We have created a new blogseriesthat focuses on the people behind Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Cisco. Each blog in this series will highlight a different Cisco employee who works closely with CSR initiatives across the company.

When a disaster or humanitarian crisis occurs, communications is a form of aid, just like food, water, and medical care. Responders need to communicate to assist where help is most needed, and people need to connect with their loved ones. At times of crisis, the Cisco Crisis Response  team provides technology and expertise. This team is comprised of technical engineers, managers, and solutions architects dedicated to building and maintaining networks in disaster zones. The team is also supported by 300 employee volunteers.

Matthew Altman is one of the Crisis Response team members on the ground. Here are three things you need to know about him.

Matt Altman has been a Crisis Response technical engineer for 16 of the 22 years he has been at Cisco.

One of Matt's primary roles is restoring communications after disasters. When he is not in the United States, he is usually deployed to different parts of the world to help connect people in disaster zones -whether it's natural disasters or manmade disasters like refugee crises. "My primary role is to look at how we can assist, how we can help people come back up," says Matt.

The scope of his expertise and experiences varies a great deal. He's been with Crisis Response since the team started responding to disasters in 2005. In 2010, after a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake destroyed parts of Haiti, Matt worked amongst the rubble to get vital communications functioning. While search and rescue happen quickly, body recovery can take a lot more time -it is common for the team to experience extreme working conditions. Crisis Response team members are very mindful of who goes into a disaster zone and will provide much needed post-response support after team members return home.

In 2017/2018, when a refugee crisis in northern Uganda reached its tipping point, Matt worked with Crisis Response and NetHope (a Cisco nonprofit partner), to build networks at NGO (nongovernmental organization) sites, clinics, and offices in the camps, and trained the NGO members to manage these networks. There was one NGO made up of former refugees that he helped train as well.

In 2019, when Venezuelan refugees fled to Colombia, Matt drove for five hours through mountains, along the same treacherous route that refugees were walking, between C