All Blog Posts

Igniting Change Podcast Season 3: Episode 17

Camila Tapias, Global Disaster Resilience Specialist at SPIN Global, joins us to discuss her passion for disaster preparedness and the parallels it has to sports like basketball.

Phoebe Hayles
3 Min Read

For 2022, Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) reported 387 natural disasters occurred globally, with 185 million people affected and a loss of 30,704 lives.

With climate change resulting in an increasing number of extreme weather events, it is critical to know how to prepare, respond, and recover.

As we discuss in this episode of Igniting Change, you can never control everything, but you can have a better chance of success by being prepared.

We were beyond excited to discuss Camila’s passion for disaster preparedness and learn about her career journey so far.

Meet Camila

Camila Tapias has always prioritised supporting her community. It’s something she has done since she was younger and volunteering in her local community after natural disasters struck.

Born and raised in Columbia, she brings an international perspective, leading the Business, Industry, and International practice areas at SPIN Global.

But before starting her career in disaster preparedness, Camila had an athletic career in basketball which led her to the US!

She represented Colombia on the national team when she was 14, competed in college for four years, and still plays now as well as being a court analyst and commentator for George Washington University women’s games.

It was the parallels between athletics and disaster preparedness alongside trusting her gut feeling that inspired her to pursue this career.

As a Global Disaster Resilience Specialist, Camila combines research, data, science, and technology to develop a data-driven approach to achieve better outcomes for disaster preparedness.

About SPIN Global

SPIN Global is a public benefit organisation based in Maryland, USA. Motivated by compassion to reduce physical, social, and economic suffering, the organisation supports communities and national governments to be better prepared for any kind of disaster.

So far, SPIN Global has worked with over 25 countries, mainly in Europe and Africa, but with aims to expand their work into South America.

Preparing shouldn’t be a boring task, so we are trying to make it more of an interactive and user friendly approach. Camila Tapias, Global Disaster Resilience Specialist, SPIN Global

Planet Ready is one example of how SPIN Global utilises technology. It is an online risk reduction and preparedness platform that identifies the top risks in an individual’s local area. Based on the identified risks, the platform also offers training and exercises so individuals can become more prepared.

Listen to the full episode here

To hear more of the incredible conversation with Camila listen now using the links below!

For more things tech for good, stay tuned to our blog or shout us a holla to get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you 💚

Apple

Amazon

Published on 29 June 2023, last updated on 29 June 2023