Saket Soni, the founder and executive director of Resilience Force, has been named to TIME’s inaugural Trailblazers list, which honors global leaders working to shape the future. Soni’s core mission focuses on supporting and organizing the frequently overlooked workforce responsible for rebuilding communities in the wake of natural disasters. His journey in this field began back in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana. At that time, Soni was working as a community organizer in Chicago alongside renters, many of whom were Black residents hailing from the South. Witnessing the aftermath of Katrina through their stories prompted him to relocate to Louisiana to support the cleanup and recovery crews.
This pivotal chapter sparked a guiding conversation with his mentor, historian Vincent Harding, who told him that the nation was still actively being constructed and that he was an integral part of that legacy. This perspective became the foundational philosophy driving Soni’s professional career.
Founding Resilience Force and Supporting Recovery Labor:
In 2017, Soni co-founded Resilience Force, a dedicated nonprofit organization aimed at protecting the welfare of workers who handle post-disaster cleanup and reconstruction. According to TIME estimates, this specialized workforce spans hundreds of thousands of individuals, a significant portion of whom are undocumented immigrants. Soni emphasizes that the availability of these laborers is just as critical to community recovery as financial funding, noting that without workers to rebuild, displaced residents cannot return home.
Resilience Force actively advocates for labor rights, fighting for fair pay, legal protections, and workplace safety while collaborating directly with third-party contractors to establish rigorous standards. Furthermore, the organization runs a comprehensive certification program that equips workers with essential technical and safety skills such as roof repair and directly connects them with employment opportunities. This operational model has successfully been deployed across multiple states, including Louisiana and Colorado. The organization’s mission has grown increasingly vital as extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity, compounded by budget and staffing reductions at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that complicate local recovery efforts.
Bridging Divides Through Shared Disaster Recovery:
Beyond labor advocacy, Soni views post-disaster recovery as a unique pathway to bridge deep-seated political and immigration divisions in the United States. He recalls assisting a conservative Florida family whose home suffered roof damage and power loss following Hurricane Michael a property initially marked by an aggressive warning sign stating that trespassers would be shot. When Soni arrived alongside a Resilience Force crew comprising immigrant workers to help restore the home, the interaction left a lasting impact, culminating in the family eventually taking down the sign.
Reflecting on these profound human moments, Soni notes that while public discourse often highlights widespread national polarization, his firsthand experiences in disaster zones reveal a very different reality rooted in connection and cooperation across differences.
