Our Leadership

Monique Jackson, E.A., is the Finance Director of United Cajun Navy, a 501(c)(3) disaster response organization. She is an IRS Enrolled Agent with 15 years of experience in tax preparation, along with extensive work in IRS representation and business accounting.

At UCN she oversees financial reporting, Form 990 compliance, grant budgeting and tracking, and donor stewardship, making sure every dollar given for disaster relief is accounted for and put to work for the communities it was meant to serve.

A New Orleans native, Monique also holds a life and health insurance license.

What Drives Me in the NGO Sector

I'm from New Orleans, so I know what it means for a community when disaster hits and who shows up afterward. In the nonprofit world, trust is everything. When someone gives to disaster relief, they're trusting us to get that help to people on their worst day.

My part is making sure that trust is earned: clean books, honest reporting, and money that actually reaches the people it was given for. Strong finances are what let an organization keep showing up, before, during, and after the next disaster.

Joshua "Josh" Gill serves as Incident Commander for the United Cajun Navy (UCN), directing tactical search and rescue operations, rapid-deployment volunteer teams, and large-scale emergency logistics during major disasters across North America and abroad.

Known for his steady leadership in high-stakes environments, Josh establishes on-scene command posts and works closely alongside local law enforcement, fire rescue, county emergency managers, and mutual aid partners. Whether organizing multi-agency grid searches across difficult waterways and backwoods, coordinating aerial drone reconnaissance, or mobilizing swift-water boat crews, his focus is always on bringing rapid aid—and answers—to affected communities.

Operational Highlights & Leadership

• Complex Search & Rescue: Directs land, waterway, and aerial search operations for high-profile missing persons cases, bridging communication between volunteer search teams and investigating agencies to bring closure to families.
• Disaster Response & Mobilization: Deploys boots-on-the-ground leadership during major hurricanes, historic Gulf Coast and Texas flash floods, severe weather events, and wildfire response operations.
• Humanitarian & Global Relief: Leads specialized field relief efforts in the wake of catastrophic events, including international deployment during the 2026 Venezuela earthquake response.
• Community-First Logistics: Spearheads distribution hubs for life-saving supplies, food, water, and specialized equipment to ensure isolated communities receive immediate support when critical infrastructure fails.

"We don't do this for accolades or headlines. We show up because when a family is experiencing the worst day of their life, they shouldn't have to face it alone."

Driven by a steadfast volunteer ethos, Josh exemplifies the United Cajun Navy’s commitment to selfless service, bridging compassion with disciplined field operations wherever the call takes him.

Amy Metz serves as the Chief Meteorologist for the United Cajun Navy (UCN), leading operational weather intelligence, severe storm forecasting, and public emergency weather advisories. With over a decade of forecasting experience across broadcast journalism and digital media, Amy translates complex meteorological data into actionable alerts that protect both vulnerable communities and frontline volunteers.

Operational Role & Disaster Preparedness

In disaster response, accurate forecasting is the first line of defense. Serving as the organization's weather authority, Amy plays a pivotal role in operational readiness:

• Tactical Response Forecasting: Monitors tropical developments, atmospheric river events, winter storms, and severe convective outbreaks to help UCN command stage boat crews, heavy equipment, and relief convoys ahead of landfall.
• On-the-Ground Field Reporting: Deploys directly into disaster zones alongside chainsaw crews and rescue teams, providing real-time live updates on wind fields, storm surge, and localized flooding.
• Public Warning & Education: Delivers video updates through the United Cajun Navy Weather Watch, tracking spaghetti models, pressure centers, and hazardous weather so residents can make life-saving evacuation and sheltering decisions.

Background & Career

Amy's fascination with severe weather began at the age of six after witnessing her first tornado, sparking a lifelong mission to help people stay safe during extreme atmospheric events.

Prior to directing meteorological operations for the United Cajun Navy, she built extensive broadcast experience as an on-air meteorologist for network affiliates across the United States—including WNCT-TV (North Carolina), KX Television (North Dakota), KMEG-TV (Iowa/South Dakota), and KGMB-TV (Hawaii)—in addition to appearances on national news outlets such as Newsmax. Known to followers as the creator behind World of Weather, she also tracks global weather patterns and space weather phenomena.

Mission Philosophy

"When severe weather strikes, seconds and accurate information save lives. Our mission is to make sure neighbors have the warning and clarity they need before, during, and after the storm."

Through her work with the United Cajun Navy, Amy bridges science and grassroots humanitarian action, ensuring that communities in the path of destruction are never left unprepared.

Sara Galliano is a nonprofit leader, certified grant writer, and community advocate with more than 30 years of experience in fundraising and service. As Executive Director of United Cajun Navy, she brings a comprehensive understanding of the disaster cycle, connecting preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation with the resources and relationships needed to help communities move forward.

