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After a wedding ceremony at her family\u2019s Adelaide Hills vineyard in December 2019, Anastasia\u00a0<\/span>Bougesis<\/span>, returned from her honeymoon to find much of their property destroyed by bushfire.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n After a wedding ceremony at her family\u2019s Adelaide Hills vineyard in December 2019, Anastasia Bougesis (<\/span>BHlthSc<\/span>(Paramedic) \u201910,\u00a0<\/span>BNg<\/span>(<\/span>GradEntry<\/span>) \u201912)<\/span>, Chief Development Officer for Disaster Relief Australia (DRA), returned from her honeymoon to find much of their property destroyed by bushfire. For a trained nurse and part-time paramedic with several major disaster relief missions under her belt, this episode was very personal.<\/p>\n ‘I decided to lead the DRA reconnaissance team during the Adelaide Hills relief effort which I found was a very cathartic experience for me,\u2019 said Anastasia.<\/p>\n DRA unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams in disaster response operations around the world. The model is based on a US founded organisation Team Rubicon, which was started by US marines.<\/p>\n Team Rubicon Australia began in Queensland after Cyclone Debbie in 2017 and the membership-based not for profit organisation has since grown to six locations in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Townsville, Perth, and Adelaide. It was renamed Disaster Relief Australia in 2019.<\/p>\n For three months after mid-January, DRA\u2019s relief effort deployed 278 volunteers who completed more than 10,500 hours of work, providing assistance to 119 households.<\/p>\n As DRA\u2019s State Commander, Anastasia also organised and led a second bushfire recovery operation on Kangaroo Island.<\/p>\n \u2018The 2019-2020 Australian bushfire deployment was one of the biggest challenges faced by the organisation.<\/p>\n \u2018We ran five operations across the nation concurrently and it was a very difficult time. Everyone was stretched.<\/p>\n \u2018Out of that experience we learned several lessons, particularly to work within our means and we have updated our recruitment methods. We also partner with organisations like the Minderoo Foundation.\u2019<\/p>\n After graduating from Flinders University in 2012 with nursing and paramedic science degrees, Anastasia worked for the South Australian Ambulance Service before deploying in 2017 as a medic to Proserpine in Far North Queensland after Cyclone Debbie.<\/p>\n \u2018I took a leadership position with them in the same year and have since been promoted to an executive appointment as Chief Development Officer.\u2019 Anastasia now manages a team of four, overseeing business development, marketing, fundraising, media and communications.<\/p>\n \u2018I became a paramedic because I loved the idea of being able to support people on their worst days. There is a certain sense of purpose in service-based roles, and I really felt like this is one that would give me that sense of purpose while also making a real difference to people\u2019s lives. \u2018<\/p>\n As a child Anastasia always dreamed of being involved in the humanitarian sector. She says her career lives up to her aspirations.<\/p>\n My qualifications opened the door to being able to deploy overseas to the British Virgin Islands to lead a disaster relief operation in response to Hurricane Irma and Maria in 2019.<\/p>\n \u2018As Mission Commander, this gave me the opportunity to lead 30 people from three countries in our aid efforts. This was definitely a career highlight.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Our vision for Disaster Relief Australia is to become the pre-eminent disaster relief agency in the Asia Pacific Rim. I would like to see us accomplish this during my tenure.\u2019<\/p>\n From the 2021<\/span>\u00a0College of\u00a0<\/span>Medicine and Public Health Alumni Magazine \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Read more<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n