Brennan Banks is the director of Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) disaster recovery funds. In his role, he manages all aspects of CDP’s recovery funds and associated grantmaking and grants management. Brennan started his career in the international humanitarian field in 2002 as a refugee caseworker in eastern Africa. In 2004, he joined the Red Cross as a Disaster Manager in the U.S. overseeing disaster response programs and became a member of the its global disaster response team.
In 2009, he returned to Africa as the Regional Disaster Operations Manager for Eastern Africa managing the planning, coordination and implementation of disaster response operations in 14 countries. Brennan also developed and enhanced disaster management programs throughout Africa, including extensive work on community-based disaster risk reduction programing in the Zambezi River Basin regions of Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
During 2014-16, Brennan was deeply involved in the West Africa Ebola Outbreak. First as the Ebola Response Coordinator for the Red Cross where he planned programs and coordinated emergency resources. Followed by the position of Deputy Director of Programs for Paul G. Allen’s $100 million Ebola Program where he developed and managed the Ebola response and recovery program portfolio.
Brennan enjoys traveling and has visited more than 75 countries, while providing humanitarian assistance in over 25 including the Philippines, Liberia, Belize, Nigeria, and Barbuda, to name a few. When not travelling he can be found in South Florida with his children, Cassandra and William.