Ashes to Action: Startups Post-Disaster

Join Jennifer Gray Thompson as she moderates an insightful panel discussion with Christine Kwon, Jen Goodlin, and Nicole Huguenin on leadership and community-driven disaster recovery. Drawing from their experiences responding to wildfires in California and Hawaii, the panel explores the challenges of post-disaster leadership, bui lding trust, addressing gaps in recovery, and sustaining impact beyond the immediate response. Learn how these leaders navigate complex systems, center survivor voices, and create innovative solutions while staying grounded in their values.

 

 

MODERATOR:

Jennifer Gray Thompson
Jennifer Gray Thompson, MPA, is the founder and CEO of After the Fire USA (501c3). She graduated from Dominican University and earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. In 2017, after devastating fires in San Francisco’s North Bay, she became the Executive Director of Rebuild NorthBay Foundation (RNBF), a 501c3 formed to help the region rebuild. In response to the Era of Megafires, RNBF created After the Fire USA in 2020. Gray Thompson was named to Forbes’ 50 over 50 IMPACT List in 2022 and appointed to the Bipartisan Policy Center Disaster Response Reform Task Force in 2023. As a nationally recognized subject matter expert (SME) in megafire recovery, she presents at several national conferences and has testified in front of the US Senate on disaster block grant funds. Jennifer has been featured in local, regional, and national news outlets, including Washington Post, Reuters, New York Times, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, NPR’s All Things Considered, NBC News, Meet the Press, CBS Evening News, and BBC World News. She has published over 70 episodes of the “How to Disaster” podcast. Over the past 7+ years, Jennifer has walked into 20 communities across 4 states affected by megafires, bringing attention to the challenges and resilience of these areas. Her organization specifically coaches leaders in megafire communities on how to navigate recovery and stays for the long-term. After the Fire USA convenes the nation’s most comprehensive wildfire leadership summit annually, inviting top leaders to share best practices. She is a powerful advocate in Washington DC, playing a pivotal role in bringing over $6B of relief for disaster-affected communities in 2024. Under Gray Thompson’s leadership, After the Fire USA is the leading policy advocate on the Hill for megafire issues. Her commitment to equitable and resilient recoveries empowers wildfire communities, bridging the gap between those on the frontlines of disaster and those who create policies.

 

PANELIST:

Christine Kwon 

Christine Kwon leads the team at the Department of Angels, an independent nonprofit formed in the immediate aftermath of the January 2025 Los Angeles megafires. The Department of Angels exists to make sure fire-impacted communities in Los Angeles can lead their own recovery—on their terms. The Department of Angels connects survivor networks, community-based organizations, and government and civic leaders to help impacted communities access what they need and make sure their solutions reach the people in power. Christine previously served as Counsel at Protect Democracy. There, she focused on impact litigation and policy advocacy to stop and seek accountability for abuses of power and those who undermine our democracy, including by representing election workers targeted by anti-democratic disinformation and protesters challenging unjust law enforcement, and mobilizing national security leaders in defense of democracy and protecting elections. Christine also ran the San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project, a partnership between the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and Yale Law School to conceive, develop, and litigate public-interest lawsuits on civil rights, consumer protection, and public health issues. Christine is a first-generation professional born and raised in Los Angeles.

 

Jenni Goodlin
Jenni Goodlin is the Executive Director of the Rebuild Paradise Foundation. With a background in dental hygiene and a deep heart for service, Jenni Goodlin never expected her journey would lead to community recovery work. After relocating to Paradise in 2019, she and her family lived for over two years on a burned lot in a travel trailer, slowly rebuilding both their home and their hope. That personal experience now fuels her leadership as Executive Director of the Rebuild Paradise Foundation—a role she has held since2021. Jenni is passionately dedicated to helping families return home, navigate insurance obstacles, create defensible space, and rebuild in ways that are safe and affordable. Her approach to recovery goes beyond construction; it is centered on people, resilience, and restoring a true sense of home.

 

Nicole Huguenin
Nicole Huguenin is a conduit for caring and community. In 2015, she helped found two alternative economy-based organizations, Dream Together Crew and Walk2Connect Coop. Based off those profound experiences coupled with more than 15 years in nonprofits and teaching, she has dedicated her life to creating resilient and caring communities. Based in Maui, HI, her current projects include Share Circle that connects the dots of circular waste practices and Maui Rapid Response, a civic response organization modeled after mutual aid and the Hawaiian ahupua’a system. Her work as a generosity entrepreneur is financially Supported on Patreon and/or by sharing aloha on Exchange Ave.