Avery Barnett completed her PhD in Public Affairs at Princeton University in May 2026, where the research underpinning Grid Guard was developed over two years. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, the Caribbean sits at the heart of her academic work, spanning electricity trading among Caribbean island nations, the sociopolitics of the regional energy transition, and the impacts of natural hazard risk on future energy systems. Grid Guard was born directly out of this research, emerging from a firsthand recognition of the urgent need for greater grid resilience in an era of intensifying hurricanes. A former New Jersey Offshore Wind Fellow and Macro-Energy Systems Fellow (2023–2024), Avery also served as a 2023 IRENA Youth Delegate and sits on the IRENA Youth Council for the 2024–2026 term.