Meet the Board Members
Dr. Mark Green, US Army (Ret.)
Dr. Mark Green spent 34 years in military service serving in the United States and multinational environments. He is a World Civility Ambassador, International Best-Selling Author, International Speaker, and entrepreneur. He spent 34 years in the U.S. Army working his way up from private to Lieutenant Colonel. His education includes a law degree and a master’s in organizational management. He has significant military leadership experience and has managed billions in digital assets and has extensive knowledge in boots-on-the-ground large-scale logistics moves. He is a volunteer for disaster relief missions who brings collective experience to solving large-scale problems.
Dr. Lilly C. Lee SM, MD, FAAEM, FACEP
Dr. Lilly Lee is the Chief of Emergency Medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She is also an affiliated Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Jackson Memorial Hospital is among the largest public teaching hospitals in the US with 1550 licensed beds. It is the centerpiece of the Jackson Health System operated by Miami Dade County Public Health Trust. Its mission has always been to serve all county residents with a single high standard of care regardless of ability to pay.
Dr Lee obtained her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine and completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Prior to joining Jackson, Dr. Lee was the associate program director for the Emergency Medicine residency at the Harvard Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
In her current capacity as Chief of Emergency Medicine, Dr Lee oversees a department that serves over 120,000 adult and pediatric patients annually. The team provides primary and emergency care as well as the most acute and comprehensive care in STEMI, stroke, trauma, and cardiac resuscitation.
The department is active in the education of medical students and residents and involved in research. Dr Lee is currently the PI for a CDC sponsored surveillance study to evaluate the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines on extent of illness and prolonged COVID. She was the site co PI for the NIH funded study to evaluate the efficacy of convalescent plasma in outpatients with COVID-19 and the PI for a CDC sponsored surveillance study to evaluate the risk of ED health care workers acquiring COVID-19 infection. The department is part of the FOCUS project with opt out screening of HIV, HCV, and syphilis of ED patients and linkage to care programs for those infected in collaboration with the Florida Department of Health.
Jyakuen Phoenix
Lead Advisor
Jyakuen Phoenix is known for her unwavering passion for building ventures that drive positive change and has had a global impact on companies through multiple creative channels, including art.
With a track record as a serial entrepreneur, Jyakuen has served as a Strategic and Creative Director, designer, and visionary leader for numerous successful ventures, including roles in companies such as WeAre8, GuardianLink, Urbanzen, TedWomen, and Cinema, each contributing to significant global transformations and aimed for billion-dollar valuations.
Her belief in the power of profitable enterprises to catalyze philanthropy and political activism, coupled with her talent for talent cultivation and team connectivity, underscores her mission to drive positive change. Whether as a board member, designer, marketer, filmmaker, or capital fundraiser, Jyakuen’s business acumen and innovative spirit have consistently propelled her teams toward success.
In her role as a Lead Advisor and Board Member of EQUAL MEANS EQUAL, Sonja contributes her expertise to drive their important and urgent mission to further social progress and equality while advancing the Equal Rights Amendment
As a Zen Buddhist, artist, global creative director, fashion designer, serial entrepreneur, and activist, Jyakuen’s work embodies sustainable style and a commitment to philanthropy. Her diverse portfolio reflects her love for humanity, dedication to preserving culture, and exploration of beauty through art and commerce.
Patricia Woodson
Board Member of Outward Bound
Patrícia Woodson is a noteworthy leader in community building whether within an industry or municipality. Her pioneering contribution in business was creation of the first global marketplace for buyers and sellers of stock photography. Locally Patrícia has served two terms as a city commissioner. She continues to organize for infrastructure to serve all ages, resulting in parks, community centers and community based programs.
Patrícia is a board member of Outward Bound’s largest US school, Chair of Rotary International’s Youth Peace in Action for S. Flórida and is a lifelong international adventurer and volunteer. She speaks French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Kiran Mathur Mohammed
A founder, investor and advisor in health and energy tech; Kiran has worked across tech, health, government, finance and security. His stated intention is to express unconditional love to all beings at all times: to love, serve and remember.
Kiran is the co-founder of Medl, a health/insure tech company using technology to solve the problem of chronic disease and medication non-adherence. Medl is backed by IDB Lab and Microsoft, won the PAHO/WHO Social Innovation in Health award, the FT/Seedstars Health SDG Award, and is a member of the Mckinsey Health-Tech CEO Network.
