Hope Amid the Rubble

Syracuse University alumni unite to aid California wildfire victims.

As wildfires raged through California in January, tearing apart thousands of lives, Syracuse University responded by doing what it does best—coming together. Mimi Teller G’22 and Rob Rivera G’18, G’19, alumni of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, have been part of the American Red Cross’ disaster relief services.

Rob Rivera stands in a red cross vest and holds a camera while standing in front of the red cross headquarters in Los Angeles — Rob Rivera G’18, G’19 in Los Angeles, where he’s provided emergency services and communications.

“We were thrown into the tragedy, despite living on opposite coasts,” says Teller, a Los Angeles native. “The University has strengthened our bond.”

Working Around the Clock

Rivera is a professional photographer and videographer who volunteers for the American Red Cross’ Central and Northern New York Chapter. He was deployed to California for two weeks in January to assist Teller, the development communications manager of the American Red Cross LA Region. The duo worked around the clock providing emergency services and communications, including several prerecorded news stories—“packages” in journalistic parlance—about devastation and resilience.

“The level of devastation in California is like none other,” says Rivera, who also has earned an executive master’s in international relations and a certificate of advanced study in public leadership and management, both from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Making a Difference

three people standing together talking and wearing red cross vests — The Newhouse School has prepared me a thousand percent for what I do today,” says Mimi Teller G’22 (right), development communications manager of the American Red Cross LA Region.

“The experience was surreal,” recalls Teller, calling the wildfires some of the most destructive in LA history. “Thanks to our Syracuse education, Rob and I were able to make a difference.” Teller, who also is a professional photojournalist, completed her master’s dissertation in communications after a 29-year hiatus. “The Newhouse School has prepared me a thousand percent for what I do today.”

Boots on the Ground

two people sit and talk in a disaster recovery center for victims of the California wildfires — “Disasters are interconnected. A wildfire in LA affects my family in Syracuse,” says Rivera, who, like Teller, graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Rivera met hundreds of displaced residents at American Red Cross shelters and disaster recovery centers. “These survivors are some of the bravest people I know,” says the Army veteran and former EMT. He attributes his crisis communications acumen to master’s training in public relations. “Competency is learned by real-world experience, which Syracuse offers plenty of.”

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