Countdown to 250: The Americans Building Tomorrow
249 Days Until America’s Semiquincentennial
Day 249: Jake Wood
The Marine Who Turned Disaster Into Purpose
Most people remember where they were on January 12, 2010, when news broke that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake had devastated Haiti, claiming over 200,000 lives. Most people watched the tragedy unfold on television, feeling helpless. Jake Wood, a recently returned Marine Corps veteran, did something different.
Within three days—on what would become known as “Go Day”—Wood and seven other veterans assembled medical supplies, boarded a plane to the Dominican Republic, and drove straight into the chaos of Port-au-Prince. They had no organizational backing, no real plan beyond “help people,” and no idea they were about to create one of America’s most innovative disaster response organizations.
That decision on January 13, 2010, became the birth of Team Rubicon.
The Problem No One Was Solving
Here’s the thing about Jake Wood: he could have taken the easy path. Multiple times.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 2004 with degrees in real estate/urban land economics and political science, Wood made an unconventional choice. Despite his college credentials, he enlisted in the Marine Corps as a private. Not because he couldn’t find other options, but because after September 11, 2001, serving felt like the right thing to do.
His military career from 2005 to 2009 was exceptional. He graduated at the top of his class at Boot Camp, the School of Infantry, and Marine Scout-Sniper School. He served as an Infantry Fire Team Leader and Scout Sniper in both Iraq and Afghanistan, developing the kind of crisis-management skills and decisive judgment that most people never acquire.
Then he came home. And like so many veterans, he struggled to find the same sense of purpose and camaraderie that had defined his military service. He had the skills. He had the discipline. What he didn’t have was a mission.
That’s when Haiti happened. And Wood realized something profound: America had two problems that could solve each other. Veterans were searching for renewed purpose. And disaster-stricken communities desperately needed the exact skills veterans possessed—emergency medicine, risk assessment, logistics, teamwork, decisive leadership.
Building Something From Nothing
When that initial team of eight returned from Haiti, Wood and co-founder William McNulty faced a brutal reality: they had zero experience running a nonprofit, raising money, or building organizational systems.
Most people would have stopped there. Called it a one-time mission. Gone back to civilian careers. Wood kept going.
“We were humble enough to acknowledge our gaps and address them, and hungry enough not to let anything get in the way of success,” Wood later reflected. “I truly think that anything is possible with a lot of passion and enthusiasm.”
That passion has been tested repeatedly. Building a disaster response organization means operating in chaos, navigating bureaucracy, convincing skeptics that a veteran-led model could work, and raising millions of dollars while maintaining the scrappy, mission-first culture that made Team Rubicon special in the first place.
From those eight volunteers in Haiti, Team Rubicon has grown to over 180,000 volunteers—affectionately known as “Greyshirts”—as of 2025. The organization has raised nearly $250 million and responded to close to 1,000 disasters across the United States and around the world.
Let that sink in: 1,000 disasters. That’s 1,000 times Wood’s team showed up when communities needed them most.
The Impact That Speaks for Itself
The numbers tell part of the story. In 2024 alone, Team Rubicon served nearly 3 million people across 713 communities. They completed 89 disaster response operations in just the first ten months. Greyshirts contributed over 206,000 hours of volunteer labor, valued at more than $6.3 million.
But numbers don’t capture what it means when a chainsaw team shows up at your home after a tornado destroyed everything. Or when a medical team treats your injuries when the hospital is overwhelmed. Or when someone wearing a grey shirt helps you salvage what’s left of your life while treating you with dignity and respect.
Team Rubicon has rebuilt 794 homes for families through its Rebuild Program. In 2018, they became the first non-governmental organization in North America to receive WHO Emergency Medical Team Type 1 Mobile certification—a recognition of the professionalism and capability Wood built into the organization’s DNA.
The organization has been named “Top Nonprofit to Work For in America” by Nonprofit Times, ranking #1 in the nation in 2016. They’ve been recognized as “Volunteer Organization of the Year” by both the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and the International Association of Emergency Managers. They maintain top ratings from CharityWatch for governance, transparency, and financial efficiency.
Why He Keeps Going
Wood didn’t have to keep pushing after Team Rubicon was established. By any measure, he’d already succeeded. The organization was functioning, growing, and saving lives. He could have stepped back, taken a victory lap, moved on to something easier.
