Red Cross public affairs volunteer J. Suzanne Horsley was interviewed by Dateline NBC’s Brian Williams after the Tuscaloosa tornado last April. An oak tree fell on her home, but she was unharmed, so she quickly got to work helping others. University of Alabama
While others flee hurricanes, fires, and floods, J. Suzanne Horsley ’93 rushes in. During the past decade, the self-proclaimed “disaster junkie” and national Red Cross public affairs volunteer has deployed to some of the country’s worst weather-torn areas, including New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and portions of North Dakota and Arkansas after floods.
So when a massive tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Ala., the city where she lives and works, last April, Horsley was ready to help. She coordinated public information efforts and participated in more than 50 interviews. Horsley, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama, assembled a team of advertising and public relations students to create a website, write news releases, and produce online content for the local Red Cross chapter.
The disaster brought a swirl of attention to Horsley. In August, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication gave her its SuPRStar Award for Excellence in Community Service for her contributions after the tornado.
“This crisis in Tuscaloosa – yes, it was a danger,” Horsley told the Alabama online news source AL.com. “But look at the opportunities to come together as a community, get students involved in helping, and conduct research that can help mitigate disasters in the future.”