Kiran has worked on non-profit military evacuations in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Venezuela and Somalia. He is a former Vice Curator of the WEF Global Shapers Port of Spain Hub. He is a patron of the TT-African Film Festival, has advised on Veteran film projects; & has ran mental health projects with the UK Foreign Office. He has taught children with disabilities at the Princess Elizabeth Home and has been a volunteer for United Way.
Kiran serves as economic advisor to the Association of Caribbean States and has previously served on the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago’s Covid-19 Recovery Committee. Kiran has been a board member of an energy-tech firm working on AI Data Centres & BTC mining; he sits on the board of Imjin Security, a security company with 500+ employees; and has been an advisor for emerging markets music-tech firm Diaspora and chocolate firm Cocoa Republic. He has written on economics, entrepreneurship, technology & social development for the Trinidad Newsday, the Caribbean’s largest circulation newspaper.
Kiran is an economist and is on the board of the TT Economics Association. He has previously worked on investment banking transactions at Citi in Latin America & the Caribbean. He has written on the political economy of energy dependent states and has worked with the Finance Minister in Trinidad, editing his book: “Power Politics and Performance”.
Luciana Pavan, COO
Luciana Pavan started her career working in radio and video production in Brazil. She then moved to Miami to complete her MBA. She worked as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs Investment Bank and at Nickelodeon as a Marketing Manager for Latin America. She also lived in London working for Viacom as a Senior Digital Media Business Manager for Emerging Markets and worked with the Viacom Foundation on their campaign for Trafficked women.
After London Luciana worked as VP of Digital Media for A&E Networks, heading the digital department for the History, A&E, and Lifetime channels. After A&E she worked with digital technology start-ups and HBO Latin America.
Luciana is passionate about volunteering and has worked with many different non-profits including First and Alton after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and was the logistics director for Third Wave Volunteers after the 2019 Hurricane Dorian disaster in the Bahamas.
She is currently the COO of Third Wave Volunteers.
Alison Thompson
Dr. Alison Thompson is a global humanitarian and mass incident commander who has spent the past 25 years leading large refugee camps, field hospitals, and resilience hubs in natural and man-made disasters worldwide, including the Syrian, Afghan, Venezuelan, and Ukrainian refugee crises. Her full-time service began as a first responder during the September 11th, 2001 attacks in New York City, where she founded her non-profit ThIrd Wave Volunteers.
Thompson holds a Doctorate of Letters in the Humanities and serves as a Mass Incident Commander and paramedic nurse. Her dedication has been recognized with the 2026 NSW Australian of the Year, the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Biden (2022), the Order of Australia from the Australian Government and Queen Elizabeth II (2010), and the Medal of Excellence from US General S.Trombosis, 82nd Airborne, Southern Command.
In 2012, she was appointed the first official Ambassador to the Haitian Ministry of Environment, where she advanced reforestation and clean water initiatives, represented Haiti at the 2016 COP22 United Nations Climate Change Summit, and later helped ratify the Paris Agreement in Parliament.
From the front lines of the Ukraine war to the Syrian refugee crisis, from the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, to Florida and US Hurricanes, to founding Sri Lanka’s first Tsunami Early-Warning Center, and Children’s Learning Museum.
Thompson embodies her guiding principle of “Love in Action”—reminding the world that in times of crisis, “Everyone’s needed.”
Her award-winning documentary The Third Wave premiered at the Cannes Film Festival with Sean Penn and Bono, followed by her book The Third Wave: A Volunteer Story (Random House).
Dr. Thompson is currently engaged in several long-term humanitarian missions worldwide. These include training soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine; constructing sustainable water wells in northern Colombia for the Wayuu tribes; and leading disaster response efforts following Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. TWV is spearheading the construction of a 10,000-square-foot dome hospital in response to the destruction of 124 medical clinics and damage to five major hospitals. The dome hospital initiative is a 15-member coalition effort in partnership with the Jamaican Ministry of Health and Cornwall Hospital.
Dr. Thompson is also developing ‘Disaster Force’, a grassroots system to address the growing global disasters.
