Ready When Called Upon

Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing. These words of wisdom are best exemplified by the career of Red Cross IT specialist and international disaster responder Andy Li. Li has often been struck by some apprehension when confronted with the task of supporting major relief operations following some of the largest natural disasters in recent history, but in each instance, no matter what the challenge, his training and instincts took and over allowed him to accomplish the task at hand.

For more than a decade, Andy has served as IT Specialist, a role that has seen him support the organization at the local and national level. During this time, Andy has been called upon to provide IT Support during large-scale relief operations in the continental US and overseas territories: Hurricane Sandy in Greater NY in 2012-13, historic flooding in Louisiana in 2016, Typhoon Soudelor in Saipan in 2016, and Cyclone Gita in American Samoa 2018.

In additional to his work as an IT Specialist, Andy is also a member of the International Disaster Response Delegate Team, a highly specialized and select group of individuals who deploy to offer their expertise on the ground following complex emergencies across the globe. In March/April of this year Andy deployed support a Canadian Red Cross field hospital in Mozambique following Cyclone Idai in 2019. A few months after our interview, Li traveled to the Bahamas to support Hurricane Dorian relief.

Producer: Chi Kong Lui
Editor: John Cunningham
Host: Michael de Vulpillieres
Photo: Katie Wilkes