How to Disaster: Recover. Rebuild. Reimagine Podcast

We’ve come so far! And we did it together!  Thank you ever so much for being with us until this moment.    In Season 1 &2, we’ve met incredible people who faced life-threatening and terrifying wildfires and yet proved themselves resilient and selfless emergent leaders. We’ve also learned priceless lessons on the power of community,…

Two seasons have passed since you walked this journey with us on How to Disaster. As we close the season and welcome another, we want to express our eternal gratitude to you for the support and love you’ve shown for the show.  In this episode, Jennifer sums up heartwarming lessons we’ve learned about humanity, disaster,…

“All the big decisions in life are before you”, says Gary Jones, a Woolsey Fire survivor. We have heard Gary’s story in part 1 of this interview. This week, Jennifer and Gary  discuss practical lessons on survival, healing, and positivity. Tune in as Jennifer and Gary engage you in an insightful and fun conversation about…

Majority of firefighters are volunteers. However, after risking their lives, they end up suffering behind the curtain- physically and emotionally. The trauma and health implications they have to go through go unnoticed. Compared to the level of work they do, the system owes them the respect, recognition, and assistance they deserve. This gap in the…

“911 showed up six days later”, says Gary Jones, a Woolsey Fire survivor. During a fire, you are on your own for days. So one of the biggest decisions we can make during a fire is to heed warnings immediately. On November 8, 2018, a bush fire was reported in Ventura County, California. The powerful…

We are living in a major historical event- climate change. And the best mechanism we have to combat this is community. By working together, we can overcome unprecedented events. Learn how your community can reduce the cost of preventive and mitigation measures while strengthening resiliency. In this episode, Jennifer interviews Wendy Nystrom, an expert on…

Electricity is probably one of the most significant achievements of all time. The biggest industries down to individual residences all rely upon electricity for almost everything. But what if power grids suddenly fail? With the traditional grids getting outdated and less inefficient, this is likely to happen IF interventions keep being delayed. About ⅓ of…

What happens when politics enters into the disaster space? It depends on the community you ask, and for Puerto Rico, it’s an unfair battle. For 123 years, Puerto Rico has been a territory of the US, yet is treated differently in Congress. This presents a huge challenge during a disaster. When Hurricane Irma and Maria…

After a disaster, people go through two of the most complicated recovery issues at the same time: trauma and legal. It is almost impossible to make a sound judgment regarding financial matters amidst a traumatic event. And it’s terrifying to make these decisions knowing criminals and exploiters are waiting to take advantage of your vulnerability….

In this episode, Jennifer and Sonoma’s PRMD Director, Tennis Wick discuss effective approaches and systems that can help leaders and individuals make the transition from disaster response to recovery.  Tennis also speaks about ways to deal with misinformation, address contractor fraud, allocate funding wisely, meet the needs of thousands of victims, and help them get their life back together.