When Marine Corps veterans Jake Wood and William McNulty led a medical team into Port-au-Prince, Haiti six years ago, the post-earthquake challenges brought back memories of other deployments — in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They returned home from Haiti to set up Team Rubicon with two goals: improving overseas disaster response and finding new ways to bring military veterans into humanitarian operations. Devex visited Los Angeles, California, to learn how Team Rubicon is expanding opportunities to serve, maximizing its capacity as a disaster relief organization, and influencing the field of humanitarian response.
Beyond a door marking the “Global HQ” of Team Rubicon is an office space and a work culture built around the motto: “Disasters are our business. Veterans are our passion.”
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
