The woman I was before I was told who to be.

For years, I took the nouns they called me and made them my reality. Daughter. Sister. Partner. Professional. Good girl. Too much. Not enough.

I believed other people's definitions and expectations. We all did.

The Fog That Wasn't Fog

In January 2009, I decided to walk the Camino de Santiago. By September, I was climbing the Pyrenees in the dark, surrounded by what I thought was fog.

I couldn't see the path. I was sure I was lost.

A stranger appeared and asked if I was okay. I said I couldn't see anything through the fog.

They looked at me and said: "That's not fog. Those are clouds. You're above them."

I wasn't lost. I was already somewhere. I just didn't know it yet.

That's the moment The Returning Project was born.

What I Bring

I've spent over twenty years in disaster response and community resilience. Not theory. Practice.

I'm a New Orleans native, which means I didn't study disasters from a distance. I lived them. Katrina. Rita. Gustav. Ike. The BP Oil Spill. Each one taught me something about what breaks and what holds.

I founded The Resiliency Institute to help organizations understand that preparedness isn't just a plan in a binder. It's a culture. It's knowing your role before the storm hits.

Professional credentials:

• Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP), Disaster Recovery Institute International

• DRI Program Leader of the Year, 2020

• Manager of Business Continuity, Tulane University

• Co-developer, FEMA national curriculum for Disaster Debris Management and Evacuation Planning Strategies

• Author, Community Evacuation Plan for the City of New Orleans

• Trained 250+ communities through FEMA's National Disaster Preparedness Training Center

• Co-founder, Evacuteer.org volunteer emergency evacuation network

• 30+ years in technology systems design and implementation

But here's what matters most: I learned that resilience isn't about bouncing back. It's about knowing who you are when everything else falls away.

That's what I bring to this work.

Speaking and Workshops

I teach internationally on emergency management, business continuity, and organizational resilience. My workshops blend serious expertise with the kind of humor that makes hard information easier to hear.

I speak on:

• Building operational resilience in higher education and complex organizations

• Community preparedness and evacuation planning

• The intersection of personal and organizational resilience

• Women, identity transitions, and the science of returning to yourself

If you're looking for a speaker who combines twenty years of FEMA-level expertise with real talk about what it means to rebuild, let's connect.

[Contact me about speaking]

What I Don't Bring

Answers.

I'm not a guru on a mountaintop. I'm a woman who's been through it, still going through it, still asking the questions.

There are no teachers here. Only questions.

We're not running from. We're returning to.

The Rest of It

I was voted Most Likely to Go to Jail in high school. I have reached the age of comfort over fashion. I live with two cats who tolerate me. I read boring history books for fun. I listen to polkas, waltzes, and classical music without apology.

I'm still a little crazy. There's room on the path if you are too.

Returning together,

Bonnie