Title
Rethinking Disaster Management in a Complex World. From Response to Ethical Lead
Record Type
Video
URL
https://youtu.be/y15xQCZnB08
Contact
Jono Anazalone
Year
2,022
Publisher
Imara IHG

Summary
Jono Anzalone reframes disasters as systemic failures rather than isolated events. Using global examples like Ebola and Katrina, he argues that crises magnify existing social inequities. True leadership requires systems thinking and a commitment to interrupting inequity to build a more just world.
Description
In this opening reflection, Jono Anzalone traces his journey from a Red Cross volunteer in Omaha in 1993 to leading disaster and crisis response across 30+ countries with the Red Cross, FEMA, and the international humanitarian system. Drawing on experiences from Hurricane Katrina, Ebola in Liberia, and COVID-19 in Latin America, Jonno challenges the idea of disasters as isolated events and reframes them as outcomes of deeply interconnected social, political, economic, and ecological systems.

Through powerful, concrete stories—from inequities exposed in U.S. neighborhoods to gaps in shelter systems and global public health failures—he shows how disasters consistently magnify existing vulnerabilities, especially for marginalized communities. The video emphasizes that effective disaster management today requires more than technical competence: it demands systems thinking, ethical clarity, courage, and a commitment to equity, dignity, and humanity.

This module invites learners to zoom out, question inherited models of disaster response, and ask a critical leadership question: are our actions perpetuating inequity—or interrupting it? Jonno positions the course not just as training in disaster response, but as preparation for shaping a more just and resilient world.