525. Building Resilient Communities + CORE's Holistic Approach to Humanitarian Work - Ann Lee

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Overview

Meet Ann. She’s a trailblazing leader who has activated vital emergency responses within the U.S. and internationally🌍 She co-founded CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) alongside Sean Penn, and as CEO has overseen CORE’s transition into an international response and resilience-building NGO, responding to global crises. Navigating the landscape of disaster relief and community empowerment takes more than good intentions; it demands innovation, trust, and a genuine commitment to systemic change. Join us as Ann shares the heartbeat of CORE's mission and how they’re paving the path toward a future where communities are well-prepared to respond and recover swiftly and effectively during times of crisis.

💡Learn

History + Overview of CORE
The Intersection of disaster and social justice
How to get activated today

Today’s Guest

Ann Lee, Co-Founder + CEO, CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort)

“We respond from the inside out.”

— Ann Lee, Co-Founder + CEO, CORE

Episode Transcript

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Episode Highlights

Ann’s Story and journey to where she is today (5:00)
History + Overview of CORE + Tone-Setting (8:40)
CORE's evolution and community-building lessons learned (16:20)
How CORE supports communities from the inside out (20:30)
Core programs at CORE (29:30)
What listeners could implement today (33:50)
A powerful story of philanthropy in Ann’s life (38:40)
Ann’s One Good Thing: Humans are good. (42:10)
How to connect with Ann and CORE (44:40)

Impactful Quotes

“Major world happenings have shaped where I have ended up.” -Ann

“Yes, it's an impossible task, but unless we start, we aren't going to actually do anything.” -Ann

“We are very conscious of the learning piece to this and that it is hard to take risks, it is scary. You don't know what you don't know. So everything that we've done to jump into spaces, first or early on, is to try to capture all the lessons, share the cost, share the learnings, share how to do it and put that out as quickly as possible because we know that we aren't going to be able to do it alone. We need everyone else to pick up a shovel and just dig in with us.” -Ann

“We were able to force ourselves out of the old way of working.” -Ann

“When is the last time that you have forced yourself out of the old way of working?” -Becky

“The groups that believe in us are really singular, in that they are very familiar with risk taking.” -Ann

“Immediately after disaster, it’s not external folks that come in and save the day. It’s neighbors, colleagues and local groups that save the most lives within the first 24-72 hours. Knowing that is so powerful. All the power is right around us. It’s about how we know people, who we know, and how we connect with them.” -Ann

“Community is so much what we try to tap into to support what is already there and what is happening.” -Ann

“We respond from the inside out.” -Ann

“We have these overlaying maps of where is that people are the most vulnerable, highest at risk, lowest economic standing, who have the least amount of access to resources, and then we'll go there.” -Ann

“We’re doing a lot of health access programming that came out of our ability to get into these hard to reach communities.” -Ann

“Because we worked through and with trusted intermediaries and community leaders, now we have become a trusted entity ourselves.” -Ann

“We have a very supply driven model, and the system needs to switch to more of a demand model.” -Ann

“All of the tools are there, and we aren’t using them.” -Ann

“Power slows us down.” -Becky

“The world is scary. There's terrible things happening in the world. But humans are good. We're good people.” -Ann