Join Our Team. Make an Impact.

This Greyshirt has been an incredible force within their team—showing strong leadership, deep dedication, and a real passion for moving our mission forward. Their work consistently makes a big impact, not just on their team but throughout the organization as a whole.   

The Ford partnership has become a major win for Team Rubicon, and this person has been at the heart of it—owning every part of the relationship with care, strategy, and attention to detail. Their work is changing the way TR does partnerships. It’s deeply integrated, honest, authentic, and just landed TR as an inclusion on their latest national advertising campaign – a first “first” for our relationship.  

They’re juggling a huge workload and doing it all with skill and focus. Their ability to handle multiple priorities without compromising the quality of their work, is a testament to their extraordinary work ethic and unwavering dedication to Team Rubicon’s success. They are a true embodiment of the values we hold dear as an organization: service, integrity, and excellence.  

They’ve handled tough negotiations, built trust with key players, and made sure the partnership continues to grow and benefit both sides.  They’re always thinking ahead, keeping everyone on the same page, finding smart ways to tackle challenges and create opportunities. Whether they’re leading new partnerships or brainstorming big-picture ideas, this person is a go-to teammate who consistently delivers.   

They tirelessly fuel the mission, manage demanding partners, join service projects, and support other departments. Always positive and ready to step into any arena. We are proud to recognize Ashley Kyser, Strategic Partnerships Officer, with a Teddy Award for Q4 2024.

This Greyshirt doesn’t just step up, he shows up and delivers. Though his main role is volunteer support, he’s become vital to the development team, proving that operational excellence knows no boundaries.

When USAA was left scrambling after Denver Fire ghosted a planned event, he pulled off a last-minute service project that exceeded expectations—preserving a key donor relationship and possibly recruiting new Greyshirts. He coordinated meals, work, and even the deployment of an NFL star and TikTok influencer alongside USAA’s executive team. The next day, his team executed a wildfire mitigation project that turned a near-disaster into a standout success.

He didn’t just organize — he geared up, earning the nickname “Ant Man” after dropping a tree swarming with biting ants. The next day, he presented Wildfire 101 to Ford Philanthropy leaders with clarity and confidence.

That same week, he drove to the Aspen Ideas Festival, demoed the TR Ford truck to the festival president, and executed another successful partner engagement. By Friday, he was deployed to Leadville, continuing his streak of hands-on leadership.

He’s now preparing to lead saw and wildfire classes for Ford, further cementing his role as educator and ambassador. And yes, he starred in last year’s Ford commercial, representing Team Rubicon with pride.

From packing the cache to delivering impact across multiple communities, Mike Hobson doesn’t just support operations, he elevates them.

Since stepping into his role, this Greyshirt has brought unmatched energy, creativity, and commitment to every story he tells. Whether capturing the spirit of Greyshirts or amplifying the mission in the field, he consistently turns ideas into impact.

From California to Alaska, he’s never shied from a challenge. His dedication to telling the story — no matter the terrain—has made him an indispensable voice for our work.

He’s a Greyshirt’s Greyshirt. Respected in the field, he listens deeply, gets dirty, and honors the voices of those doing the hardest work. At LAHQ, he’s a humble force signing for packages, moving trucks, stocking shelves, always showing up with purpose and pride.

When a gap in media relations emerged, he stepped up. He took ownership of press coverage and Talking Points, piloted new visibility efforts, and helped measure our media reach.

He never seeks recognition. He is the quiet professional.

As Roosevelt said, “The credit belongs to the man in the arena…” This Greyshirt is that man — striving valiantly, doing the work with heart and humility.

For his grit, leadership, and unwavering commitment, Thomas Brown is more than deserving of the Teddy Award.

It’s not the critic who counts, but the woman in the arena—dust-covered, sweat-streaked, resolute—who earns the credit.

When Team Rubicon launched the Mississippi Low Attention Disaster Program, this Greyshirt didn’t hesitate. She partnered with St. Vincent DePaul to screen and onboard over 60 survivors of the Rolling Fork Tornado and other storms—people who had waited too long to hear, “We see you.”

She didn’t stop there.

She led onboarding for the Hurricane Helene Roof Replacement Program’s Client Services team, ensuring survivors across South Georgia and the Operation Trojan Moon region were met with dignity and care. Where there was ambiguity, she brought clarity. Where there was chaos, she brought order.

