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Nick Mrzlak from Team Rubicon joins Dan Zehner to talk about this unusual disaster-relief organization. We learn about the group\u2019s trick of teaming veterans and first responders and its mission to focus on the underserved. With his background of serving in the U.S. Navy, working as an emergency medical technician, teaching EMTs, and volunteering with FEMA, Mrzlak is skilled and eager to help. A volunteer with Team Rubicon since 2010, he\u2019s worked in places like Haiti, where he trained local civilians as EMTs. He has worked full-time for Team Rubicon since December 2017. \u201cThere\u2019s not much we can\u2019t do,\u201d Mrzlak says. Team Rubicon volunteers are a special breed. \u201cA tribe,\u201d Mrzlak laughs. In one of their first deployments, in Haiti, the Team Rubicon founders realized that pairing veterans and first responders made for especially effective teams. \u201cThese types of people want to help, and they have unique skills.\u201d Plus, these particular volunteers crave a sense of purpose and community. Light and nimble, Team Rubicon bridges the gap between disaster and the arrival of established aid organizations, like FEMA. Mrzlak describes current work in the Houston area post-Harvey. 400-450 volunteers are still in the first phase of recovery: clearing debris, sawing down trees and hauling stuff away. They are mucking out homes, removing drywall and salvaging what\u2019s possible \u2013 often for residents who do not have a lot to begin with. In these desperate situations, Mrzlak says, Team Rubicon volunteers form meaningful bonds with each other and with the people they help. Team Rubicon has 60,000 volunteers in the U.S. Mrzlak says 13,000 people have volunteered since Hurricane Harvey alone. In this year\u2019s busy disaster season, teams are deployed in Texas, Puerto Rico, Florida, the Caribbean and in the Mexico City area. Mrzlak describes organization\u2019s data-gathering and logistics. The group depends heavily on volunteers in affected regions, like local EMTs, firefighters and police. They also leverage help from corporate partners, like Home Depot, who can ship equipment and supplies to local stores. \u201cWe often set up operations in Home Depot parking lots,\u201d Mrzlak explains. Other partners include Tyson Foods, Walmart, the National Fish and Wildlife Service, and Palantir \u2013 which provides software for mapping and tracking work orders and assets. Links from the episode: https://teamrubiconusa.org/response/capabilities-services/ https://teamrubiconusa.org/operation/operation-hard-hustle/#overview https://www.palantir.com/