Dr Alison Thompson OAM
When the planes flew into the twin towers in New York City on September 11 2001, rather than lock her doors and stay inside, Dr. Alison Thompson packed a backpack with medical supplies, put on her rollerblades and skated into ground zero as a first responder. It was at this tragedy that Dr. Thompson realized her true calling – to be at the wrong place at the right time and do something.
She has just been one of the first Australians Awarded the American Presidential award. The Australian paramedic receives US presidential award for 'outstanding' volunteer work
For more than two decades, specialist paramedic Alison Thompson has been volunteering her services in some of the world's most dangerous locations.
Her award-winning documentary The Third Wave, chronicles her volunteer experience in Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in a Presidential Jury Screening presented by Sean Penn and Bono.
Since 2001, Alison has covered the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti (where she worked with the actor Sean Penn), the 2015 Nepal earthquake and now the refugee camps in Greece. Dr. Thompson made an award-winning documentary entitled <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0939669/">The Third Wave</a> about her experiences during the 2004 tsunami, later wrote the book The Third Wave: A Volunteer Story.
She founded Third Wave Volunteers as a first responder on Sept 11th, 2001 in NYC which has grown to over 30,000 first responders worldwide. Alison has worked at the grassroots level in Sri Lanka, Haiti, Philippines, Greece, Turkey, Macedonia, Africa, Nepal, 12 USA hurricanes, Venezuela, The Bahamas, the Syrian and Venezuelan Crisis and numerous other disasters around the world.
In 2005 she founded CTEC-the first Tsunami Early-Warning Disaster Center in Sri Lanka along with a Children’s Learning Center and Tsunami Museum. In 2008 Alison stepped up with Sean Penn, inspiring 200 Coachella concert-goers to join them on volunteering, cross-country camping trip, helping run a Luekemia drive, AIDS and May Day marches and cleaning up the environment. The “Dirty Hands Caravan” ended in New Orleans to assist in rebuilding the Ninth Ward—three years after Katrina.
In 2010, Alison flew to Haiti along with Sean Penn and ten doctors to help after the earthquake. Together, they managed a 70,000-person IDP camp and field hospital where she was honored with the US Commanders ‘Medal of Excellence’ Award.
In 2010 Alison was also awarded the Order of Australia for her volunteerism, bravery and contributions to mankind. In 2012 she was appointed as the first official Ambassador to the Haitian Ministry of Environment where she still works in reforestation, sustainable energy and cholera initiatives.
Most recently, Alison worked on the front lines of Covid-19 with Third Wave first responders organizing the delivery of 1.5 million N95 masks to first responders and underserved communities nationwide.
Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/
Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1365850
