Gabriel Scomazzon Ward

Gabriel Scomazzon Ward has been actively engaged in disaster risk reduction and emergency management across volunteer and professional sectors, ranging from VICSES and the Australian Red Cross to state and Federal government recovery agencies.  Throughout his career, Gabriel has led recovery initiatives aimed at helping communities rebuild after the 2019-20 bushfires, operated on the frontlines of the June 2021 storms and floods, supported New Zealand in the wake of TC Gabrielle, and as of 2023 helped to coordinate the largest Australasian deployment of personnel to North America in history. He has also lived and worked abroad in the Indo-Pacific, as a former New Colombo Plan recipient. Gabriel is currently working as a Coordination & Planning Officer for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Commonwealth disaster response agency.