Leadership and Board

Jim Brooks is the Chief Executive Officer of Team Rubicon, where he leads with a commitment to service and a global perspective shaped by decades of experience. He brings steady leadership and strategic focus to advancing the organization’s mission of helping communities before, during, and after disasters.

Jim began his career as a U.S. Navy SEAL and has spent the past two decades guiding teams through complex challenges—both in public service and across the private sector. His leadership in global operations has centered on resilience, preparedness, and navigating uncertainty with clarity and purpose.

Prior to joining Team Rubicon, Jim served as Chief Operating Officer at Control Risks and later as CEO of Seerist, a risk intelligence and analytics firm. In both roles, he championed people-centered approaches to crisis response, helping to navigate disruption with clarity and resilience. His passion for service extends to veteran transition, having supported thousands of former service members in finding meaningful new missions in civilian life through organizations like The Honor Foundation.

As CEO, Jim is focused on deepening Team Rubicon’s ability to deliver fast, effective aid when communities need it most—while growing the capacity of its volunteer Greyshirts to serve with impact and integrity around the world.

Dane Barata serves as Team Rubicon’s Chief Financial Officer. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and the business world, he oversees our organization’s fiscal planning, reporting, analysis, and strategy with a determined, nothing-gets-past-me eye.

Throughout a 25-year career that includes everything from scrappy startups to multinational corporations, Dane has seen success at every stage. His drive to see Team Rubicon reach that upper echelon—along with a knack for numbers—has powered our astronomical growth over the past few years.

It’s fitting that Dane identifies best with the Team Rubicon principle of “Get Shit Done.” Since day one, his focus on acting quickly, effectively, and intelligently has allowed us to maximize the power of every dollar and, as a result, the impact we’ve made on communities around the world.

Jeff Byard, Chief Programs Officer, personifies the heart and grit of our organization. He holds a distinguished service record in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1990-1994, bringing a wealth of experience to disaster response and mitigation.

Prior to serving with Team Rubicon, Jeff was appointed to the Office of Response and Recovery for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He managed 185 Presidential Major Disasters and Emergency Declarations with FEMA, including for the devastating 2017 hurricane season, totaling $39 billion in Disaster Relief Fund expenditures.

Jeff leads Team Rubicon’s full portfolio of domestic and international programs. His relentless pursuit of organizational optimization and strategic partnerships ensures the maximum impact of our operations.

Jeff is clear and unrelenting in his purpose: others before self, every time. That hard-nosed tenacity uplifts both his team and those in the midst of disaster. With Jeff at the helm, we stand strong in our mission to deliver aid and empower communities when it seriously counts.

Larissa Rydin is the Chief Advancement Officer at Team Rubicon, where she oversees the organization’s development, brand, and communications functions. She is responsible for leading initiatives that support Team Rubicon’s mission to assist communities before, during, and after disasters.

 
With over 20 years of experience in marketing, fundraising, and leadership, Larissa has worked across nonprofit and corporate sectors, securing major partnerships and leading teams responsible for large-scale fundraising, marketing, and brand initiatives.

 
Larissa’s expertise spans disaster relief, health, and social impact, with a track record of building high-impact campaigns and strengthening brand positioning. Prior to joining Team Rubicon, she served as Vice President of Corporate Alliances at the USO, leading corporate engagement and revenue strategies. She also held executive roles at United Way Worldwide, Tiltify, Autism Speaks, and ALSAC/St. Jude.

 
Over the course of her career, Larissa has successfully navigated complex organizational structures, led multi-million-dollar fundraising and marketing initiatives, and cultivated partnerships with Fortune 500 companies to enhance brand visibility and revenue growth.

 
She most closely aligns with Team Rubicon’s core value to Get Shit Done: “I lead with strategy, empathy, and a bias for action, bringing people and ideas together to drive meaningful impact.”

Sheng-te Yang serves as our Chief Digital Innovation Officer, responsible for steering Team Rubicon’s strategic vision for tech, and then deploying the appropriate tools and people to make it happen.