Juan Padró
As an owner of award-winning restaurants Bar Dough, Señor Bear, Ash’Kara, Morin, Mister Oso, and the Tap and Burger Concepts (Highland/Sloan’s Lake/Belleview Statin) Juan brings years of entrepreneurial, restaurant, and business development experience to his concepts. Padró’s breadth of expertise includes management, relationship building, recruiting, resource management, and negotiation. In 2010, Juan opened Highland Tap & Burger in Denver’s LoHi neighborhood. In 2014, Highland Tap & Burger was named as serving one of the top 15 burgers in America by Zagat and has won Denver’s highly competitive Burger Battle and prestigious Top Taco competitions multiple times. In 2015, Bar Dough was named one of Zagat’s“most anticipated restaurant openings” in America and subsequently was named one of 5280 magazine’s top 25 restaurants in Denver. Juan has strong ties in the local business and non-profit communities, including Water Is Life and various organizations in support of Puerto Rico. Juan has a BA in history from the University of Massachusetts and a passion for creating jobs, investing in people, developing his staff, and building businesses that truly impact communities.
Nick "Tiger" Quay
Nick “Tiger” Quay serves on the Board of Directors for Third Wave Volunteers, bringing a strong background in community building, fundraising, and team leadership. As a luxury realtor for 17 years, Nick has leveraged both his private business network and real estate client network to organize large-scale relief efforts, including providing thousands of meals to those affected by natural disasters.
Nick’s experience extends beyond logistics—he is skilled in navigating the intricacies of multicultural communication, ensuring that aid is delivered with empathy and understanding. His ability to unite teams and resources reflects his commitment to not only supporting immediate relief efforts but also fostering long-term community resilience.
Passionate about service and collaboration, Nick continues to work alongside Third Wave Volunteers to bring meaningful impact wherever it’s needed most
James Brazil
James Brazil is an architecturally-trained, Australian designer, master builder, researcher and city curator of urban and public architecture, with extensive construction and design experience across a variety of high-profile projects for international clients, competitions and university institutions throughout the Americas, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Russia. James has a Masters of Architecture with Distinction from the University of Western Australia and was then invited as a full-time Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. Most recently, James is the inaugural winner of the emerging practitioner teaching fellowship at the University of Miami School Of Architecture. James instructed a variety of design studios, whilst incubating an urban prototyping research-design-build program with the Master of Real Estate Development + Urbanism graduate program. Previously, James co-founded and directed Barcelona’s first community ‘maker space’, MADE. He also consults with industry, academic, and cultural partners on similar ‘productive’ space concepts, including fabrication laboratories (FabLabs) in relationship to city development in Miami and Latin America. James also co-directs the international INSITU community-based design-build program and Floating FabLab Amazon project in partnership with the Latin American Association of FabLabs. Formerly, James was the creative director of London – Barcelona-based ‘urban contemporary’ art production house Fluorescent Smogg curating, producing, and releasing limited edition artwork with internationally renowned artists.
In 2018, Studio James Brazil (SJB) was launched as a Miami-based public art and architecture design research studio promoting food, energy, and water self-sufficiency and resilient urban development. SJB will be providing creative direction to a Knight Foundation Grant recently awarded to MANO, exploring pilot projects for a city-wide festival celebrating urban pavilions and installations, and seeding prototypes for peer-to-peer models in community energy and food production. SJB currently is the principal investigator of F.R.U.I.T (Food Resilience Urban Infrastructural Tools); a research and development accelerator and food security incubator. SJB is also one of the founding partners of NOOS Innovation Labs, leading the smart city development of Downtown Miami into a Business Innovation District.
Advisory Board Members
Major-General (Ret.) Simeon Trombitas
US Army South Commander
Major General (Ret.) Simeon G. Trombitas spent over 37 years of active duty in the U.S. Army. Major General Simeon G. Trombitas graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was commissioned as a U.S. Army Second Lieutenant in the Infantry Branch. His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic Course, the Armor Officer Advanced Course, the Special Forces Officer Qualification Course, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Armed Forces Staff College. He earned a Masters’s Degree in National Security Strategy from the Army War College.
