Three Caribbean candidates — Peter Harrison, Alicia Trotman and Kerrie-Ann Richards — have been elected to leadership roles at the American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN).

ARIN is one of five Internet registries worldwide that coordinate the distribution and administration of number resources. The registry serves the United States, Canada and several territories in the Caribbean.

“The Caribbean should be very proud of the achievement of Peter, Alicia and Kerrie-Ann in the ARIN elections. They are all highly qualified to serve, each possessing both the technical knowledge and firm grasp of the unique dynamics of the ARIN community in the Caribbean. I expect they will make a positive impact on ARIN, its diverse community and more broadly on development of the Internet in the region,” said Bevil Wooding, Caribbean Outreach Liaison at ARIN.

“I am grateful to the ARIN community for showing faith in my ability to help guide the organisation in this time of great change. All the candidates were strong and worthy of consideration. I truly look forward to working with the community,” said Jamaican-born Harrison, who was elected to serve on the ARIN board of trustees.

Harrison is the chief technical officer and co-founder of Silicon Valley-based colocation services provider Colovore. He has more than 20 years of industry experience, including senior roles at Google, Netflix and eBay.

Jamaican-born Richards and Barbadian-born Trotman were elected to serve on the ARIN advisory council.

“It’s an honour to be elected to serve for a three-year term. It validates the appreciation of the work and Caribbean perspective that Kerrie and myself contribute to the advisory council,” Trotman said.

In 2017, Richards and Trotman became the first women from the Caribbean to be appointed to serve on the council. This year, the successful election run of Harrison, Richards and Trotman has again made history. The three are not only the first Caribbean persons, but also the first persons of African-descent elected to seats on the ARIN board or advisory council since the registry was founded on April 18, 1997.

“I’m honoured that the community chose me to continue to serve in this role. Last year, I said yes with slight nervousness. This year, I said yes with full knowledge of the work at hand. I accept the task with deep gratitude. I do hope that more persons from the Caribbean will see this type of service as possible when they see Peter, Alicia and myself,” Richards said.

Haitian-born Michael Arbrouet and Louie Lee (Google Fibre) vied for one seat on the Number Resource Organisation Number Council (NRO NC), an elected body that serves as the advisory council for the Address Supporting Organisation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Lee was re-elected to the NRO NC, Paul Andersen (EGATE Networks) was re-elected to the board, while Robert Seastrom (ByteGrid) and Amy Potter were re-elected to the council. Kathleen Hunter (Comcast) was also elected to the council.

All elected candidates will serve a three-year term, starting January 1, 2019.

Voting opened on October 4 after candidates had the opportunity to address ARIN members at ARIN’s public policy meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. Voting closed on October 12.

“ARIN wishes to congratulate those elected to serve on the ARIN Board of Trustees, ARIN Advisory Council, and the Number Resource Organisation Number Council,” John Curran, President and CEO of ARIN, said in an October 15 post to the ARIN website.