Sara’s commitment to service began at age 16, collecting donations for a local law enforcement agency to provide essential items for babies and children entering the child protective services system. She later volunteered with a fire department’s Women’s Auxiliary and served in student government during college. Her studies encompassed medical, law, and business fields, followed by urban economics. Her professional background in the medical and legal fields further shaped her ability to address the interconnected challenges families face.

Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Sara has worked alongside government officials, military partners, nonprofit organizations, and disaster response teams. Her experience includes employment with FEMA during Katrina, serving as Donations Management Chair and Warehouse Director for the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership, and administering Catholic Charities’ Disaster Case Management Program (DCMP) grants. She later served in a supervisory role during the BP oil spill response.

Sara’s work begins before a disaster occurs through outreach, preparedness, volunteer coordination, and partnership development. During response, she helps establish points of distribution (PODs), coordinate food distributions, and secure essential resources. She has supported large-scale distributions conducted with the Louisiana National Guard during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ida.

Her involvement continues through long-term recovery, helping families develop individualized plans, navigate legal and social service needs, and identify assistance. She understands how to connect each step of a recovery plan with appropriate resources, funding opportunities, and grant requests. Her work in historic preservation and home rehabilitation also creates opportunities for first-time homebuyers while incorporating mitigation to reduce future disaster vulnerability.

During Katrina recovery, Sara presented cases for assistance to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, United Way, Lutheran Disaster Response, UMCOR, AME, and more than 150 other collaborating organizations. Her case management performance was tracked through George Washington University research reporting conducted by Dr. Laura Olson, which identified her as the leading case manager among participating agencies for successfully completed recovery cases.

Her expertise has led to contracted case management work for Native American tribes in Louisiana and assignments across the country. She provides case management supervision and training, helping teams prepare recovery assistance packets for Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG) presentations. She also participates in donor roundtables, connecting unmet needs with organizations able to provide assistance.

Through United Cajun Navy and her nonprofit partnerships, Sara participates in Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) networks nationwide. She serves on advisory panels for government officials concerning disaster response and works closely with military partners. Her professional relationships extend beyond the United States, strengthening her ability to connect people and resources across communities and borders.

Sara also serves as Outreach Director for God’s House Church. Since 2005, she has worked with Second Harvest Food Bank and USDA food assistance programs to support food pantries and disaster outreach. Through partnerships with CRC Global Solutions and We Care We Share, she helps coordinate food distributions and community programs serving families, seniors, and underserved populations. As a volunteer liaison with D & R Youth Foundation, she has supported free after-school meals and tutoring for children. She is also a catering company owner.

Volunteer leadership is central to Sara’s approach. Some members of her volunteer teams have served alongside her since 2005, continuing to respond, learn, and grow together. She believes in being on site with her team, sharing the work, and directing recognition toward the volunteers whose hands-on efforts make each mission possible.

Sara’s strength lies in connecting the full picture: what communities need before a disaster, what an effective response requires, and what families must accomplish to achieve lasting recovery. Her education, experience, perseverance, and longstanding relationships allow her to bring those pieces together across natural and human-caused disasters. Above all, her work is driven by a love of service and a commitment to helping others build safer, more stable futures.

Chaplain Tony Dickey serves as the Chaplain for the United Cajun Navy (UCN), providing critical emotional support, crisis chaplaincy, and bereavement services to survivors, grieving families, and frontline emergency responders during catastrophic events.

While tactical teams manage technical search, rescue, and supply chain logistics, Chaplain Dickey focuses on the human dimension of disaster recovery. Serving on the front lines of community crises across the United States, he steps into high-stress staging environments to stand alongside families enduring traumatic loss or awaiting news of missing loved ones.

Operational Focus & Field Presence

• Crisis Ministry & Bereavement Care: Deploys directly to disaster sites and community tragedies to provide presence, emotional grounding, and bereavement support for families facing catastrophic loss.
• Disaster Response Support: Provides on-the-ground support during major natural disasters—including severe flooding operations in Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country—holding space for victims and relief crews alike.
• Responder Care & Welfare: Offers vital emotional counsel and decompression support to volunteer search teams, boat crews, and emergency personnel navigating the heavy psychological toll of disaster recovery.
• Community Grief & Remembrance: Represents the United Cajun Navy during memorial events and civic crises, including participating in remembrance services at Ground Zero in New York City and offering community grief support following localized tragedies.
• National Voice on Disaster Impact: Frequently shares on-the-ground insights with national media outlets—including CNN and ABC News Live—articulating the emotional resilience of impacted communities and the ongoing needs of families living minute-by-minute through crisis.

Core Philosophy

"We hold them, we cry with them, and we do whatever we can to give them what comfort we can. God did not give us a timeframe for being a good Samaritan and helping each other, so I will keep doing it as long as I have the ability."

Through compassionate ministry, Chaplain Dickey ensures that amidst the logistical urgency of disaster response, no family or first responder has to carry grief alone.