When communities experience an acute shock, one of the most immediately abundant resources is the time and energy of people who want to help. But leveraging human capital can be difficult and far too often the need for citizen and volunteer engagement is in the pre-disaster or long-term recovery time period, not the immediate aftermath. This panel will delve into the best practices for engaging, motivating, and maximizing the power of people before, right after and in the long term so communities can build resilience and recover in both domestic and international settings.