When a partner’s support hinged on a high-stakes goal, she stepped up again—leading a Task Force through 10,000+ assistance requests and delivering 248 actionable clients, far surpassing the target of 100.

Even then, she wasn’t done. When more data and documentation were needed, she responded swiftly, securing the partner’s investment and paving the way for recovery.

Across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia, this Greyshirt has dared greatly—not for glory, but for impact. Not for applause, but for people.

For her grit, leadership, and unwavering commitment to those left in the storm’s wake, Ashley Trattner stands worthy of the Teddy Award. And yes, her mom’s a donor – but Ashley’s paid in grit.

This Greyshirt has gone above and beyond their assigned duties this quarter, while maintaining a high level of performance overall. When fires ravaged Los Angeles, this Greyshirt composed community profiles for the hardest hit and most vulnerable communities that we would eventually serve. These community profiles help our planning team and our Greyshirts understand the cultural nuances and importance of the history and way of life in each of these communities. On top of that, they flew out to Los Angeles to support EOC efforts, tackling any task that was thrown their way. From mobilizing Greyshirts to feeding everyone in the EOC.

Additionally, this Greyshirt has remained steadfast in their commitment to the Greyshirt experience from their very first click. They have improved and enhanced the background check experience for all Greyshirts by doing diligent research to find the best vendor, ensure all potential Greyshirts have the opportunity for a fair assessment in the process, and has been a go-to resource for our background check vendor to get feedback for improvements and help spread the word about their services.

After attending StaffEx, this Greyshirt flew from Los Angeles, home to Philadelphia, and then hopped right back on a plane to Canada, where she was invited to attended their Volunteer Leader Conference. During this conference, this Greyshirt provided insight and advice both to staff members and volunteers alike about recruiting, onboarding, and the incident reporting process. She brought back valuable insights and recommendations for continued engagement and support to TR Canada. She meets with TR Canada staff members to help them with their background check process and vendors on a bi-weekly basis.

All the while, this Greyshirt monitors several feedback channels, is a JIRA Service Management agent, and is thoughtful in her approach to all responses she sends to Greyshirts. She is compassionate, thoughtful, and truly built to serve. Her ability to collaborate with stakeholders, take on organization-level projects, and still remain committed to optimizing the Greyshirt experience are a testament to her character as a Greyshirt herself, and as a human being.

It is my personal honor to award our final Q1 2025 Teddy Award to my partner in crime, Sarah “Muzz”.

It’s often said that “amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics,” a truth echoed time and again in the world of disaster response. In this sometimes-chaotic environment, where many variables are at play, one individual consistently rises above, turning uncertainty into clarity and chaos into coordinated action.

Disasters strike with little warning and even less mercy, yet behind every efficient response is a logistics expert who ensures that the right supplies, people, and resources are in the right place at the right time. With their dog by their side, this Greyshirt is that professional. Whether managing supply chains under pressure, coordinating the movement of volunteers, or anticipating needs before they arise, they have been the steady hand that guides missions to success. Like Sun Tzu, who once observed that “there is a fine line between order and chaos,” This Greyshirt understands that the smallest detail—one shipment of tech, a delayed vehicle, a miscommunicated ETA—can tip the scales.

This Greyshirt exemplifies what it means to be a true leader in disaster response, working tirelessly behind the scenes, often without recognition, ensuring that our teams in the field can focus on response, relief, and recovery. They don’t just move supplies—they make hundreds of missions possible, and always with a touch of humor.

This Greyshirt has gone above and beyond, redefining what it means to serve with tenacity, precision, and heart.

She’s a one-woman convoy of capability. Whether she’s maintaining rock-solid support for Logistics leaders in the North Branch or expanding her reach to the South Branch. Not even the Unified Internal Revenue System in Puerto Rico (SURI), Department of Treasury (Hacienda) or Department of Motor Vehicles (CESCO) can stop her (and yes, they tried).

For her grit, drive, and undeniable greatness, Breanne, AKA Breezy, (Doo-row-vic) Durovic, is more than deserving of the recognition of the Q4 2024 Teddy Award.

If ever there were a Greyshirt embodying the Roosevelt-ian charge to “live in the harness, striving mightily,” it’s this individual.  Where others might crumble beneath the weight of back-to-back intake calls and a hiring pipeline clogged by urgency and ambiguity, this (stal-wert) recruiting dynamo sprints head on into the fray – résumés flying, calendars booking, offers signing. For they did not throw in the towel during this great match.

