Hello!
My name is Johnnita Woods Parker, and I serve as the Program Manager at the World Cares Center (WCC) in New York City. I am a Board Certified National Healthcare Disaster Professional and a Board-Certified Nurse Practitioner with a background in family medicine. I am an educator and also a certified trainer in CPR and First Aid. I am a member of the Medical Reserve Corps in N.J.
In my role as Program Manager, I oversee the development and delivery of disaster readiness programs, coordinate trainers and support teams, assist with outreach initiatives, and ensure alignment with our program and grant objectives. I also support organizational growth, partnerships, and volunteer engagement.
I look forward to meeting everyone.
Hi everyone, this is Kristen from Hong Kong. I’m an humanitarian worker with 3-yr project management experience in Community Resilience programs in Mainland China and Nepal, with a thematic focus on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).
Thank you so much for hosting me and for the warm welcome!
Here are my three learning goals:
1. Learn how WCC delivers MHPSS to children and their families affected by disasters, including the modalities, tools used, and monitoring and evaluation approaches. I would also love to observe at least one ‘art session’ to gain hands-on insight, and, if possible, speak with volunteers and beneficiaries to better understand their experiences.
2. Learn how WCC mobilizes and manages volunteers in emergency settings. I am particularly interested in understanding the recruitment strategies, onboarding and training processes, coordination mechanisms during response. I would also like to explore how roles and responsibilities are assigned, and how communication is maintained across teams/personnels to ensure accountable service delivery.
3. Learning by doing — I hope to share the Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) and Protection, Gender and Inclusion (PGI) approaches I have applied in my previous work, and give recommendations on how these can be further integrated into WCC programs. Drawing on my experience in Psychological First Aid training, I would also be glad to suggest ways to strengthen emotional resilience components in existing training.
I’m so grateful to join the WCC family! Look forward to learning from you all!
Hi everyone, this is Yan from Hong Kong. I have near 6 years of expereince in disaster response within the HK territory with the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC), and I also have a background in geology and landslide prevention from my undergraduate degree.
In my work in the HKRC, i mainly respond to climate (extreme heat and cold, typhoons, floods), urban (household fires), and public health (covid-19) via modalities of in-kind relief items, emergency cash and voucher assistance, and integrated services.
My day to day involved various tasks such as programme management (planning, M&E, reporting, finances), logistic and inventory management, volunteer management, information management, and people management.
In WCC, I wish to learn about the following:
Goal 1 – To understand the volunteer engagement methods of WCC as a grassroots disaster response organisation, including:
– volunteer empowerment, technical development, and leadership training, in order to enable the communities to respond to local disasters on their own / without a command line from WCC
– volunteer demographics and sustainability. how to keep volunteers’ knowledge fresh / practiced after the CDVC is completed / after they become a ready responder?
– volunteer / disaster response coordination via the Ready Responders Network / Ready Response Hub online EOC.
– volunteer structure, e.g. assigned volunteer leaders in each region / org? tiers of volunteers like executers, leaders?
Goal 2 – To understand the disater response landscape in the NY area, including:
– the strategic role / comparative edge of WCC
– collaboration / dynamics between disaster response orgs and the government; WCC’s collaboration with other parties
– fundraising trends, donor interests; common pitching and impact communication methods; common fundraising modalities.
Goal 3 – To understand the organisation strategic direction and development of WCC
– path travelled. pivoting points. major challenges and lesson learnts. crises endured; how to change and adopt to new trends or changing contexts (e.g. 2007 centralisation of 911 services)
– business model and main funding sources of WCC. funding funding sustainability.
– role of the board and advisory committees.
– how, as leader and key person of WCC, does Lisa have confidence in her decisions and remain resilient throughout 25 years, and at the start of WCC when there were no plans / structure / guidelines?
As appropriate, I am also open to share my operational experiences and ideas in HKRC and the disaster response landscape in HK for your inspiration.
Thank you again for hosting me and I look forward to learning from you all.
Hello Yan and Kristen, Please read three blogs. 1. The first is about your assignments. 2. The second is about suggested restaurant near the office. you asked about Deli Sandwiches and I would suggest Ben’s Kosher deli. 3. The third is about places to go in Manhattan on your weekends and in the evenings. Let me know what you think and do post in the Blogs so that others can benefit from your adventure!
Hi Kristen,
Welcome to WCC—we’re so glad to have you with us! Your experience in MHPSS, CEA, and PGI is a great fit for our work. Your learning goals align closely with our programs, and you’ll have opportunities to observe sessions, engage with volunteers, and see our coordination model in action.
We also look forward to learning from you—especially your insights on strengthening emotional resiliency and community engagement. Excited to have you as part of the team!
Hi Yan,
Welcome to WCC—we’re so glad to have you with us! Your extensive experience in disaster response, volunteer management, and integrated services with the Hong Kong Red Cross brings valuable perspective to our work.
Your goals align closely with our focus on community-based response, volunteer engagement, and coordination through the Ready Responder Hub. We’ll make sure you have opportunities to explore these areas and engage with our team.
We also look forward to learning from you—your insights from HKRC and international response models will be incredibly valuable. Excited to have you as part of the WCC family!