From Humanitarian Aid Worker to Emergency Response, Jean Renouf is a local expert in disaster response and recovery, as well as building community resilience and preparedness in the face of climate change, who is actively working within the Lismore and Northern Rivers Region to enhance the preparedness for future disasters. 

"I was born in Argentina, I have two brothers, one older, one younger. My Dad was a Civil Servant for the French Foreign Affairs as a Consultant Diplomat.

Most of my childhood to teen years was spent moving around the world, on average every 3 years we would change countries. We learned foreign languages, as well as others, and went to French Schools, as well as International Schools".

"Whilst, as a child, I didn't think consciously about how this lifestyle was different, I recall as a 12-year-old realising that not everyone lives this lifestyle. It has assisted me to better understand cross-cultural dialogues and by being able to adjust to new schools and environments it did support me, albeit subconsciously, to adapt in the ways that have been important in my career."

"I wanted to become a military officer so I went on to boarding school, and decided not to further pursue this. I then decided to continue my studies and become a police officer, but eventually chose to be a humanitarian aid worker, after studying Russian and Humanitarian Law and completing several internships at well-known International aid organisations I went straight to North Korea."

"The objective was to increase the health outcomes in 5 major hospitals by securing more basic warmth in the hospital itself. This was particularly important due to the extreme winters they face there. I remember one hospital room, for example, was minus 10 degrees in the room itself".

"It was fascinating. I was actually kicked out of the country. I was particularly curious, and this was something that wasn't allowed in a dictatorship."

"Another role I had was to manage a staff of over 250 in The Congo".

"This was incredibly dangerous at times, and looking back, incredible to experience".

"I recall life and death situations such as a staff member's daughter, who would have died had she not received medical treatment. We flew her and her mother to South Africa, to receive medical treatment, but then on the way back, the plane crashed!"

"What is incredible is that she and her mother were amongst the survivors."

"Due to the work we did on water sterilisation in remote communities, I was able to see the effects of our work, almost instantly."

"We were still there when many other agencies were removed and we reported directly to the Secretary-General, which made us an authority on what was happening directly."

"In my 20's this felt pretty incredible, and to see this impact was very fulfilling"

"I decided to continue my studies and went to the London School of Economics where I did my PhD. I have continued to study International Security and Climate Adaptation and I am currently working on research that aims to understand the personal adaptation and mitigation strategies of those who are on the frontline of climate change."

"I met my wife Carly and we decided to settle in Australia, choosing Mullumbimby for its climate, and community values. We moved to Goonellabah 3 days prior to the floods."

"I also work as a lecturer at Southern Cross University and as a Firefighter with Goonellabah Fire and Rescue, and have taken a year off my work at the Uni, since the floods, to focus on Resilient Byron, which acted as a primary response to the floods, and now with its expansion to include the larger Northern Rivers region, as a disaster preparation response to ensure Climate Change mitigation and resilience."

"I have two boys, and this is something that feels very important to me, both from my experience as an International Humanitarian Worker and Emergency Services First Responder, but also as an academic and most importantly as a parent."

"We have developed a series of training opportunities and workshops for members of the Northern Rivers Community to assist in Disaster Preparedness and Response, with more places to be opened up in the coming month. To register go to: https://www.ccrnetwork.org