Debbie Yee

A native San Franciscan, Debbie Yee began her Red Cross journey as a soon-to-be 8th grader at Marina Middle School looking to complete a 10-hour volunteer requirement for graduating and a booklet of volunteer agencies handed out to students before summer break. That one moment sparked a lifetime passion for helping others through the Red Cross mission to alleviate human suffering through the power of our volunteers and donors. Throughout her time as a youth volunteer, Debbie led Red Cross youth summer camps, Lowell High School's Red Cross Club, attended multiple national conventions, and was heavily involved in sharing preparedness information to the public and peers. This engagement with the Red Cross and awareness of global network of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies across nearly every country in the world ultimately led to degrees in International Relations & Global Studies and Asian Studies from the University of the Pacific. 

After graduating, Debbie returned to the Red Cross in San Francisco as an AmeriCorps member for 1.5 years supporting preparedness outreach to the Asian community across the Bay Area and joining the Disaster team as a volunteer Disaster Action Team responder. What followed was an 8-year career as a Disaster Program Manager covering first Marin County then Solano, Napa, and Lake Counties before rising to her current position as Senior Community Disaster Program Manager in 2017. In this role, she supports 8 counties including San Francisco, 5 Community Disaster Program Managers and deploying when needed as a Red Cross Disaster Response Operations Director, responsible for planning and coordinating operations and facilitating communication with Red Cross responders during large disasters.