Press Release

For Immediate Release
#22-18

NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT’S LATEST ‘PREP TALK’ PODCAST FOCUSES ON DONATIONS


Special guests discuss the best ways to donate during an emergency

#PrepTalkNYC



April 9, 2018 – Cash is king! That is what City officials want you to know before you donate during the next emergency. “Prep Talk” hosts sat down with officials from the NYC Emergency Management Department, New York City Department of Sanitation’s donateNYC program, and from the Salvation Army in Greater New York to discuss the best methods New Yorkers can use to make a donation.

“If products like perishable foods or organic products like clothing are not managed properly, or those things are placed in facilities that are not secure or secured from the elements, that stuff does have the potential of becoming solid waste and we absolutely do not want to see stuff that was intended for survivors from a disaster to end up in the back of a garbage truck,” said Ben Rose, former donateNYC program senior manager at the City’s Sanitation department.

In this episode, you will find out why you do not have to wait for an emergency to make a donation. Learn how you can connect with an organization or house of worship to donate on a regular basis, and hear why officials call houses of worship the ‘backbone of communities’ during disasters. You can find out how organizations like the Salvation Army can use items donated during non-emergencies to augment disaster relief supplies. Click to listen to episode 8 on SoundCloud and iTunes.

Profiles:

Zack Hodgson has been a member of the emergency services staff for The Salvation Army Greater New York Division since 2005 following four years in the United States Navy. In his current role as Director of Emergency Services, he oversees emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts for The Salvation Army throughout Long Island, New York City, and the Lower Hudson Valley. As such, Hodgson played a key role in the response and recovery efforts of The Salvation Army for Hurricane Sandy. As co-chair of the NYC Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) Board of Directors from 2014 to 2017, he also provided leadership to that network during Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts in New York City. The Salvation Army has also deployed Hodgson for emergency response outside of the greater New York City area, including international deployment to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, and domestic deployments including to Houston and St. Thomas during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.

Ben Rose is an in-kind donations and sustainable materials management specialist who worked for the City of New York for 13 years. During that time, he was the Director of the NYC Center for Materials Reuse, a university think-tank dedicated to developing New York City’s donations and reuse sector and evaluating its social, economic and environmental impact. During Hurricane Sandy, Rose played a key role in establishing an interagency collaboration that coordinated over 750,000 individual donations for disaster relief. He also served as co-Executive Board Chair of New York City Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) during Hurricane Sandy recovery. More recently, Rose established donateNYC, a virtual donations coordination program aimed at helping New Yorkers give and find second-hand goods at the New York City Department of Sanitation.

Diandra (Dee) Hayban is the New York City Emergency Management Department’s Director of Humanitarian Logistics. As the Director of Humanitarian Logistics, she oversees the staff, contracts, and funding used to support commodity distribution, sheltering, post emergency canvassing and other mass care operations. While at NYC Emergency Management she has provided logistics support for several activations including coastal storms, winter weather and heat activations, building collapses and fires. She was also deployed to Puerto Rico with the first agency team to support San Juan emergency operations following the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. While at NYC Emergency Management, Hayban attended and graduated from law school, and was accepted to the Bar in 2017. Prior to her current position, Hayban was a Procurement Analyst and a Logistics Program Manager, as well as Deputy Director of her unit. Prior to joining the agency, Haybanwas as an emergency management specialist for the Peace Corps before becoming a consultant for Hagerty Consulting, where she provided the City with support for Public Assistance claims.
 
Jonathan M. Jenkins is the New York City Emergency Management Department’s Assistant Commissioner for Logistics. He is a continuity, program management, and policy professional. Jenkins is responsible for managing all aspects of interagency Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Logistics as part of the NYC Citywide Logistics Program (CLP). This includes the NYC Emergency Supply Stockpile (ESS), resource management and movement control, distribution, staging, supply chain analyses, emergency fueling, mass care logistics and emergency feeding, operational sites, logistics technology solutions, and other aspects of disaster logistics planning and response. Since joining NYC Emergency Management in 2006, Jenkins has led several disaster logistics initiatives, including a program to build the City’s all-hazards ESS, along with planning for and building out the City’s Logistics Center (LC) for disaster logistics operations during emergencies. Jenkins also represents New York City on the Port of New York/New Jersey Area Maritime Security Committee. During his tenure at NYC Emergency Management, Jenkins has responded to various disasters and emergencies in NYC and around the country, including building collapses, wildfires, winter weather, tornados, hurricanes (most recently Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico), and various planned events. Jenkins holds dual Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and Biological Sciences from the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, KY, and a Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology from Marymount University, in Arlington, VA. He is currently pursuing a post-graduate certification from the Harvard University-Chan School of Public Health/Kennedy School of Government in National Preparedness Leadership, in Cambridge, MA.

Herman Schaffer is the Assistant Commissioner for Community Outreach for New York City Emergency Management. He oversees the agency’s community engagement programming as well as manages the agency’s language access contracts, planning, and deployment. During his twelve years with NYC Emergency Management, Schaffer has responded to various disasters and emergencies both within NYC and has deployed to assist in the response efforts in Haiti and most recently Puerto Rico.  Prior to joining NYC Emergency Management in 2005, Schaffer worked as a case manager with Safe Horizon, connecting victims of the September 11 attacks with local and federal resources to assist with their recovery. Schaffer also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia where he helped rural communities develop clean water and hygiene education programs. He maintains his connection with Zambia as the Vice President of Self-Empowerment through Education (SEED). Schaffer has a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University and a Master of Social Work from Hunter College. 

NYC Emergency Management ‘Prep Talk’ Podcast Series:

Get ready for your emergency prep talk! NYC Emergency Management has launched “Prep Talk,” a new podcast series that engages listeners about emergency management topics. Listen as NYC Emergency Management hosts Omar Bourne and Allison Pennisi talk with guests who keep our city safe and prepared before, during and after emergencies. You can listen to “Prep Talk” on SoundCloud and iTunes, and subscribe now to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes.