Service oriented. Compassionate. Collaborator. These three attributes help personify Latoysa “Toy” Rooks, the regional disaster officer for the Michigan Region of the American Red Cross.
In her role, Rooks directs the Region’s disaster preparedness, response and recovery services across six Red Cross chapters that collectively serve more than 9 million people across the state. She also manages a statewide team of volunteers and team members (17) who are part of Disaster Cycle Services.
The work Rooks and her team perform often comes against the backdrop of their fellow citizens experiencing what is undoubtably the worst day of their life. A home fire. An extreme weather event. A flooding situation.
“I love what I do,” Rooks said, adding, “I want to be able to impact change.”
Rooks came to Michigan in 2024, after serving in disaster leadership roles in the Alaska, Central Florida and Georgia regions. In Georgia, she was senior disaster program manager for five years and director of operations for three years prior to that. She also served as interim regional disaster officer in those three regions.
During a disaster, local or national, the Red Cross provides safe shelter, food, emergency relief supplies, emotional support, health services and recovery assistance to those who have been impacted. These services are free and available to anyone who has experienced a disaster.
“As soon as someone smiles or shows relief that we are there, that’s instant gratification for me,” Rooks said. “I can walk into a shelter and see the amazement in a client’s eyes after we provided them a place to sleep and eat not just for them but for their family as well after their life has been suddenly upended.”
Helping people has been a staple in Rooks professional career path after she graduated with bachelor’s degrees in Community Health and Health Performance and a master’s degree in Public Health in Tennessee. She served as health education director of the Clayton County Board of Health in Georgia and as public health educator of the Georgia Poison Center. She was also volunteer and program coordinator at the Lewy Body Dementia Association, an advocacy organization that raises awareness about a common form of dementia.
Since joining the Red Cross in 2019, Rooks has managed numerous disaster operations following weather events that continue to increase by intensity and frequency.
“We are here and ready to respond,” she said, “and support you on the path to recovery.”
In Michigan, she is striving to enhance the region’s readiness and capacity, while strengthening relationships with existing community partners and exploring opportunities for new partnerships. She also wants to grow the Red Cross volunteer workforce.
“I want us to be a well-oiled machine,” she said, to continue to serve the ongoing needs of Michigan communities all the while supporting Red Crossers in other parts of the country when needed.
“I want to be proactive in understanding our communities’ needs and understanding how our partners serve them, so they have the opportunity to tell us what they need from the Red Cross,” Rooks said.
As a people manager, Rooks relies on the axiom of leading by example.
“When I say we are all in, I have to be all in as well,” she said. “I never ask of my team things I would not do myself.”
Rooks is also all in when it comes to donating blood. She is a proud sickle cell fighter to help those with sickle cell disease. She has made nine donations to date.
“There is so much joy in knowing your blood is helping to save lives or impacting a community,” she said. “It is fulfilling to see the journey of my blood from donation to patient.”
By David Olejarz, regional communications director