Pros
Disaster volunteers are wonderful to work with. Great opportunities to assist disaster clients locally and work alongside others who believe in the mission.
Cons
Staff is under appreciated and constantly on edge due to organizational changes every 10-16 months. Decisions made at the national level do not take into account geopolitical issues at the local level and are therefore creating problems between regional staff and local partners. I heard too many complaints about Red Cross closing offices and eliminating local staff, creating an impression that Red Cross is no longer there for the COMMUNITY. Very poor work/life balance, and with the hours you are expected to put in during normal day to day operations, you would expect a reasonable salary. Yes, it's a non profit so you can't expect to make it big, but managing disaster operations in 8+ counties and making less than half what a single counties emergency manager makes is ridiculous.