[StBernard] Governor Blanco appoints Hitachi executive to lead Louisiana Family Recovery Corps

[Westley Annis]

Oct 06, 2005
Governor Blanco appoints Hitachi executive
to lead Louisiana Family Recovery Corps


$10 million in initial funding requested
to meet urgent needs of displaced families

Baton Rouge, La. -- Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco has named Hitachi
executive Rod McCowan as acting Chief Executive Officer of the Louisiana
Family Recovery Corps.


The Louisiana Family Recovery Corps (LFRC) is an endeavor initiated by
Governor Blanco to coordinate and deliver comprehensive humanitarian
services to displaced citizens throughout the state of Louisiana, and to
provide opportunities for return to those who are currently in other states.
The LFRC will reduce fragmentation in the current network of humanitarian
aid providers, which is leaving so many displaced residents underserved.

Governor Blanco said she is hopeful that the Recovery Corps' will soon get
the funds it needs to start providing much-needed services to displaced
Louisiana citizens.? She said that $10 million in initial funding is
required to design and launch the Recovery Corps and begin meeting the
urgent needs of displaced Louisiana residents.

On Tuesday, the Governor met with former President Bill Clinton and
requested a donation from the Clinton-Bush Katrina Fund that he and former
President George H.W. Bush have created for hurricane victims.? Clinton told
the Governor that he is impressed with the Recovery Corps' concept and
structure and is hopeful that his fund will be able to help.

"Our people urgently need our help. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed
communities across the State of Louisiana and displaced roughly 1.5 million
of our residents," Governor Blanco said.? "Those families are now scattered
across the United States, living under a wide range of conditions.? Many who
are displaced within the state of Louisiana have urgent unmet needs for
basic human services, as well as for intermediate and long-term assistance
in restoring their lives and communities." 

Blanco said that over 150 organizations - including state, local, and
federal governmental agencies, domestic and international non-governmental
organizations, and various types of private sector entities - are valiantly
attempting to respond to those needs as quickly and collaboratively as
possible.? The problem is that they are doing so without a clear, central,
coordinating mechanism.

"The Recovery Corps will coordinate the many organizations that want to help
our people recover," Governor Blanco said. "It will be staffed by trained
people from within the state who can be sent into the field to work
one-on-one with individuals and families affected by hurricanes Katrina and
Rita."

McCowan will lead the effort to serve these displaced citizens.? An
executive on loan from Hitachi with extensive public and private sector
leadership experience, McCowan is the Senior Vice President of Human
Resources at Hitachi Data Systems. He has previously served as the President
of Herman Miller East Asia and Executive Vice President for Human Resources
and Corporate Communications at Herman Miller, Inc.? 

In the public sector, McCowan was chosen in 1991 as a White House Fellow,
and served in the first Bush administration as Special Assistant to the
Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).?
Later, he was Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Education in the
Clinton administration. Ultimately, he served as the Assistant Secretary of
Education responsible for organizational strategy, general management, and
human resources administration.? He has degrees from Yale Divinity School
and Harvard's JFK School of Government.

"I am very grateful that Rod McCowan is giving so generously of his time and
talents to help our people. We are very fortunate to have someone of his
skills, experience and compassion," Governor Blanco said. "I deeply
appreciate Hitachi for lending him to us in our time of need."

In order to begin operations, Governor Blanco said the LFRC will need a $10
million infusion. She said the timeframe for the initial start-up operations
for the Recovery Corps is estimated at a maximum of eight weeks in order to
ensure fast results for over 10,000 displaced Louisiana families in need of
recovery services.? 

The $10 million infusion will result in the following returns:

More than 350 Family Liaisons on the ground in eight weeks, delivering
social services to displaced residents. 
Over 32,000 Louisiana residents receiving comprehensive recovery services
within 8 weeks 
It is expected that 91% of funding will be invested in direct humanitarian
services, with only 9% of the budget set aside for administration. 
A proven model for creating a sustainable system of rebuilding will lead to
large scale, statewide disaster recovery.