Lessons Learned:

Preparing for and Recovering from Disasters

November 20, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.

Florida has a history with hurricanes.  Most recently in September and October Hurricanes Helene and Milton impacted nearly all of Florida. We were impacted both personally and professionally. The purpose of this webinar is to discuss lessons learned in terms of preparing for and recovering from disasters. Disasters aren’t limited to just hurricanes but that is what comes to mind first when mentioning disasters in Florida. Our four panelists bring a range of experiences and perspectives to this webinar. 

Sarah Brawer-Bartus is a psychotherapist in private practice, who specializes in both trauma treatment and substance abuse. She has been in practice over 30 years. She has worked in both community mental/substance abuse care, as well as the private sector. In 2017, Sarah had just opened her new office and was beginning to build her practice, when Hurricane Irma. Sarah’s home was all but destroyed, and her practice became almost entirely inactive for the next several months. She learned valuable lessons from Hurricane Irma and today is finally in a new house (2022) and has a thriving practice.

Michele Cavallo holds a leadership role as the Customer Empowerment Director at Duke Energy Florida.  She has held a variety of roles in her long career with Duke Energy and its predecessors. One of those roles was Small and Medium Business (SMB) Solutions Director. In that role, she set strategy to improve service and customer experience for the 80,000+ Florida SMB customers. In her current role as the Customer Empowerment Director for Duke Energy Florida, Michele oversees strategy initiatives for some of Duke Energy’s most vulnerable customers in addition to small and medium business customers.

Stephanie Marcusky’s first hurricane was Hurricane Andrew, a week before her senior year of high school was to start. In a class that typically would be 900, only 700ish walked, as many lived in a community built out of wood. At the University of Florida, her favorite class was the Natural Disaster class. Now as an ADHD Life Coach for parents, she helps adults control their emotions to be better available for their kids. It’s important to strategize ways to lower the stress of an event, so you aren’t forced into decision fatigue, and to add skills to maintain your emotional equilibrium.

Ronnell Montgomery, St Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce (SPACC) Vice President, Economic Inclusion & Business Growth, and Co-Manager, The Greenhouse. The Greenhouse provides business owners and entrepreneurs with the education, resources, and assistance necessary to thrive in the local economy. They are committed to the economic development and business growth of St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay region. Ronnell provides small businesses with the information they need to succeed, such as the available federal, state and local resources after the two most recent hurricanes.