Major General Trombitas began his active duty in the 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Division as an Infantry Platoon Leader, Scout Platoon Leader, and Infantry Company Commander at Fort Hood, Texas. He was assigned to the Joint Readiness Training Center as a Senior Infantry Company Observer Controller. He served three tours in the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) as an Operational Detachment “A” Commander, Special Forces Company Commander, Battalion Operations (S3) Officer, Group Executive Officer, and Special Forces Battalion Commander. Assigned to USMILGP, El Salvador, he served as Senior Advisor to the 4th El Salvadoran Infantry Brigade.
He served as the Assistant Deputy Director for Operations of the United States Army Special Operations Command and Commander, the U.S. Army Garrison, 7th Infantry Division, and Fort Carson, Colorado. His Joint Duty Assignments include Deputy Director of Operations, Special Operations Command South in Panama; Commander, U.S. Military Group in Bogota, Colombia, and Chief Regional Special Operations, Special Operations Division (J3), the Joint Staff, in Washington, D.C.
Major General Trombitas has served as a general officer in various duty assignments beginning as the Commanding General, Special Operations Command, Korea. Following Korea, he assumed command of the Iraqi National Counter-Terrorism Force Transition Team, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Major General Trombitas commanded U.S. Army South from 2009 to 2012 including deployment to Haiti for Operation Unified Response
He also served as the Senior Defense Official/ Defense Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico. Major General Trombitas culminated his career as the Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army North.
Major General (Ret.) Trombitas currently resides in San Antonio, Texas, and works as a security consultant. He is married and has two sons.
Marya Meyer
Director of The Woman's Fund Miami Dade
Marya Meyer is the Interim Executive Director of The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade, an organization whose vision is a world where power and possibility are not limited by gender. She is a member of the Miami-Dade Domestic Violence Coalition and the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force. She has been One Billion Rising’s Global Coordinator for Miami since 2012. This grassroots movement brings together ordinary citizens and stakeholders to create the awareness and solidarity necessary to dramatically reduce the staggering statistics of gender violence, both locally and across the globe, in our lifetimes. United Nations statistics reveal that 1 out of 3 women and girls will be raped or beaten in her lifetime, which is over One Billion people suffering from gender violence.
Focusing locally on the greatest challenges facing the South Florida community, Marya and key partners coordinated powerful grassroots RISINGS which subsequently transformed into a partnership with The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade to lead monthly meetings where public and private entities, government civil servants, activists, volunteers and all those concerned with creating Freedom from Violence could join forces and resources, including on the key issue of Human Trafficking. Principal activities include collaborative outreach to schools and the community to empower individuals with the information they need about WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW/WHAT YOU CAN DO when gender violence crosses one’s path.
Marya is a bilingual English/Spanish Music and Artist Marketing Executive with over 25 years of international experience in the realms of entertainment and contemporary culture, Media and Artist Relations, Talent Booking and Artist Management.
Revonda Kirby
Disaster Recovery Strategist, K9
Revonda Kirby is a disaster response and community outreach leader with extensive experience supporting emergency operations both stateside and abroad. She specializes in rapid needs and damage assessments, operational coordination, and building clear, actionable systems—such as SITREPs, site plans, and partner communication workflows—that help relief teams move quickly and safely in complex, fast-changing environments. She brings incident command experience to the field and has completed FEMA training aligned to Planning Section leadership, supporting structured, data-informed operations.
Revonda’s career as an attorney focuses on child and family advocacy, bringing a trauma-informed, equity-centered lens to disaster work and strengthening decision-making for vulnerable populations. In addition, Revonda volunteers as a K9 handler with Louisiana Search and Rescue, supporting mission-ready search capability and disciplined field operations.
Revonda’s most recent project is the United Mission for Jamaica in which she utilizes her skills to provide oversight for a ballistic-dome medical ward expansion project designed to extend capacity for the Cornwall Regional Hospital which serves a severely impacted area following Hurricane Melissa. Her oversight includes aligning operational requirements, partners, and implementation details to support safe, efficient clinical care.
Karina Cox
NGO Management
As an experienced change management consultant, nonprofit leader, and qualified accountant, I collaborate with NGOs and nonprofits to navigate critical changes and forge agile, optimized, and sustainable organizations. I have had the privilege of working alongside inspiring leaders and teams, gaining a dynamic skillset across public and nonprofit sectors globally.
These days, my focus is directed toward advising and supporting purpose-driven, socially-focused organizations committed to making our world a better place. Together, we delve into their unique challenges, charting a course through change that not only ensures survival but fosters thriving resilience amidst the ever-evolving nonprofit landscape.