Instead, he kept building. He developed leadership programs like the Clay Hunt Fellows Program, honoring one of Team Rubicon’s original members. He attracted high-profile advisors, including General David Petraeus and General Stanley McChrystal. He secured partnerships with major corporations. He wrote books to spread the model further.
In 2018, Wood received the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the ESPYs. His acceptance speech went viral, not because it was polished or rehearsed, but because of one simple line: “If Americans treated each other every day like they do after disasters, we’d live in a truly special place.”
That’s what drives him. Not the awards—though he’s received many, including the Heinz Award, the Grinnell Prize, and recognition from Goldman Sachs’ “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.” What drives him is the belief that Americans are capable of extraordinary things when given the right mission.
Even after transitioning to Executive Chairman of Team Rubicon’s Board, Wood hasn’t stopped. In 2021, he founded Groundswell, a corporate philanthropy platform working to democratize charitable giving. Because one successful organization solving one problem apparently wasn’t enough.
The Bigger Truth
Here’s what makes Jake Wood’s story particularly American: he saw two problems and refused to accept that they couldn’t be solved. He built something from nothing, not through grand pronouncements but through showing up—first in Haiti, then in Moore, Oklahoma, after tornadoes, then in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, then in California after wildfires, then in Kentucky after floods.
He did it while facing every obstacle imaginable—skepticism from established disaster response organizations, fundraising challenges, the complexity of coordinating thousands of volunteers, the emotional toll of constant exposure to human suffering.
He didn’t do it for recognition. The awards came later, almost reluctantly. He did it because when you’ve led Marines in combat, you understand that the mission matters more than comfort. Because when you’ve experienced the power of serving something larger than yourself, you can’t just turn that off when you take off the uniform.
As we count down to America’s 250th birthday, Jake Wood reminds us that exceptionalism isn’t about believing we’re better than everyone else. It’s about refusing to accept that problems are unsolvable. It’s about turning crisis into opportunity. It’s about recognizing that the skills, discipline, and values developed in service can transform civilian life if we’re willing to build the bridges.
Fifteen years ago, eight veterans got on a plane to Haiti with medical supplies and determination. Today, Team Rubicon has 180,000 volunteers ready to deploy when disaster strikes. That’s not luck. That’s nota circumstance. That’s what happens when someone with character refuses to let adversity dictate the outcome.
Jake Wood didn’t wait for someone else to solve the problem. He didn’t wait for permission. He didn’t wait for perfect conditions. He saw what needed to be done and did it, then kept doing it when it got hard, then kept doing it when it got harder.
Because that’s what Americans do when character guides their choices.
That’s 2 down, 248 exceptional Americans to go. The countdown continues.
Nominate an Exceptional American
This isn’t just our project—it’s yours too.
We need your help finding the next 248 Americans to highlight. You know people we don’t. You see acts of everyday exceptionalism in your community, your workplace, your neighborhood that never make the news. You know the teacher who changed your life, the volunteer who rebuilt after the hurricane, the business owner who kept the doors open when everyone said to close, the nurse who held your hand, the coach who believed in the kid nobody else would.
Who do you know that does the right thing, especially when it’s hard?
We’re looking for living Americans who:
- Face adversity with courage and persistence
- Serve their communities without seeking recognition
- Solve problems rather than just complaining about them
- Do the right thing because their character demands it
- Make a real difference in people’s lives, often quietly
- Represent the best of what America can be
How to Nominate:
Tell us about your exceptional American. We want to know:
- Who they are and where they’re making a difference
- What they do that makes them exceptional
- What adversity they face and why they keep going anyway
- Why they do it—what drives them when quitting would be easier
- How to reach them (if you have their contact information)
Send your nominations to: info@nexfinitynews.com
Use the hashtag #250for250 on social media to share their story.
The people who change America aren’t always the ones on magazine covers. They’re often the ones right next to you—doing the work, fighting the good fight, making tomorrow better than today. Help us find them. Help us celebrate them. Help us remind America what we’re capable of when character guides our choices.
Your neighbor could be Day 248. Your former teacher could be Day 167. Your colleague could be Day 89.
We have 248 days left to fill. Let’s make sure we tell the whole story—all fifty states, every background, every kind of service. From the inner city to the rural countryside. From the research lab to the assembly line. From the classroom to the firehouse.
America’s 250th birthday deserves a gift: the recognition of 250 Americans who are building the next 250 years.
Who will you nominate?
The countdown continues. 248 days and counting.
#250for250