Vicky is board president of VashonBePrepared, one of this conference’s host organizations, and has served in leadership roles there since 2014. She manages Vashon Island’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), directing volunteers through monthly drills to support first responders when disaster strikes.

The pandemic turned out to be the best drill ever. Vicky coordinated with local social service agencies to identify the ongoing needs of the island’s most vulnerable residents, while stewarding significant growth in the nonprofit’s funding through donations and grants to help the community through the disaster. She also teamed with colleagues to publish accurate and accessible health and safety information to the community.

Under her leadership for more than a decade, the island’s network of neighborhood mutual-aid groups has grown more than fourfold, and now reaches over half of all households, giving the Vashon community a grassroots advantage in disaster resilience. Neighborhood organizing and community education are key disaster preparedness tools in a rural community, especially when federal support is unreliable or absent.

Before emergency management, Vicky held technical and financial roles at seven startups, and later at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. She holds a BA in psychology from UC Santa Cruz.