I am passionate about working with nonprofits, humanitarian missions, and social change organizations. This commitment drives me to support these vital entities in their drive to create a positive, lasting impact in our communities and the world.
Lisa McFadden
BLA Director of Operations/Outreach
Patrícia Woodson is a noteworthy leader in community building whether within an industry or municipality. Her pioneering contribution in business was creation of the first global marketplace for buyers and sellers of stock photography. Locally Patrícia has served two terms as a city commissioner. She continues to organize for infrastructure to serve all ages, resulting in parks, community centers and community based programs.
Patrícia is a board member of Outward Bound’s largest US school, Chair of Rotary International’s Youth Peace in Action for S. Flórida and is a lifelong international adventurer and volunteer. She speaks French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Albert Gomez
Founder and CEO of Gravity Work
Albert Gomez is a humanitarian leader and resilience strategist whose work spans disaster response, community regeneration, and innovative infrastructure for vulnerable regions. For more than a decade, he has been deeply involved in large-scale relief operations across the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and South Florida—responding to over 20 natural disasters since 2010.
Albert serves as the international advisory chair for Third Wave Volunteers, a global disaster-response nonprofit partnered with USNORTHCOM and SOUTHCOM. After Hurricane Dorian, he co-managed emergency operations centers in Miami, Freeport, and Abaco, and helped create the Bahamas Inter-Faith Alliance, mobilizing more than 1 million tons of aid through a coalition of over 50 churches and international partners. He continues to advance the Bahamas Resilience & Regeneration Initiative.
He is a co-founder of the Biscayne Bay Marine Health Coalition, leading multi-agency collaboration to protect and restore South Florida’s water quality. Albert also serves as co-coordinator for resilience networks throughout the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and South Florida, contributing to disaster readiness, conservation, and regenerative community development.
Beyond his charitable work, Albert drives resilient infrastructure solutions for at-risk regions—including modular, hurricane-resistant building systems for the Bahamas and Caribbean. He sits on multiple advisory boards supporting global resilience, civic leadership, community health, and technology for humanitarian use.
Albert’s ongoing mission is to strengthen communities before and after disasters, expand regional resilience, and build sustainable pathways for vulnerable populations across the Western Hemisphere.
Keoni De Franco
Keoni DeFranco is a Co-Founder of Karuna Ventures and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Mālama Studio. Karuna Ventures develops novel medical hemp products utilizing nanotechnology. Mālama Studio is a Hawai’i-based Venture Studio focusing on developing green, clean, renewable energy solutions. Keoni was the Founder & CEO of Lua from Jan 2010-Oct 2018. Lua offered a HIPPA-compliant virtual-first patient engagement platform providing telehealth video conferencing, secure messaging, document sharing and voice calling. Lua was acquired in Oct 2018 by Life Biosciences, the first and largest biotech company addressing the eight pathways of age-related decline.
Keoni is a Delegate to the United Nations as a member of the NGO IAAI, which focuses on environmental policy and technology. He is a member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He is a passionate and outspoken advocate for land, water, and human rights for Native Hawaiians. He serves as a Senior Executive Advisor to the Nation of Hawai’i, an organization focused on Hawaiian rights. He was named a “Featured Leader” by the Global Peace Foundation in Nov 2016 for his work in Hawai’i. He is a mentor with Techstars and ScaleHealth LA.
John Dominguez
Master Sergeant (Ret.)
Master Sergeant (Retired) John Dominguez retired from the U.S. Army in 2016 with over 20 years of service as a Special Operations Medic. He has held positions as a team medic to the chief of operations and culminating as the Senior Enlisted Medical Advisor of Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH).
While serving as the Senior Enlisted Medical Advisor (SEMA) of Special Operations Command South, he was responsible for advising the Command Surgeon and the Commander on medical planning, employment, policy, and interagency collaborations of special operations medicine in Latin America and the Caribbean.
MSG(R) John Dominguez was the Medical Force Modernization NCO for the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade, Fort Bragg North Carolina, and served as the Liaison Officer to the Special Warfare Medical Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
MSG(R) Dominguez has deployed 14 times as part of several Joint Special Operation Task Forces in support of the Global War on Terrorism and Humanitarian missions. His deployments include two tours to Afghanistan, missions to Haiti, Bangladesh, Philippines, Ethiopia, and Iraq. Other operational deployments include Surname, Honduras, and Belize. In 1999, he was part of a team that gave aid and support during Hurricane Floyd in North Carolina.
