GWENDOLYN T. PANG: Humanitarian service is in her blood
One of Pang’s most notable achievements is leading PRC’s response operations to populations severely affected by Super Typhoon ‘Haiyan,’ known in the Philippines as ‘Yolanda,’ in 2013.
As an exemplary leader at the Red Cross Movement for 25 years, Gwen has been working to connect donors and the most vulnerable families in communities affected by disasters, not just in the Philippines but across Asia.
Her humble beginnings as a volunteer for the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and her rise to the role of steering the largest international humanitarian network make Gwendolyn T. Pang an exemplary worker.
She has always cheered and supported even the humblest contribution from volunteers and teammates toward shaping a better future for those they have vowed to serve.
The hardworking PRC staff and volunteers to arrive and always the last to leave wherever they are needed.
Being a humanitarian worker in this day and age is not easy, with the world suffering from the adverse effects of a pandemic, natural hazards left and right and unending armed conflict. But these situations are what drive Pang to always be better at her job, as saving human lives is her mission.
Pang has never failed to see the good in humanity and has pledged her life to educate, empower and inspire people’s lives by working tirelessly under the worst conditions, giving tangible, sustainable and invaluable aid. This woman has always been a trailblazer wherever her feet take her.
As an exemplary leader at the Red Cross Movement for 25 years, she has been working to connect donors and the most vulnerable families in communities affected by disasters, not just in the Philippines but across Asia. Pang’s physical stature and relatively young age compared to other Red Cross leaders across the globe belie her influence and reach in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
She held various managerial roles before rising to the highest position in operations, that of secretary-general from 2009 to 2016 — the youngest to assume the role across the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement globally.
Right after the end of her term as secretarygeneral of the PRC, Pang joined the IFRC as head of East Asia, from 2016 to 2021. She was stationed in Beijing, China. Pang was then promoted as IFRC’s deputy regional director for the Asia Pacific, working with 38 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Governors of the PRC.
As director of fund generation at PRC, Pang designed the humanitarian organization’s first resource generation planning workshop, developed its first resource generation training manual and led the creation of its first fundraising roadmap.
As secretary-general, she initiated Pledge 25, a PRC campaign to recruit blood donors among the youth. Because of Pang’s campaign, the PRC has been able to recruit and retain young blood donors, who account for 50 percent of its donor base to date.
In 2009, she was recognized by Jean-Daniel Tauxe, International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) head of delegation in the Philippines, for her “extraordinary service and dedicated commitment in ensuring the safe release” of ICRC personnel Mary-Jean Lacaba, Andreas Notter and Eugenio Vagni, who were kidnapped in Jolo on 15 July 2009.
Pang also oversaw numerous disaster response operations, as the Philippines is among the countries with the highest disaster risk index worldwide. One of Pang’s most notable achievements is leading PRC’s response operations to populations severely affected by Super Typhoon “Haiyan,” known in the Philippines as “Yolanda,” in 2013.
It caught the world’s attention for the enormity of its devastation. PRC volunteers and staff were among the first to arrive at Ground Zero, in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, where “Yolanda” first landed. The PRC response helped to rebuild the lives of 390,399 families, or 1,951,995 persons, in 10 cities and provinces — Leyte, Ormoc City, Western Samar, Eastern Samar, Cebu, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, Iloilo and Palawan — by providing them with retrieval, relief and recovery support. Among the support given were food items and water, non-food items (plastic mats, bedding, water containers, tarpaulins and kitchen sets), cash assistance, housing projects and classroom construction.
Under Pang’s monitoring of the PRC operations during the Zamboanga Siege, also in 2013, volunteers worked around the clock to rescue and secure the civilians and the most vulnerable in safe zones.
Another initiative Pang is credited for is implementing the modernization plan for the PRC Operations Center, the command-and -control system that is the primary tool of the Emergency Dispatch Unit to receive incoming calls, through the Red Cross 143 hotline. Pang’s visit to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) helped her to envision what a modern data network looked like for a humanitarian organization.
Pang’s unparalleled passion for working on the ground, her technical knowledge and her diplomatic strengths landed her rewarding opportunities in the Philippines and overseas. These qualities and competencies never go out of style and will always be relevant when the world needs genuine leaders. We don’t see Pang stopping anytime now. Committed to the promotion of the well-being and upliftment of the people and the communities she serves — she is, indeed, a humanitarian leader with a purpose.