Since our founding in 2015, we’ve worked hand-in-hand with communities across the Caribbean, Central America, and the South Pacific to build resilience and preparedness before disaster strikes and to support their immediate needs through rapid response.
About Us
Our vision is for a sustainable future where resilient communities thrive in the face of crisis and change.
Discover our story and passion for communities we serve
Our History
GSD is a humanitarian organization founded as an informal organization in 2015 after an impromptu response to Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu. That first response defined the core of GSD’s DNA as an organization: to work with communities, led by their needs, filling the gaps they have identified, while leveraging unique approaches and capabilities with an innovation mindset. We formalized our status as a nonprofit, non-governmental organization in 2019.
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Cyclone Pam | Vanuatu
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How we work
We value impact and accountability
We work with each partner or community to co-create a preparedness and response approach to achieve both immediate and long-term impact. We welcome—and expect—feedback and are transparent about what’s working and what’s not. We uphold the highest standards of protection and humanitarian ethics.
We are innovative and agile
We seek to test new ideas and approaches with a deep understanding of our partners’ contexts and priorities. Through trusted, adaptable partnerships, we shape responses that meet evolving needs and generate sustainable impact. We bring together experts across humanitarian, military, private, and public sectors to tackle complex challenges.
We are committed to learning
We are a learning organization, and our effectiveness depends on curiosity, listening, and iteration. We offer access to learning exchanges and opportunities for shared growth.
What we do
Global Support and Development (GSD) is a US-based humanitarian organization whose mission is to work with local, national, and regional communities for resilience to crisis through rapid response, disaster preparedness, and climate adaptation. We seek opportunities to amplify and augment existing efforts, fill gaps, share knowledge, and support locally led preparedness initiatives. Our team also has a wide range of ways we can support disaster response to assist communities in the immediate aftermath of disasters.
Make a positive impact with us
At GSD, we’ve intentionally built a team with experience across humanitarian and development work, disaster and emergency response, the military, and the private sector. This diversity of perspectives strengthens our ability to think creatively and solve complex problems.
Partner with us1/1
Our maritime program, to include both professional mariners and support staff, is comprised of not only the most technically competent crew I’ve ever worked with, but the most technically competent crew I’ve ever heard of. That level of expertise in the maritime domain allows us to consider options and mitigate risk in ways that aren’t available to any other humanitarian or maritime organizations I’m familiar with, to the benefit of our humanitarian and maritime partners and the local communities we serve before, during, and after disasters.