By Chea’Lee Erb
Variety Correspondent
TINIAN — Lisa Phinney, a Red Cross volunteer and mother of two, is spending this Mother’s Day on the island of Tinian, coordinating disaster relief for families still recovering from Typhoon Sinlaku. As Zone Coordinator for the American Red Cross, Phinney is one of the volunteers currently on the ground across the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, having served in Guam, Saipan, and Tinian since the storm impacted the region.
Her path to the Pacific began in 2020. Living in North Carolina after years overseas, Phinney submitted an application to volunteer with the Red Cross during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Two days later she received a call asking if she would deploy to New Orleans, Louisiana, to assist communities devastated by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. She said yes, stepping into her first role as a shelter worker and beginning a chapter of service that would shape everything that followed. What started as a desire to contribute during uncertain times, became a calling that has since carried her across the country and now across the Pacific Ocean.
“It’s honestly a gift to be able to deploy and help communities,” Phinney said.
As Zone Coordinator, Phinney oversees relief operations across her current designated area of Tinian. Her days have been filled with organizing and distributing supplies to families affected by the storm, working alongside local volunteers, and responding directly to the needs of the community. Having previously volunteered in another part of the Pacific, Phinney arrived in the CNMI with some sense of what to expect. What she found was something that surprised her in the best way. Rather than a community waiting for outside support, residents knew what they needed and were actively helping the Red Cross through their willingness to volunteer and provide detailed information about what was pertinent for recovery. For Phinney, it was an eye-opening experience that shifted her role from provider to partner.
“It’s just been me and a local group of volunteers on Tinian. It’s been humbling,” she said.
Rather than directing the response from the outside, she found a community already mobilized and taking the necessary steps towards recovery.
“The locals and government have been doing a great job advocating for themselves. I’ve had to take a step back and listen to what the community really needs.”
That willingness to listen before acting led to one of the most meaningful moments of her deployment. On May 5, Phinney met a mother at a hotel who had been sheltering there alongside her disabled daughter and elderly mother, all of them waiting for a way to return home. The typhoon had taken that sense of normalcy from them, and the path back felt uncertain. When Phinney asked what would help them most, the answer was simple: a generator. Phinney set out to find one, locating the last available on the island at a local store, which offered the Red Cross a discount. She loaded it into a truck and drove back to surprise the family. When they saw what she had brought, they broke down in tears. They were finally going home to start their recovery and cleaning process.
For Phinney, being able to show up in moments like that is something she does not take for granted. Her two adult daughters, both out of college, call regularly during her deployments to check on her, giving her space to talk through the emotional weight of the work. She feels genuine gratitude for the life she has built, one that allows her to volunteer rather than maintain a traditional full-time schedule, to be present for communities in crisis and still return to her own family when the work is done. Her daughters understand that this is not just something she chooses to do. It is something she feels is a necessity, and they support her fully because of it.
As Mother’s Day approaches, Phinney carries a quiet personal tradition with her even while thousands of miles from home. Every year, she and her own mother plant flowers together to mark the occasion. This year she finds herself far from that tradition, stationed on an island still finding its footing after one of the most devastating typhoons in recent memory. She says she is beyond grateful to be in the CNMI this Mother’s Day, bringing relief to families who need it most.
To the mothers of the CNMI navigating life after Sinlaku, Phinney offers a message grounded in her own experience as a parent. She understands how deeply mothers want to protect and shield their children, especially when circumstances feel beyond their control. Disasters have a way of making even the most capable parents feel powerless.
“The American Red Cross is here to help,” she said.
No family has to face this alone, and her goal is to help mothers feel supported this year.
