Ready2Respond has a director but no single owner. People who already do this work for a living assembled the 2026 camp. A state housing official who rebuilds homes after wildfires had the idea. A National Guard colonel ran the command post. Wildfire and emergency managers wrote the plans, a human services recovery chief set up the camp, an education service district enrolled the students, and a construction company opened its training grounds. Each brought the piece its organization already does.
Amber Rawson, one of the camp’s two primary planners, called it “a collaborative effort of private and public sectors.” “This is the true definition,” she said, “of how a state can function and operate for the greater good of everybody.”
The convener
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), Disaster Recovery and Resilience. The state housing agency’s recovery division, whose team rebuilds homes for wildfire survivors. Jim Taylor, its production development lead, conceived the camp, recruited the partners and served as camp director and operations section chief.
The program
Team Oregon Build. A statewide coalition of education, industry, workforce, community and state agency partners. It builds career pathways in high-demand trades while meeting community needs such as safe housing and wildfire recovery, and its students already build sheds and shelters in school shops. Ready2Respond is its summer camp. Hannah Felt of Pivot Architecture is the program manager and led industry outreach.
Command and planning
Oregon National Guard. Col. Mike Moffit served as incident commander. Lt. Col. Adam Lulay taught the opening sessions on the Incident Command System and served as a liaison. Guard volunteers worked in the field kitchen, and a Guard general toured the showcase.
Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). An all-hazard agency best known for fighting wildfire. Ashley Brown, who writes the state’s wildfire policy, coordinated activities and volunteers, built the schedule and recruited the ICS-qualified professionals who ran command. She also served as deputy planning chief. Levi Hopkins, a wildfire prevention and policy manager, was planning section chief.
Preparedness and mass care
Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM). Kayla Thompson, the community preparedness coordinator, manages the Be 2 Weeks Ready program, brought its units to camp and co-wrote the scenario. Ari Nordquist supported logistics, safety and communications. The department also arranged for a CERT communications truck to stay on site all week.
Oregon Department of Human Services, Office of Resilience and Emergency Management (ODHS OREM). The office finds shelter and transitional housing for Oregonians who lose their homes to disaster. Amber Rawson, a recovery chief, planned the camp alongside Taylor. She handled resourcing and logistics and set up the camp’s structures as she would for a real disaster.
Education
Lane Education Service District (Lane ESD). The education sponsor. It registered students, hired the educators and counselors and put administrators on site. Eric Wright handled student conduct and served as liaison officer, and two on-site student coordinators sent the daily updates to families.
Schools and village leads. Students came from high schools in every region of the state, and their teachers led the villages. John Stearns, Justin Eagar and Seth O’Hare led the three builder villages. Chef Scott Daffron led culinary. Jennifer Stanislaw, a paramedic-firefighter who teaches EMT and fire science at West Salem High School, led safety. Bren Bovee of Thurston High School’s film program led communications. Every village also had a counselor.
Site and industry
Knife River Training Center, Albany. The training campus of the construction company Knife River, and the camp’s host. Kris Latimer, its senior director for training and development, was standing beside Taylor when he first pictured a camp on its field. Center staff taught students to communicate under pressure, showed them heavy equipment and hosted the showcase dinner.
Supporting partners
Albany Fire Department: CPR and AED training, and a live burn demonstration that Division Chief Kevin Vining led.
Lebanon Fire District: the fire booth, with turnouts and extinguisher practice. One of its EMT-firefighters volunteered in the medical tent.
Oregon Department of Education: staff on site, including its tribal education liaison, who welcomed students before Thursday’s dinner.
Linn County Sheriff’s Office: an instructor for Be 2 Weeks Ready units.
County emergency managers, including from Clackamas County: volunteers in command roles.
Oregon Employability Skills and WiseMind Educational Services: sessions on employability and stress, and the micro-credentials that go with them.
Makes & Mends: documentary filmmakers who filmed the week and coached the student communications team.
Portland General Electric Foundation: a chair’s grant.
About 100 volunteers over the week.