded
and favorites of visitors to the islands. Penn served for 21 years with Caribbean Villas & Resorts
and successfully started and sold several other businesses prior to focusing solely on these two
companies.
In addition to considerable business expertise, Penn is profoundly committed to sustainability
and preserving the natural beauty of the territory. Penn co-produces and co-sponsors the Love
City Live Culture & Art Festival St. John, and is a current board member of Friends of the Virgin
Islands National Park. He is married and has four daughters.
In addition to Esannason and Penn, current Island Green board members include David
DiGiacomo (vice president), Rob Crane (treasurer), Akhil Deshwal (secretary), Mark
Lichtenstein, Dr. David Hall, Jim Dobrowolski, Randy Thurman, Dr. David Minner, Ralph Antolino
Jr. and Harith Wickrema (president).
Island Green’s flagship Resource Depot, located at Susannaberg next to the VITEMA building,
continues to operate Wednesday through Saturday, accepting donations of used home goods
and building materials, with sales benefiting the organization’s endeavors while keeping
valuable resources out of overburdened landfills.
Established in 2004, Island Green Living Association is a registered not for profit organization
on St. John dedicated to sustainability throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands.
www.islandgreenliving.org.