About


 

Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief (Miyamoto Relief) is 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that provides disaster mitigation response, relief and reconstruction services following a natural disaster. We are the only nonprofit structural engineering organization in the world that provides expertise at the critical phases of disaster.

Miyamoto Relief works with national governments, the United Nations, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to strategize and implement disaster mitigation programs. Having responded to more than 100 earthquakes and hurricanes, our personnel provide crucial post-disaster activities, including structural safety assessment, damage data collection, debris management, human capacity building, assistance establishing building code technical platforms, and relief material logistics.   To help prevent further structural failures, we train local engineers and contractors in earthquake resistance engineering practices.
 

Mission Statement

Miyamoto Relief—we save lives through engineering.
 

Distinctions between Miyamoto International and Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief

Miyamoto International is a privately-owned corporation that provides earthquake and structural engineering services, as well as disaster response and mitigation services, for its international clients for a fee.  As a for-profit corporation responsible to its shareholders and employees, Miyamoto International is limited in the amount of pro bono services it is able to perform.   In contrast, Miyamoto Relief, as a non-profit corporation, can undertake critically important educational and charitable projects.  It can immediately send qualified representatives to the site of a natural disaster to assess the safety of remaining structures, not just those owned by paying clients.   It can focus on the hardest hit areas globally and the most vulnerable populations without the need to earn professional fees or a profit. 

 

Miyamoto Relief Staff


H. Kit Miyamoto, PhD, SE, is the CEO and a structural engineer for Miyamoto International, Global Risk Miyamoto and the president of Miyamoto Relief. Under his leadership, more than 12,000 projects have been successfully completed worldwide. Known for innovative engineering, Dr. Miyamoto has worked on many challenging projects that received industry recognition, including the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) Excellence in Structural Engineering Award.

Dr. Miyamoto holds graduate degrees from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and California State University Sacramento. He was also awarded Distinguished Alumni by California State University, Chico. He specializes in High-Performance Earthquake Engineering, as well as Disaster Mitigation, Response, and Reconstruction. Dr. Miyamoto was a director for SEAOC; is an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Fellow; and has served on many code-writing organizations, including the ASCE 7 Seismic Task Committee. Dr. Miyamoto was also an adjunct professor at California State University. His innovative research works have been published in leading scientific journals.

Dr. Miyamoto continues to work on major critical projects, including his role as an expert consultant to the World Bank on the seismic risk mitigation project for 2000 schools in Istanbul. He worked with the government of Haiti and the United Nations to conduct assessments on more than 400,000 earthquake-damaged structures. He is also working with the United States Agency for International Development, and various nongovernmental organizations to implement reconstruction strategies for Haiti. Dr. Miyamoto is a sought after keynote speaker and an international media spokesperson on earthquake structural engineering issues.

Phyllis Newton, has joined Miyamoto Relief where she serves, on a volunteer basis, as its Executive Director. Phyllis has been an attorney for over 22 years and has many years experience running a non-profit. Phyllis previously served as the Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects Central Valley chapter, a professional association of architects in seventeen California counties. She serves on a number of boards and commissions for both the City of Sacramento and the State of California and, until her arrival at Miyamoto Relief, worked as an adjacent Professor at McGeorge School of Law
 

Christine Herridge, in addition to her work for Miyamoto International, Christine is part of Miyamoto Relief part-time as its Disaster Risk Management Assistant Coordinator Christine has more than 15 years of experience serving in international disaster management roles, creating alliances for disaster preparedness, and risk mitigation, in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. From 2004-2010, she worked with several international donors, including USAID and OFDA, to design and implement the Pan American Development Foundation’s Disaster Management Alliance – an initiative that helped 154 communities in nine countries develop emergency and risk reduction plans. She also served as a Founding Coordinator of the NGO, the Dominican Disaster Mitigation Association, to implement training programs in prevention and preparedness.