Disrupting Disasters

In this episode, Elizabeth speaks with Professor Briony Rogers, based at Monash University’s Sustainable Development Institute. Briony is CEO of Fire to Flourish, a pioneering initiative partnering with fire-affected communities, researchers and philanthropy to co-create a model of holistic support for community-led disaster recovery and resilience building.

They discuss Briony’s journey as both an engineer and social scientist, and...

Elizabeth speaks with Marco Toscano-Rivalta, Chief of United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) for Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok. Across his career, Marco has worked with the UN and other international organisations in humanitarian relief, refugee protection, promotion and protection of human rights, justice administration, sustainable development and disaster risk management. He holds a law degree from the...

Elizabeth speaks with former Cabinet Minister and lawyer, Kiri Allan. Kiri was a member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, as a List MP and then representing the Labour Party in the East Coast electorate. She held the positions of Minister for Emergency Management and Minister of Conservation (Nov 2020-June 2022), and Minister of Justice (June 2022-July 2023), among others.

In this episode, ...

Elizabeth speaks with Megan Stiffler, Deputy Commissioner of Fire & Rescue NSW. Megan is a career firefighter and senior officer, leading the way for change in her industry, while leading Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams on deployment across large-scale events, and representing the sector internationally. She holds an MBA, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and her leadership was recognised as a...

Elizabeth speaks with Dan Neely, Manager of Community Resilience and Group Recovery Manager at the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office–aka WREMO. Dan began his career in the Peace Corps in Honduras during the recovery from Hurricane Mitch, contributed to post-tsunami efforts in Sri Lanka with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and since 2012 has led teams based in New Zealand reshaping Emergency Managemen...

Elizabeth speaks with Dr Carrie Timko Santos. Carrie is currently based in Poland, working for American Red Cross, supporting the national Red Cross societies impacted by the Ukraine war and influx of refugees. Among her many roles, she has served as CEO of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, led international programs for the American Red Cross, and managed a $150 million portfolio in humanitarian donations for the U.S. Department of Sta...

Elizabeth speaks with Richard MacGeorge, a futures expert and infrastructure financial advisor. Since the 1980s Richard has worked on projects around the world, including a time at the World Bank, focusing on financing infrastructure projects in low and middle-income countries. In 2011, he returned home to Christchurch, New Zealand on sabbatical to support earthquake recovery. He started pursuing a PhD in Futures Studies in 2020.

I...

Elizabeth speaks with her 'disaster buddy' Dr Kate Brady. Kate has a PhD in Public Health with a focus on disaster recovery. She is the National Recovery Adviser for Australian Red Cross Emergency Services and Senior Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales.

In this episode, they discuss why imagination isn’t always helpful, the pragmatic reality of systems change, and pros of asset-based community development. ...

Elizabeth speaks with Dr David Lallemant, Assistant Professor, Disaster Risk Analytics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and Head of Disaster Analytics for Society Lab. David’s background is in earthquake sciences and engineering, predictive modelling, geostatistics, and reliability analysis, all supporting research into resilient societies. He supported recovery following earthquakes in Haiti (2010), Christchurch (...

In this episode Elizabeth speaks with Dr Lucy Easthope, the UK’s leading authority on recovering from disaster and author of the book When The Dust Settles: Stories of Love, Loss and Hope from an Expert in Disaster.

They discuss the need for reflection time, the Welsh concept of Hiraeth (a feeling of longing and heart sickness for something lost), and the gap between policies and experience on the ground during disaster. They discu...