Selfless Service: Weysan Dun’s Journey from the FBI to the Red Cross
- NEIA Red Cross
- Jun 12
- 5 min read
By Lubna Albadawi
Weysan Dun has spent much of his life answering a simple call: to serve.
Long before he became a Red Cross volunteer leader in Omaha, he was a young boy in northeast Missouri watching television shows about the FBI and imagining a future built around public service.
“I always wanted to be of service to the community in some way,” Dun says.
That desire led him first to the U.S. Army, where he served four and a half years as a military intelligence officer and attained the rank of captain. It later led him to the FBI, where he spent 30 years serving across the country and rising into senior executive leadership.
His career took him from San Francisco to Chicago, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and eventually back to Omaha, a city he calls his adopted hometown.
“I’m not originally from here,” Dun says. “But we liked the people, the friendliness, the relatively easy commuting and the overall reasonable cost of living.”
Omaha became more than another assignment. It became home.
Returning to the Red Cross
Dun’s connection to the Red Cross began long before retirement.
As a college student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, he became a volunteer firefighter. As part of that training, he took a Red Cross advanced first aid course. His instructor noticed his knowledge and teaching skills and invited him to assist with the class. Eventually, Dun became a first aid and CPR instructor himself.
“That was my initial exposure to the Red Cross,” he says.
After retiring from the FBI, Dun found himself asking what to do with his newfound free time. The answer was familiar.
He returned to the Red Cross.
He first joined the Disaster Action Team, responding to fire calls and other requests for assistance. After decades in the FBI, where he had been on call 24/7, Dun eventually stepped back from overnight response work. But by then, another Red Cross role had found him: public affairs.
A former Omaha television news reporter who had interviewed Dun many times during his FBI career was the regional communications director at the time. After seeing him at a disaster scene, she said, ‘I know you can handle yourself on camera, so how about becoming my volunteer and help represent the Red Cross with the media?’ Dun recalls.
The Face of the Red Cross
Today, Dun serves as a community volunteer leader team lead and the senior volunteer partner to the Region Chief Executive Officer, Jill Orton, for the American Red Cross Nebraska-Iowa Region.
In simple terms, Dun describes his role as being “the face of the Red Cross” with community leaders, government officials and partner organizations.
When the regional chief executive is unable to attend a community meeting, Dun may represent her. He also serves as a primary contact with the governor of Nebraska, state emergency management agencies and other organizations.
During disasters, his work helps ensure Red Cross services match community needs. During what the Red Cross calls “blue skies,” when no disaster is happening, he helps keep community leaders informed about what the Red Cross can provide.
“The purpose is to make sure that the services being provided by the Red Cross align with the needs of the community,” he says.
That connection can make a real difference.
After a major outbreak of severe weather in Nebraska, the governor’s office contacted Dun to ask whether the Red Cross could share damage assessment data. Red Cross teams had already been gathering detailed information about the level of destruction.
The state used that data as part of its disaster declaration request.
“That’s an example of how, in my role, I help align the services and capabilities of the Red Cross with the needs of our constituents,” Dun says.
Clear Words in Difficult Moments
For Dun, strong communication is not just a professional skill. It is an essential part of disaster response.
During emergencies, events move quickly. Many agencies may be involved at once: local, county, state, national and volunteer organizations. In that environment, unclear communication can create confusion and weaken public trust.
“Good, accurate and clear communication is absolutely critical,” Dun says.
It helps agencies avoid duplicating work, coordinate resources and reassure people affected by disaster that they will be cared for.
One Red Cross memory that stayed with him came during the historic 2019 Nebraska flooding, when 31 shelters opened across the state at the same time.
At one shelter, Dun was accompanying Orton when the governor and then-Vice President Mike Pence visited. They met a woman staying there with her children. The Red Cross had provided comfort, care and toys for the kids.
As the governor and vice president left, the woman turned to Dun and said, “This is the best day of my life.”
Dun still remembers the weight of that moment.
“This was a person who had lost her home,” he says. “But because of the care we were providing, and because of the governor and vice president being there, she would say that. That kind of stuck with me.”
For Dun, that is what motivates many Red Crossers.
“You see the impact you are having on people,” he says. “You’re giving them hope in a time when things seem hopeless.”
A Volunteer Family
When asked to describe Red Cross volunteers in one word, Dun chooses “selfless.”
“Red Cross volunteers put their own comfort secondary when there’s a time of disaster,” he says.
He has seen volunteers and staff respond even while their own homes were without power or damaged. He has seen people show up for others even when they themselves needed support.
That selflessness, he says, is one of the most impressive things about the organization.
“Many people aren’t aware of this,” Dun says, “but 90% of our workforce are volunteers.”
He also wants people to understand that Red Cross volunteering is not one-size-fits-all. There are roles for almost every skill set and availability.
Whether someone has experience in health care, logistics, public speaking, leadership, driving, technology, administration or even operating a forklift, Dun believes there is a place for them.
“If you’re a forklift driver, there’s a place for you in the Red Cross,” he says. “We need you.”
He even took a forklift class himself.
“I’m not certified,” he says with a laugh, “but at least I didn’t crash into anything.”
Leading Through Service
In 2021, the American Red Cross recognized Dun's distinguished service by presenting him with the Red Cross Presidential Award for Excellence at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The honor is given to those who demonstrate exceptional service in support of the Red Cross mission and who show the highest level of commitment to the organization's values.
Dun brought decades of leadership experience with him to the Red Cross, but volunteering taught him something different about leadership.
In the FBI, leadership happened within a clear chain of command. In the Red Cross, where most people serve by choice, leadership requires trust, respect and consensus.
“People don’t have to do what you tell them to do,” he says.
His style is to seek input, listen carefully and build agreement whenever possible.
“I know I don’t have the only good ideas,” Dun says. “My ideas may not even be the best ideas.”
But when time is short or the situation is serious, he is also willing to make a decision and take responsibility for it.
“I will own that decision, good or bad,” he says.
That mix of humility, decisiveness and accountability has guided his work from the FBI to the Red Cross.
For Dun, service has never been about a title. It has been about being useful when people need help most.
From a college firehouse in Ithaca to disaster scenes across Nebraska and Iowa, his path has always returned to the same purpose: showing up for others.
“The Red Cross gives people compassion and comfort and care,” Dun says, “for what may be the worst day of their lives.”
And for Weysan Dun, that is reason enough to keep serving.
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