With departments clamoring like caffeinated auctioneers – “We need someone yesterday!” “Two headcounts, stat!” “Make it rain fundraisers!” – they meet each with a calm nod and a fierceness forged in the fires of a thousand intake meetings. Single-handedly, this Greyshirt has turned a tangle of job requisitions into an orchestral masterpiece of matched talent and need, all while navigating the nuanced ballet of hiring manager expectations and candidate dreams.

Toil? Check. Sacrifice? Check. High courage? More than check – checkmate.

We bestow this high honor of the Q1 2025 Teddy Award to our indefatigable (In-dee-FA-ti-gabl) Senior Associate of Talent Acquisition, Alex Kim.  A Teddy-Worthy Titan of Talent.

Jenny’s contributions to TR are profound and far-reaching. She exemplifies the tenacity, courage, and dedication that the Teddy Award seeks to recognize.

She was instrumental in helping the Talent & Org Development team collect and report on the impact of the Emerging Leader training; she worked with Volunteer Management to define key metrics for their function; she improved CSAT and NPS reporting; and overhauled the Annual Impact Survey data collection, analysis, and storytelling – just to name a few.

Her work is not only impactful today but is also setting the stage for TR’s future success.

Jean Yuan is a Jedi of Data, process guru, and Snowflake master. She plays a pivotal role in mapping business processes and workflows crucial to our success. Her exceptionally clear and detailed documentation sets a new standard and guides our operations department in streamlining workflows, boosting efficiency, and reducing manual tasks.

Jean excels in collaboration and building strong relationships with partners. Her impact is felt across the board with her production of high-quality products. She helped transform a manual and time-consuming process into a dynamic Power BI dashboard. Jean’s implementation of QA and QC processes speaks volumes about the commitment to excellence and detailed care she puts into her projects. Consistently prepared, highly detailed, and a joy to collaborate with, Jean’s behind-the-scenes work leaves a profound mark on the organization.

Ben Sullivan has provided direct in-person support in the field over a dozen times across Team Rubicon’s West Branch including cache management and C&G deployments. He contributed to the logistics manual rewrite, field tech request process overhaul, and facilitated national functional onboarding meetings. He also negotiated a storage donation in Southern California, expected to provide significant budget savings.
For a recent, massive wildfire mitigation operation in California, Ben not only arranged for operations equipment transportation, fleet management, and accommodation acquisition, but also coordinated with external partners for multiple in-kind donations.
In the Pacific, Ben authored a comprehensive equipment increase plan to not only support a wildfire response operation on Maui, but on all the Hawaiian Islands. His efforts included identifying vendors, maximizing cost savings, securing storage locations, and playing a critical role in major operations across the islands.
Ben’s selfless decision-making, attention to detail, and technical expertise are truly commendable. These distinctive accomplishments reflect great credit on himself, the operations team, and Team Rubicon.

Mallory Massie, is a passionate leader who cares deeply about the success of others and has had a significant impact on Team Rubicon. During her time as a Greyshirt and as the Manager of Learning Design, she created Team Rubicon’s “emerging leaders” training program, an initiative designed to provide associates and coordinators with the tools and knowledge to become empathetic and thoughtful leaders.

Abraham’s impressive and selfless work in the field and his support behind the scenes are vital to our ability to deploy effectively and efficiently in the future.

His passion for and dedication to Team Rubicon inspires us all.

Ember is a tenacious and courageous Greyshirt and master of multiple TR positions.

During numerous recovery missions in Detroit, Ember spearheaded several successful operations while building a forever experience with the Ford Cares Foundation. Regardless of the challenges that arise, Ember exemplifies what a Greyshirt is: a tenacious individual who continuously kicks ass, maintains an unshakeable focus on the end goal, always finds creative solutions, and pushes through obstacles to achieve success.

Mary’s exceptional kindness and unwavering commitment make her a standout Greyshirt; her enthusiasm for continuous learning and problem-solving is truly inspiring. Mary’s presence on the front lines, promptly addressing issues and providing support, showcases her as an invaluable asset to our team.

In a role where she interacts with the entire organization, Mary’s upbeat demeanor and willingness to go the extra mile make her the ideal Teddy recipient.