The organizations that respond to Florida's disasters, organized.
Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster is a coalition of nonprofit, faith-based, community, and governmental organizations that work together before, during, and after disasters. It is the Florida affiliate of National VOAD, and it has no paid staff: everything it does is done by its members.
What Florida VOAD does
Before a disaster, it is where organizations meet each other: planning, training, exercises, and the monthly call where a food bank learns what a legal aid office can do. During a response, it runs the coordination call with the State Emergency Operations Center and its own members, circulates situation reports, and tracks who is working where so that no county is skipped and no service is duplicated. After a response, it helps county coalitions form long-term recovery groups and connects them to the members who rebuild, counsel, and fund.
The four principles every member signs up to, and the reason the coalition exists, are cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration.
Florida VOAD is
- A coordinating body for organizations
- The state's seat at National VOAD
- A partner to the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Volunteer Florida through the State EOC
- The convener of county coalitions and long-term recovery groups
Florida VOAD is not
- A responder: its members respond
- A place to send donations or goods for survivors
- A volunteer agency: members deploy their own people
- A government agency, though it works beside several
Leadership
Officers and directors are elected from the membership and serve as volunteers. Every one of them has a day job at a member organization. State partners sit with the board as liaisons.
Officers
- Kathy StraderChairWorld Renew
- Lori MerendaVice-ChairCollier Disaster Alliance
- Nick JacksonTreasurerBRACE
- Trish WarrenSecretaryServing and Loving Together Disaster Recovery (SALT)
Board of directors
- Aaron BarredaBoard DirectorGreater Pine Island Alliance
- Deanna RoushBoard DirectorThe Salvation Army
- Heather HackettBoard DirectorLocal Relief
- Jason SusallaBoard DirectorBay Area Legal Services
- Jessica GeibBoard DirectorFlorida Emergency Preparedness Association
- Kathy BroyardMember at LargeExecutive Director / Emergency Management SpecialistFlorida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network
- Ryan LockPast ChairAmerican Red Cross
Liaisons
Non-voting partners from the State- Octavio RiosFDEM LiaisonFlorida Division of Emergency Management
- Christy RojasState Voluntary Agency LiaisonEmergency Management DirectorVolunteer Florida
To reach the board, write to info@flvoad.org.
National VOAD and the partners we work beside
National VOAD is the forum where national organizations and the state and territory VOADs share knowledge and coordinate. Florida VOAD holds Florida's seat, sends delegates to the National VOAD conference, and follows its points of consensus on sheltering, case management, donations, and more. Membership in National VOAD does not include the state VOADs; national organizations join Florida VOAD separately through their Florida offices.
In Florida, the coalition's closest partners are the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which runs the State EOC, and Volunteer Florida, the state's lead for volunteers and donations (ESF-15) and administrator of the Florida Disaster Fund. Both sit with the board as liaisons.
History
Florida VOAD exists because of the storms that showed what happens without it.
Hurricane Irma: landfall in the Keys and at Marco Island, and a major disaster declared across the state.
Hurricane Michael: the Panhandle recovery, and long-term recovery groups in Bay and the surrounding counties.
Hurricane Ian: the longest recovery in recent memory, with long-term recovery groups still working in Southwest Florida.
Helene and Milton within two weeks, affecting the Big Bend and both coasts.
New website and member portal: the public status, county, and member directory you are reading now.
The past events list on the Status page is the full record.
About this site
This site is run by Florida VOAD. The statewide status is set by Florida VOAD officers. Weather alerts, tropical outlooks, FEMA declarations, and power outage figures are pulled from the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, FEMA, and Florida electric utilities, and are shown as received; they can be delayed or unavailable and are never a substitute for instructions from your county emergency management office.