Serving as President and COO of Team Rubicon for the past five years has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Witnessing the growth of our organization – in terms of volunteer numbers, services delivered, operational capabilities, and overall complexity – constantly reminds me of the privilege, honor, and, most importantly, the responsibility I hold in my role.
Now, stepping into the CEO position at Team Rubicon is a continuation of that commitment to service and responsibility. Our core mission remains unwavering: to expand our capacity to act and provide crucial services to those who need them most. Like every leader at Team Rubicon, my primary duty is to serve our dedicated volunteers, volunteer leaders, full-time staff, and the generous donors and investors. It is their collective efforts, in the face of natural disasters and humanitarian crises, that enable us to bring hope and essential aid to people during their most challenging times. My leadership vision is centered on empowering each of these groups, ensuring they have what they need to effectively execute our mission and support those in need. This philosophy of Serve Team is at the heart of how we will achieve our goals.
Team Rubicon CEO Art delaCruz and a Greyshirt at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for the Navajo Nation.
Image alt text: Team Rubicon CEO Art delaCruz collaborates with a volunteer, known as a Greyshirt, at a Navajo Nation COVID-19 vaccination site, highlighting the serve team approach in action.
Since becoming CEO, the most frequent question I’ve encountered is, “How does it feel to take over?” Fortunately, transitioning to the CEO role feels quite natural. My 22-year career in the U.S. Navy involved diverse leadership positions, culminating in commanding a strike-fighter squadron of nearly 300 individuals aboard an aircraft carrier during two combat deployments. As Commanding Officer, my responsibilities extended to the personnel under my command, the officers above me, and to the nation I had sworn to serve. We prioritized rigorous training, mutual support for our team members and their families, and unwavering reliance on each other to fulfill our duties and ensure mission success during deployments. This experience was exceptionally meaningful and instilled immense pride, particularly upon returning home after months away, knowing we had accomplished our mission together.
In my current role as Team Rubicon’s CEO, my responsibilities now extend to the volunteers who dedicate their time and skills to our cause, the staff who facilitate their service, and the communities and individuals Team Rubicon is committed to helping recover from natural disasters and humanitarian crises. To effectively serve these diverse groups, my focus must extend beyond disaster survivors. Crucially, I must also prioritize serve team – those who serve, our Greyshirts. By focusing on their needs and experiences, we empower them to deliver the best possible support and experience to disaster survivors. This embodies the ultimate form of customer service, where the “customer” isn’t solely the disaster survivor, but also the dedicated men and women who aid in their recovery.
Art delaCruz during his time in the military.
Image alt text: A photo of Art delaCruz in military uniform, underscoring his background in service and leadership principles that inform his serve team philosophy at Team Rubicon.
In the context of a non-profit CEO dedicated to assisting people during their most vulnerable moments, I firmly believe our volunteers are also deserving of dedicated service. If Team Rubicon effectively addresses their needs – whether through streamlined deployment processes or by eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy – we are better positioned to meet the needs of the communities we serve. When a volunteer arrives for an operation and has a positive experience – if they find an organization that resonates with their personal values and objectives; if they are actively engaged and assigned meaningful tasks rather than idle waiting or pointless work; if they feel valued and have a rewarding experience – I consider that a significant success. This positive volunteer experience directly translates into a win for the entire organization and, most importantly, ensures we effectively serve those who rely on our help.
If Team Rubicon consistently treats our volunteers as valued “customers,” in the sense of serve team, they, in turn, are more likely to remain engaged and return for future opportunities to contribute. And when our core “product” is the ability to train, equip, and deploy individuals to serve others in need, this reciprocal dynamic of giving and receiving becomes a mutually beneficial cycle.
While the specific “product” may be nuanced, the principle of serve team extends similarly to our volunteer leaders. By providing them with clear responsibilities, opportunities for professional growth, and the necessary tools to manage complex projects – skills that can be valuable in various aspects of their lives – we empower them for success. We also offer them a platform to leverage skills acquired in the military, providing a chance to re-engage those abilities. By investing in our volunteer leaders in this way, we not only set them up for success within Team Rubicon, but also cultivate them into passionate advocates who further enhance the Greyshirt experience for everyone involved.