He currently is the Director of DoD Programs for North American Rescue and is the Vice President of the Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA).
His professional certifications include: Tactical Paramedic Certification (TP-C), Flight Paramedic Certification (FP-C), Georgia State Paramedic, Advanced Tactical Practitioner License (ATP), National Registry EMT, Pre- Hospital Trauma Life Support, Pediatric Trauma Life Support, Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Certification.
His military training includes the Capabilities Developers Course, Joint Operational Planning Course, Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation Course Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties Course, Joint Trauma Training Course, Advanced Burn Life Support ISR, Special Operations Combat Medic Course, Survival Escape Resistance Evasion (SERE-C), Special Operations Civil Affairs Medic Course, and Special Operations Medical Skills Sustainment Course. He has also attended hospital rotations at the University of Virginia Common Wealth, Ben Taub, and Vanderbilt University.
Father Robert Havens
Robert Havens is a Catholic priest working in Mexico. An economist by training, he also has extensive studies in philosophy. He is a founding member of CANELA Charities, dedicated to promoting values-based education in Latin America and Africa. He is a regular contributor to various magazines and the author of several books.
Mary Showstark, PA-C, PhD
Mary Showstark, PA-C, PhD, is a disaster risk and resilience leader working at the intersection of health, security, and intelligence. She is a Physician Associate and Assistant Professor at Yale University, with a PhD in Security and Intelligence Studies. A consultant to the World Bank and Chief Liaison Officer for Health Tech Without Borders, Mary brings frontline experience in trauma care, emergency medicine, mass gatherings, and global disaster response. She is the creator of the Virtual IPE (VIPE) network, leveraging AI and innovative pedagogy to build scalable, disaster-ready workforces across more than 30 countries. Mary is also CEO of On The Ground AI, a disaster platform connecting NGOs, governments, public/private sectors, and civilians. Mary has traveled to over 130 countries worldwide.
Michelle Dean
BSN - RN - CCRN - SAR Rescue
Ms. Dean became a registered nurse in 2012 and began her career with the Department of Veterans Affairs. She served on the VA Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) team, the agency’s disaster relief unit. Her first deployment occurred in 2017 to the San Juan VA in Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane Maria, followed by a deployment to the New Orleans VA in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outside of her VA role, Ms. Dean is deeply committed to humanitarian work and volunteers with Thirdwave Volunteers, an organization that has taken her around the world, including to the war in Ukraine. Humanitarian service is her true passion. She has led multiple missions independently, including a 2022 deployment to Puerto Rico with nurses and nursing students to provide healthcare services to remote areas of the island lacking adequate access to care.
After deploying to Louisiana in 2021 in response to Hurricane Ida, Ms. Dean gained firsthand insight into the critical importance of water filtration during disaster response. In 2024, following Hurricane Helene’s impact on Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee, she collaborated with partners to rapidly distribute more than 200 water filtration systems, personally delivering them to severely affected mountain communities.
Even during periods without active disasters, Ms. Dean remains dedicated to serving her community, including providing food and support to elderly individuals.
Chad McFarland
Chad McFarland began his humanitarian work starting in April 2022 when he left his home in Canada and began work bringing medical supplies into Ukraine as a founding member of the Canada EH Team – Emergent Help for Ukraine. From there he began networking and helping direct aid and rescue of civilians across the Ukrainian conflict zone. It was through that work that he met Dr. Alison Thompson and began working with Third Wave Volunteers.
Chad continues working primarily in Ukraine going into the region bringing humanitarian aid and support wherever the need arises. When Chad is not working in Ukraine, he has a quiet ranch in rural Canada where he does fundraising and collects supplies for his next mission into Ukraine.
Paramedic - SAR Rescue
Medical Team Trauma, Critical Care Medicine, Mass Casualty Lead, Disaster Response, SAR Team, Free Diver
Team Leader - Holistic Counsellor - Drone Pilot
CMS-RN, BSN, RN
SAR team member
SAR Team Leader - Music Producer - Rescue Diver
Team Lead UKRAINE