There are architects working in professional and volunteer roles to help rebuild and improve resilience for our communities. My goal is to organize, empower, and support communities to come together and find new opportunities that make them more self-sufficient and resilient.
I invite you to follow my resilience journey through the “daily posts archive” listed on the right side.
Resilience
After returning from the 2010 Haiti post earthquake response work, I completed an SAP (Safety Assessment Program) Trainer course via the CA Emergency Management ATC-20 and ATC-45 program and became the WI AIA State Disaster Assistance Coordinator.
On Feb. 2, 2013, I traveled with a team of 23 volunteers traveled to a region in El Salvador previously hit by earthquakes and hurricanes to work building homes for local families.
In September 2015 I joined forces with Namaste Nepal on a rebuilding program to help Nepali families recover from the April and May 2015 earthquakes.
Today, I work for the University of Wisconsin Madison, serve as a CalOES SAP Trainer for the AIA Disaster Assistance Committee, and continue to act as the AIA WI Co-State Disaster Assistance Coordinator.
We invite you to join the conversation.
architect unseen 
Congrats on new blog.
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
— Dr. Seuss
from Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
Thank you for the post and support dear friend!
Awesome–count me in for $2 a mile!
Barb Rudolph
Thank you for your generous pledge Barb!
Janine,
If compassion was the motivating factor behind all our decisions, would our world not be a completely different place? ~ Cheryl Crow.
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~ The Dalai Lama
If someone shows kindness, caring and a willingness to help others, they’re showing compassion. You have that in abundance my dear friend. Now you have found a way to share it. What a wonderful thing!
Love ya,
Jerian
Thank you for the inspiration and support Jerian! So fortunate to have a dear friend such as you.
We all are lucky to have you as a committed, thoughtful, KICK ASS advocate- Thank you Janine!
That means a lot coming from a fellow architect and dear friend – thanks for the encouragement Laura!
You bet!
What an honor that I get to run the half with you! I also pledge $2/mile toward the project. Where your feet go shows the impulse of your heart. Clapping my hands for your feet and your heart! Way to go!
Thank you so much for your pledge Darria – you have already supported me in so many ways. I am lucky to be running this race along side you. I mean that figuratively because all I’ll see is the blur as you speed past me at the start….. and then your smiling face at the end.
awesome awesome awesome…you are such an inspiration!!! my donation’s coming in after payday ; ) good luck!!!!
This is so inspiring. Thank you!
OK, I knew the whole “architect” and “disaster” thing rang a bell. It’s because of this: “Don Schramm did not begin his career with disasters in mind. Trained as an architect, interested in passive solar design, he had served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Venezuela and then as program director in Chile. In each country, he experienced an earthquake. “In Venezuela, I was living in a metal shack in a barrio,” he recalls, “and the quake sounded like a train coming across the tin roofs.”
http://dmc.engr.wisc.edu/Publications/Articles_and_Papers/Disaster_Managment.lasso
This is very cool – thanks so much for sharing. I can relate to the story in that an experience as such can quite effectively change the path you are on.
keep it going!
Thank you for your support Dar! Perhaps I’ll see you cheering on the sidelines during the Key West half marathon – I need all the help I can get. 🙂
Five bucks a mile, baby … you better be training! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you for your very generous support Linda! Yes, training hard. Ran 7 miles yesterday, that’s half way to the half marathon. Your friendship and encouragement are what I appreciate above all.
As non-runners, we can only imagine that every mile gets harder, so mile 13 should be worth more than mile 1. We’re in for $0.50 for the first mile, $1 for the second mile, etc—-math nerd brother says that’s a factoral donation. Run janine run!
You two are awesome! Love you guys- thank you!
Hey Janine, put me down for $1 a mile. Carolyn and I just got back from Key West, and it was fantastic! Best of luck with everything.
Thank you for your support Tom! It is so cool that you & Caroline had time to enjoy Key West, it’s a very special place 😉