Staff

Semon Makar Zekry, Director of Partnerships & Operations

Semon helps build and expand partnerships with local organizations, donors, foundations, and government partners at both the local and federal levels to strengthen disaster recovery and promote long-term community resilience across the United States and beyond.

She brings experience across the public and private sectors, including the White House, the United States Congress, the U.S. Department of State, and financial institutions. She is committed to using that experience to expand Recovers' outreach and strengthen disaster recovery efforts across the country.

Semon holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Technology Policy from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Affairs from The George Washington University.

Board of Directors

Mark Bernfeld, Director

Mark is an experienced entrepreneur and angel investor with a commitment to environmentally and socially responsible businesses. He is a member of Launchpad Venture Group and a Partner in Clean Energy Venture Group, providing funding and advice to early-stage companies.  He serves on a number of start-up Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards.  He is a Lecturer in Finance and Entrepreneurship at Northeastern University, and has mentored many start-ups through programs at MassChallenge, Dartmouth College, and other college/university organizations.  Mark also oversees a family real estate business.

Mark is cofounder of MentorWorks Education Capital (2016), providing deserving college students with flexible education financing combined with high-value mentoring.  In 1993, Mark founded Tamarack Technologies with the vision of meeting our growing need to conserve energy and improve air quality in our homes.  He remains owner and Board Chairman.  Mark also has 35 years of experience in the insurance industry, with diverse roles from consultant to broker to insurance company executive.

Mark is a Board member at Community Legal Services and Counseling Center (CLSACC), a Cambridge, Massachusetts based nonprofit that provides free legal assistance and affordable psychological counseling to help combat the effects of poverty and violence.  He is also on the Alumni Board of Dragon Senior Honor Society at Dartmouth College.  Mark received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Mathematics from Dartmouth College.

John Hoyles, Director

John is originally from a gold mining town in Northern Québec in Canada. His professional background is as a lawyer. He has as well worked with Canadian government agencies as well as worked in the Prime Minister’s Office in Canada’s Capital, Ottawa. John spent 20 years as the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Bar Association and he is currently Executive Director of Community Navigation of Eastern Ontario, which provides the 211 service in Eastern Ontario.

John is also a member of the 211 Canada Leadership Table and the Co-President of Inform Canada.

In his role as Executive Director of CNEO/211 East, he has done extensive work with municipalities in responding to disasters, in particular in organizing spontaneous volunteers.

John is excited to be a new board member of Supporting Resilient Communities, Inc., and looks forward to spreading the word and encouraging the implementation of Recovers.org.

Francis Hyatt, Director

Francis Hyatt is Executive Vice President and Chief Community Investments & Sustainability Officer of Liberty Mutual Insurance. In his role leading the Office of Community Investments & Sustainability, Francis champions Liberty as a force for good – playing its part in leading the transition to a more sustainable world while supporting and investing in those most vulnerable. As part of his work to advance the climate transition, he works to ensure that sustainability is integrated into the company’s commercial, retail and investments businesses. He spearheads multiple climate initiatives including the company’s greenhouse gas emissions reductions, the Liberty Mutual Climate Transition Center, global climate education, and a robust reporting and disclosures program. He also stewards the company’s philanthropic and community investments strategy ensuring that Liberty’s core capabilities, expertise and assets are leveraged to drive greater employee engagement and community impact. 

Francis serves on the boards of Lazarus House Ministries and investment committee of Boston Healthcare for the Homeless. He is also an active member of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, where he chairs the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Advisory Board and is a member of the Corporate Eco Forum. He holds a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School, a Bachelor of Science in Business from Bentley University and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar.

Temitayo Ifafore-Calfee, Director

Temitayo is the founder of WithKidsTravel.com, where she helps busy parents feel confident traveling with young children, reducing stress and enabling more meaningful family memories. A lifelong traveler and mother of two, she has visited more than 47 countries, bringing practical expertise and real-world insight to empower families to explore the world together.

Temitayo previously served as Division Chief at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she led $100M+ international health workforce and partnership initiatives across Africa, Latin America, and the United States, including efforts to rebuild Liberia’s health system following the Ebola epidemic.

A graduate of Yale University and the University of Michigan, Temitayo brings a unique blend of global development leadership and entrepreneurial experience to her work. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two children.

Chris Kuryak, Treasurer and Director

Chris is currently a Senior Product Manager at Nava, a public benefit corporation making government services simple and effective. He works with government agencies (such as the CDC and HHS) to build digital services that help to solve critical public issues. Formerly the Chief Operating Officer of Recovers, Chris helped grow the unknown company into a well-known, government-recognized disaster relief tool. He has 4 years’ experience helping organize community-level disaster relief on both a large and small scale, including Superstorm Sandy, the Moore tornadoes, and the Boles Fire. Chris’s goals are to help solve big problems in the areas of disaster relief, education, and clean energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, where he performed clean energy research.

Morgan O'Neill, PhD, President and Director

Morgan is a climate scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto, where she studies severe weather phenomena. She co-founded the original recovers.org platform in 2011 after a tornado struck her family home in Monson, MA and has helped coordinate dozens of community disaster recoveries since, in person and online. Morgan was previously an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) on an ambulance for five years and has substantial community organizing experience, in large and small campaigns as well as progressive policy initiatives. She has a B.S. in Physics from the University of New Hampshire and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from MIT.