So, if I define success through the lens of customer service, or rather, serve team, how will I measure that success in my role as CEO? My metrics will extend beyond simply the number of disaster survivors we assist. I will prioritize assessing the experiences of the individuals who provide that assistance. If our Greyshirts conclude an operation eager to contribute further, and if our volunteer leaders become increasingly enthusiastic champions for Team Rubicon year after year, I will know we are succeeding. If I can cultivate this same level of dedication and positive experience among our staff, investors, and donors, then Team Rubicon will generate impact far beyond traditional shareholder value or stock increases. Our achievements will be measured in tangible outcomes: more roofs repaired, more acres of debris cleared, more heartfelt hugs delivered to homeowners, and more blessings shared. This is because the more effectively we serve team – our Greyshirts and volunteer leaders – the greater the service, actions, and positive results we will deliver to communities in need.
Greyshirts muck homes after Hurricane Harvey.
Image alt text: Greyshirt volunteers collaborate in mucking out homes in Friendswood, Texas, following Hurricane Harvey, exemplifying the selfless service driven by the serve team approach.
The beauty of Team Rubicon lies in the shared spirit of our Greyshirts. They are inherently selfless, deeply committed to their communities, and firmly believe in service above self. This dedication is evident in their remarkable achievements: assisting over 9.7 million individuals, responding to 10 tornadoes, and working on nearly 1,000 hurricane-damaged homes in 2020 alone. This year, they have already surpassed 145 operations, including 45 core operations. Currently, as I write this, our volunteers are actively engaged in diverse locations: wading through flooded basements in humid Detroit, stacking sandbags in the Arizona heat to mitigate monsoon flooding in Gila County, and navigating downed powerlines in Dexter, MO, to clear trees uprooted by recent tornadoes.
For our volunteers, it’s not simply about operating a chainsaw; it’s about operating that chainsaw for someone in need.
For me, as Team Rubicon’s new CEO, my focus transcends ensuring the smooth operation of chainsaws. My priority is to cultivate the kind of Greyshirt experience – through serve team principles – that amplifies the impact of their efforts, enabling them to provide aid faster, further, and more effectively to a greater number of disaster survivors.
Five years ago, shortly after joining Team Rubicon as COO and immediately following my first deployment as a Greyshirt in Houston, TX, after a flooding event, I wrote a reflection titled, “Take a Little Time to Be Selfish…Go Help Somebody.” During that deployment, our Greyshirts assisted individuals who were facing immense hardship and loss – a situation that truly “sucked.” Witnessing their belongings submerged in mud and sludge was heartbreaking. Yet, while serving these individuals, I, along with my fellow Greyshirts, experienced a different kind of “suck” – one that was transformative. It was challenging, yet within that challenge, there was something profoundly rewarding. Seeing the distress in a survivor’s eyes is undeniably painful. But being immersed in the “muck and suck” alongside fellow Greyshirts – working together through those difficult conditions and emerging with meaningful work accomplished, having made a tangible positive difference in a survivor’s life – that was truly awesome.
Team Rubicon CEO Art delaCruz at a Navajo Nation COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Gallup, NM.
Image alt text: Team Rubicon CEO Art delaCruz is pictured at a Navajo Nation COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Gallup, New Mexico, demonstrating the organization’s commitment to serve team and community health.
The fact that Team Rubicon empowered me to engage in that kind of challenging yet deeply meaningful work resonates deeply with me. The organization’s commitment to enabling all of us to be efficient and effective in delivering that crucial aid amplifies its significance.
That is the kind of experience I, as CEO, am wholeheartedly dedicating myself to fostering in this new chapter. I will consider my tenure successful if I can empower more Greyshirts to achieve even more impactful results, if I can facilitate more Greyshirts to effectively engage in the “suck,” quickly and efficiently. If I can cultivate an experience that inspires them to return for more opportunities to serve disaster survivors, more frequently, rapidly, and efficiently, I will consider that a resounding success. If we continue to build an organization where our most vital asset – our grey-shirted volunteers – feel they gain more from removing waterlogged carpet, felling hazardous trees, or clearing wildfire fuel than they contribute, I will know I have succeeded as this organization’s new CEO. Making it easier for our Greyshirts to engage in the “suck,” empowering more Greyshirts to embrace the selfless act of helping strangers – that, for me, will be the ultimate measure of success, rooted in the principle of serve team.
