Trevor Riggen, Vice President, Disaster Operations & Logistics, American Red Cross, will present “The Red Cross: New Challenges in a Globalizing World,” on Tuesday, March 31 at Rutgers University’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. The lecture is the spring 2015 Ruth Ellen Steinman and Edward J. Bloustein Memorial Lecture, and will begin at 4:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public but registration is requested at bit.ly/bloustein2015-reed
(Please note: the original speaker, Richard Reed, Senior Vice President, Disaster Cycle Service, American Red Cross, is unable to attend due to an unexpected conflict)
The threat posed by disasters has never been higher. The frequency and severity is on the rise. The complexities of our modern world, our interconnectedness leaves us more vulnerable than ever. What are we doing as a nation to prepare for, respond to, and recover from the growing number of threats and hazards? How are we making our communities and our nation more resilient? Drawing on his time, both domestic and international, with The American Red Cross, Mr. Riggen will lay out what resilience means and what The American Red Cross is doing to lead the charge.
Trevor Riggen, Vice President, Disaster Operations & Logistics, has been with the Red Cross for more than eight years and has worked in Mass Care and as the Senior Director of Direct Services before he was promoted to the Vice President of Operations in 2012 and in 2013, was appointed as the Vice President, Disaster Operations and Logistics. Trevor is accountable for staffing, logistics, operations and information management and situational awareness. He is also responsible for planning, implementing and managing scalable relief operations to meet the direct needs of disaster clients for all domestic events, including those in the U.S. Territories of Guam, the United States Virgin Islands and American Samoa as well as the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianna Islands. He works closely with the Division Disaster Executives in ensuring the Red Cross meets the needs of disaster clients, assists in their recovery and provides support for preparedness activities.
Prior to coming to Red Cross, Trevor served in the Peace Corps in Morocco from 1998 – 2000 where he developed local agricultural cooperatives. He has served as the national coordinator for congressional involvement for Habitat for Humanity International. He has also served in leadership positions with community based organizations in both Illinois and the Washington, DC metro area focused on literacy, crime prevention, poverty reduction, education and emergency planning for public school districts.
The Ruth Ellen Steinman and Edward J. Bloustein Memorial Lecture was established to honor the memory of these two extraordinary individuals. For nearly 19 years, the Blousteins dedicated their enormous energies to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The memorial fund was created in 1988 after Ruth Ellen died following a long and heroic battle with illness. Sadly, there was cause to broaden the purpose of the fund a year later when Edward Bloustein, Rutgers’ beloved president, died suddenly in December 1989. The endowment supports an annual lecture series that is intended to celebrate the values and interests Ruth Ellen and Ed cherished and cultivated throughout their lives, namely the preservation of animal species and the natural environment; the celebration of love, happiness, and laughter as tools of clinical medicine; and the exploration and promotion of humane values.
Register at bit.ly/bloustein2015-reed
AICP certification maintenance credits have been requested for this event