Prepared Before It Was Urgent: Galveston Leaders Gather to Strengthen Disaster Coordination

Planned weeks before Tropical Storm Arthur formed in the Gulf, the roundtable brought nonprofit, faith, government, and philanthropic partners together for practical coordination as Galveston experienced real-time storm impacts.

The Galveston Nonprofit and Faith Community Disaster Preparedness Roundtable had been scheduled weeks before Tropical Storm Arthur formed in the Gulf. But by the time leaders gathered at Moody Methodist Church, the storm had brushed Galveston, thousands of island residents were without power, and the purpose of the morning was no longer theoretical.

Preparedness cannot wait until a disaster is already unfolding. It has to be built through relationships, shared information, practical planning, and trust before the next urgent moment arrives.

That was the purpose of the roundtable: to bring Galveston-serving organizations together before the next emergency to better understand who is doing what, what capacity exists, where limitations remain, and how nonprofit and faith-based organizations can coordinate more effectively when conditions change quickly.

A Cross-Sector Room Ready to Work

Mayor John Paul Listowski welcomed participants and thanked them for being part of the conversation. Photo by Taylor Greenwalt, Greenwalt Productions.

United Way of Galveston convened the roundtable in partnership with Moody Methodist Church and the Galveston County Recovery Fund. Mayor John Paul Listowski welcomed the group and thanked participants for being part of the conversation.

The strength of the morning was not a single presentation. It was the range of experience in the room.

City and county government, philanthropy, faith communities, nonprofits, and community-serving organizations worked from the same tables. Participants brought knowledge of facilities, volunteers, funding, public systems, neighborhood relationships, client needs, communications, and the limits organizations face when conditions change quickly.

Together, they reflected on organizational readiness, shared existing capacity, named limitations honestly, surfaced communication challenges, identified potential roles, connected with other organizations, and offered practical solutions.

Leaders from Galveston nonprofit, faith, government, philanthropic, and community-serving organizations gathered at Moody Methodist Church for a working roundtable on disaster preparedness and coordination. Photo by Taylor Greenwalt, Greenwalt Productions.

A Meeting Built Through Partnership

The roundtable was shaped by thoughtful preparation from several partners. Pre-meetings with Lauren Scott, Betty Massey, Cheryl Clark, Sam Caminade, and Vivian Victoria helped refine the purpose, flow, materials, and room setup so participants could move quickly into practical conversation.

Rev. Alicia Besser welcomed participants to Moody Methodist Church, where the morning began with hospitality, coffee, beverages, fruit, and homemade cookies baked by Betty Massey.

Moody Methodist Church’s hospitality was evident throughout the morning. Sam Caminade, Facilities Director at Moody Methodist Church, prepared the room, tables, chairs, computer screen, beverages, and fruit, helping create a setting where participants could focus on the work of the morning.

Betty Massey created the organizational self-assessment participants used to reflect on readiness, capacity, and possible next steps. Lauren Scott, Chair of the Galveston County Recovery Fund, spent hours helping refine the flow of the morning and framed the Recovery Fund’s interest in strengthening local coordination before, during, and after disaster events.

Sam Caminade also shared the preparedness work Moody Methodist Church is undertaking and invited other organizations to consider what roles they may be able to play, where appropriate, in future emergency situations.

United Way of Galveston staff Jennifer Jameson and Amylin Hicks helped welcome and orient attendees as they arrived, supporting the check-in process and helping participants settle into the work of the morning.

*The roundtable was designed as a working session, supported by partners who helped prepare the space, materials, and flow of the morning. Photo by Taylor Greenwalt, Greenwalt Productions.*

What Participants Surfaced

The discussion was practical, candid, and forward-moving.

Participants talked through real questions about communication, facilities, staffing, volunteer capacity, supplies, transportation, trusted relationships, and the challenges that appear quickly when weather, power, transportation, and public information conditions change.

Brittany Rivers and Adriane Cornish are pictured as participants worked in small groups to identify organizational strengths, limitations, and coordination needs before the next emergency. Photo by Taylor Greenwalt, Greenwalt Productions.

The morning made one thing clear: Galveston already has significant community capacity. The next step is making that capacity easier to see, easier to activate, and easier to coordinate when conditions change quickly.

That work requires more than one meeting. It requires continued communication, shared tools, updated contact information, and a clearer understanding of how organizations can support one another before, during, and after emergencies.

The conversation helped surface both existing capacity and practical coordination needs across Galveston-serving organizations. Photo of Kelly Cruz, Galveston Island Meals on Wheels and Tylan Blades, Boys & Girls Club, by Taylor Greenwalt, Greenwalt Productions.

What Comes Next

United Way of Galveston will use what was shared during the roundtable to help inform follow-up resources, shared themes, and possible next steps for the Galveston Disaster Response Network, a developing coordination effort for nonprofit and faith-based organizations serving Galveston Island, Tiki Island, and the Bolivar Peninsula.

The Network is intended to help organizations better understand one another’s roles, connect resources and capabilities before a disaster, and coordinate more effectively when a response is needed.

United Way of Galveston is continuing to compile what participants shared during the roundtable, including common needs, existing capabilities, resource gaps, and opportunities for coordination. A fuller report will be shared soon to help inform the next phase of this work.

Continue the Work

The June 2026 Galveston Nonprofit and Faith Community Disaster Preparedness Roundtable report is now available. It captures themes from the June 18 conversation, including practical strengths to build on, communication and coordination challenges, opportunities for continued preparedness work, and next steps for the Galveston Disaster Response Network.

The roundtable was one step in a larger effort to strengthen coordination among Galveston-serving nonprofit and faith-based organizations before the next emergency. Organizations that serve Galveston Island, Tiki Island, or the Bolivar Peninsula are invited to:

Join the Galveston Disaster Response Network
Stay connected as local coordination efforts continue.

Share resources for the Preparedness Repository
Send forms, checklists, contact lists, guides, templates, or examples that could help organizations prepare and coordinate more effectively. Useful materials will be added to the shared preparedness repository as they are received.

Use the Organizational Self-Assessment
Begin the conversation inside your organization with staff, board members, volunteers, or leadership teams.

Share preparedness resources with clients, congregations, and community members
Help people prepare before a disruption by sharing practical information such as the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR), Ready.gov’s Build a Kit guidance, evacuation information, and other local preparedness resources.

Partners will also be invited to reconnect this fall to assess progress since the roundtable, identify remaining coordination needs, and prepare for cold-weather conditions.

Organizations Represented

The roundtable reflected the breadth of organizations that help Galveston prepare, respond, recover, communicate, serve, fund, host, and connect.

Thank You

United Way of Galveston is grateful to Moody Methodist Church and the Galveston County Recovery Fund for their partnership in bringing this convening to Galveston.

We are also grateful to every participant who showed up ready to help. The morning reflected what is possible when organizations come together before the need is urgent, with honesty about limitations, respect for one another’s roles, and a shared commitment to Galveston’s readiness and resilience.