“I treasure the friendships I made during those years and am grateful that Facebook has kept so many of us connected.”

-  Bonnie Wright

What motivated you to take a cruise around the world?

The time was right, and I also had an inheritance! We have visited 16 countries so far. We left Miami on January 6, went through the Panama Canal, up the coast of Central America and Mexico, some stops in the U.S., and had a great sail through the Golden Gate to Hawaii. We experienced some seismic activity  from the big island and couldn’t dock. We sailed down through French Polynesia, where we were trying to stay away from a cyclone, so we had some rough seas and missed ports. We really had fun in Fiji, where we did the mud baths. We crossed the International Date Line. On to New Zealand and Australia, which were wonderful, especially the wine. Then we sailed north to Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

This was all new, so we have learned a lot about this critical region. Today we will dock in Sri Lanka, then on to the Maldives, then India. Our itinerary changed because of violence in the Red Sea, so we will go around Africa and finally end in New York— 160 nights total. I think my favorite stop was Singapore. It’s beautiful, safe, and the food is fantastic.  

Tell us about your photography.

I’ve loved photography since I was 10 years old, and I was always the “group photographer.” After I finished working as a consultant, I started a photography business…. BonnieJeannePhotography.net.  I did events and personal photography.

What positions did you hold with the American Red Cross, and when?

From January 1970 to June 2002, I served at the following places:

What is one of your most memorable Red Cross experiences, and what made it memorable?

Serving as the manager of the Northern California Earthquake Relief and Preparedness Project after the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989. I treasure the friendships I made during those years and am grateful that Facebook has kept so many of us connected. Our motto was “breaking new ground,” since the ground broke.

This was the first time the Red Cross raised vastly more money than traditional relief efforts would cost. There was tremendous pressure from donors and political figures to spend all the money earmarked for disaster relief to be spent there. Ultimately, we set up what amounted to a foundation and received requests for assistance from cities and charities to fund disaster recovery. We also worked with California Red Cross chapters to do significant preparedness planning, which ultimately became the model for Disaster Preparedness across the country. We had the freedom to think outside the box!

What experiences did you bring to the Red Cross?

A college degree, driver’s license and my WSI (those were the basic requirements to start in First Aid, Small Craft and Water Safety).

What advice would you give to recent former American Red Cross employees or those who are about to leave the organization?

Do what you love.  Do what you always wanted to do.

Tell us about your family and close friends. What do you like to do together?

My partner Mary and I have been together for 20 years. We met in college 50+ years ago and traveled together in Europe right after we graduated. We met up again in Arizona. We now live in a wonderful retirement community on the campus of Arizona State University, where we both have taken on leadership roles.

What do you do for fun now?

Travel.

What makes you laugh?

Cat and dog videos!

What are you looking forward to next?

More travel!