His knack for revolutionizing workflows runs deep, and spans from eCommerce to DreamWorks Animation at the highest level. Now, Sheng-te channels his 30 years of tech experience and constant drive for improvement into magnifying Team Rubicon’s capabilities through quantifiable metrics, streamlined processes, and operational efficiency.

For Sheng-te, “Mission First, Greyshirts Always” rings especially true. It serves as a reminder that even though we are a technology-driven nonprofit, our primary focus is always our mission, and we are all Greyshirts—on the ground or from behind the screen.

Tim Norman leads as Chief People Officer at Team Rubicon. His invaluable input—from volunteer strategy to full-time talent acquisition—allows him to relentlessly support the team that makes up Team Rubicon.

He enriches the role with two decades of unique insights from powerhouses like DreamWorks Animation, Niantic, Inc., and NBCUniversal. Outside the studios, Tim served on the Human Resources Advisory Council for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “10,000 Strong” Veterans Hiring Initiative and sat on the Board of Directors for SHARE!, an LA nonprofit that creates solutions for individuals facing homelessness or addiction. Tim is also a U.S. Army veteran who served as part of the F Company, 51st Infantry LRSU during Desert Storm.

His dedication to service is evident in both his contributions to human resource initiatives and his active role across nonprofits.  He is currently a board member of his local American Legion branch, was an early Board Director for Veterans in Film and Television, and previously served as a partner and adviser to the national Got Your 6 PSA campaign. No matter the challenge, Tim’s actions clearly illustrate his personal understanding of Built to Serve: that the most fulfilling way he could spend his professional time is in service of others.

Danica Deming serves as Team Rubicon’s Vice President of Workforce Development and Long Term Recovery. Her role connects Team Rubicon’s robust disaster recovery efforts to the larger recovery cycle, focusing on supporting communities, homes, families, and individuals to achieve resiliency. Her approach embodies a person-centered focus, connecting Team Rubicon’s mission in new ways.

For more than 15 years, Danica has supported nonprofits in the workforce development space. She has experience eliminating barriers, upskilling, and connecting individuals to employment opportunities. Prior to supporting veterans, their families, and those impacted by disasters at Team Rubicon, Danica supported individuals who are justice-involved, experiencing food insecurity and homelessness, and who have substance use disorders and mental health disabilities.

Danica believes in taking on challenging situations and finding growth in discomfort, so it is no surprise that she best identifies with the Team Rubicon principle of “Step Into the Arena.” Serving individuals and communities is a privilege and Danica is proud to work for an organization as mission-driven as Team Rubicon.

Matt Colvin knows what it means to answer the call. He enlisted in the United States Air Force on September 11, 2001, served six years, and deployed twice to Afghanistan, an experience that instilled a lifelong commitment to service and shaped the leader he is today.

As Vice President of Development at Team Rubicon, Matt leads a multidisciplinary team who oversee and execute the organization’s fundraising initiatives. In 2012, he was left homeless due to the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, but this is when he first found Team Rubicon, volunteering for what he calls his “most meaningful work since leaving the military.” In 2018, he joined the organization to build the strategic partnerships function from the ground up and forged some of the largest corporate partnerships in the organization’s history, fueling Team Rubicon’s mission to deploy veterans in disaster response operations worldwide.

Matt brings more than 15 years of nonprofit fundraising expertise to his role, along with a background consulting for more than 30 organizations on organizational efficiency, fundraising strategy, brand communications, and technology adoption. His career has been defined by building high-impact teams and meaningful partnerships across the nonprofit sector.

A servant leader at his core, Matt leads by empowering his team to do their best work and trusts that when people are supported, great things follow. He is driven by Team Rubicon’s value of getting shit done, because when disaster strikes, there’s no time to waste.

Marine Corps veteran Mike Watkins joined Team Rubicon in 2015. Over more than a decade, he rose from Regional Administrator to Director of the Midwest Territory to Senior Director of Operations. In 2026, Mike was appointed to Vice President of Operations, where he’s responsible for day‑to‑day strategy and operational execution of the Ops department.