The Preparedness Matters Podcast

What if you had the power to predict future crises and safeguard your organization? That's the promise of our discussion with Andrea Davis, Michelle Turner, and Steve Kerr. This episode is a deep dive into the future of crisis management, business continuity, and business resiliency in the post-pandemic era. Listen as Andrea Davis emphasizes the importance of learning from our experiences during the pandemic and the need to ensure these lessons are not forgotten. Michele Turner, Vice President of business continuity at Marriott International, and Steve Kuhr, former New York City emergency manager with vast experience in crisis management, also share their invaluable insights.Have you ever considered how to reduce risk and build resilience in our rapidly evolving world? Our esteemed guests explore this critical topic, discussing the need to understand resilience, learn from past disruptions, and reduce gaps between areas such as cybersecurity and risk management. They talk about the role of business continuity and crisis management, discussing the need for these teams to develop, own, and execute their plans during times of crisis. You'll get a sense of the imperative of reducing the negative impact of risk on an organization and overcoming the prevailing attitude of apathy towards these matters.As we wrap up our conversation, we tackle the impact of telework and discuss how to make the return to the office easier for both employers and employees. We explore the benefits and potential risks of a distributed workforce, the issues of duty of care and employee sentiment, and how teleworking has opened up new opportunities for businesses to serve their clients. Don't miss our guests discussing the importance of having a plan for communication, the potential pitfalls of using artificial intelligence, and the advantages of leveraging technology for resilience. We conclude with a focus on the importance of these conversations and a heartfelt thank you to our guests. Tune in for this enlightening discussion.

In this episode, Vince Davis and Dane Neal interview respected disaster experts Bob McCreight and Curry Mayer about their exciting new book The Future of Emergency Management After 2020 The New, The Novel, and The Nasty.From climate-related catastrophes to human-caused events, the authors present an eye-opening, provocative collaboration of research and interviews with dozens of experts. For emergency managers in 2020, better strategies were needed to overcome major crises and disasters wrapped around the COVID-19 pandemic that triggered instability and upended normal life. Mega disasters and cascading catastrophes now must be imagined and managed effectively.The Future of Emergency Management After 2020 examines the past, present, and future challenges that will impact the landscape of public safety and emergency management in the post-pandemic era. For more information, or to get the book go to https://www.amazon.com/Future-Emergency-Management-After-2020/dp/164143497X 

Jason provides executive leadership for the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response as its team works collaboratively with Tulane’s departments and in conjunction with the external response, partners to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disasters of all types. He is an interdisciplinary emergency management professional with nearly 20 years of progressive experience across the higher education, public health, and emergency management sectors.   Jason holds a master’s degree in public health (MPH), is a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), and is a certified instructor of FEMA’s Incident Command System (ICS) curriculum. 

For over 32 years his occupation had been in the construction and restoration industry, primarily repairing homes that were damaged or destroyed by fires, floods, storms, or other types of disaster events. That all changed in 2008. After witnessing first-hand the devastation caused to his own neighbors by wildfires that swept through Southern California in 2003 and then again in 2007, which combined destroyed over 6,000 homes and damaged countless others,  Sean realized that there was an unmet need for honest, accurate, and timely information that most people didn't get, and decided to do something about it.  Sean is the author of The Red Guide to Disaster Recovery, the most comprehensive book ever written on what to do when the fire engines are gone. and Secrets of the Insurance Game. You won't want to miss this!

What do you do when you need disaster preparedness information and don't know where to start? Which disaster App is the best? Will I be able to use it?These were the questions that kept Ginny Katz up at night while working to become an Emergency Management GIS and digital communications specialist in 2017. After experiencing the impact of emergency communications gaps firsthand, there was no doubt something had to be done. Without relevant information and support, so many people were becoming more vulnerable to hazards, most significantly impacting underserved communities. In 2018 Ginny turned this problem into graduate research at Oregon State University and in 2019 created a startup, HazAdapt Inc., to build the solutions. This episode features Ginny Katz, MPH. She is the Founder and CEO of HazAdapt, a new and exciting preparedness app for families and communities.

 The recent mass shootings in Sacramento CA underscores the importance of awareness and personal safety. ID channel star Lt. Joe Kenda offers simple tips for surviving an active shooter incident and much more in this frank, no-nonsense interview.

Willie G. Nunn is the Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 10. Mr. Nunn leads and coordinates all activities in support of FEMA's mission for the Pacific Northwest.  including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska with 271  Native Tribes. We talked to Administrator Nunn about the challenges of managing a FEMA Region. 

As the General Manager of In Case of Crisis by Rock Dove Solutions, Christ Britton has experience creating and managing direct and partner sales distribution channels, marketing, and customer success organizations. Join us for an important conversation as Chris discusses the need for Crisis Collaboration tools and systems in the ever-changing landscape of business resiliency.

By now most people are familiar with the practical aspects of preparing for disasters, however, little attention is given to the spiritual connections of addressing the environment, climate change, and our journey as spiritual beings to connect with preparedness in a ‘new’ normal.  In this week’s Preparedness Matters Podcast, we talk candidly with this renaissance woman who has lived, worked, and preached on the prophetic edge of social change throughout the world for more than four decades. We discuss Rev Dele's most recent children's book Daughter of the Tree, chronicling Sojourner Truth’s spiritual formation in nature. 

 Tim Baughman is INDYCAR’s Senior Director of track safety and medical services and a longtime member of the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team. He shares his experiences about how to prepare for the safety of drivers and spectators at the world's fastest tracks. 

 Art delaCruz served honorably for over 22 years in the United States Navy and enjoyed a career that included a broad range of assignments.  Art commanded a Navy strike-fighter squadron, spent one year with McKinsey & Co. as a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow, served as a Topgun instructor, and made six combat deployments. He shares his vision about the future of volunteering with Team Rubicon, the veteran-led volunteer organization and leader in disaster response and recovery.

Why do volunteers need to be credentialed? What are some of the Challenges with untrained, unsolicited volunteers? . Founder, World Cares Center, Firefighter, Author, Trainer, Disaster Manager, and Resiliency SME Lisa Orloff answers these questions and more in her frank, no holds barred interview.Lisa Orloff is a not-for-profit entrepreneur, President of Resiliency Advisors, LLC, and founder of World Cares Center, the not-for-profit, voluntary organization she spearheaded post 9-11-2001. Orloff provides leadership, and strategic vision and develops and delivers curricula including a common international response platform, and volunteer management leadership initiatives. She has developed technologies to support response capabilities. 

Our latest podcast features Ed Conley, An expert in leadership & crisis managementFor nearly three decades Edward Conley served with FEMA, leading teams around the globe in response to some of history’s most significant disasters. He has also managed national incidents and international emergencies with the Coast Guard, Secret Service, Centers for Disease Control, and Department of State. Appointed as a U.S. Liaison Representative with NATO, Ed traveled throughout Europe on emergency preparedness assignments. Before joining FEMA, he spent seven winters on the National Ski Patrol. 

Howie Rose, Senior Program Manager Emergency Preparedness and Response,Power Operations for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) joins Vince Davis and Dane Neal on Preparedness Matters. Hear as Howie shares the great history of the TVA and the 88 years of service to over ten million residents in seven states. Listen as Howie fills us in on the preparedness side of power, with communications and coordination with many important partners in the process. Howie fills us in on current advancements and challenges with new technology along with the vulnerabilities built in and facing the TVA and other power entities that have now become targets around the world. Howie shares excitement for the future of the industry and the transformative changes coming with renewable energy, solar power and more. For more information on the work of the TVA and the history and future of this company and its ten thousand employees, go to: https://www.tva.com/

A member of the Nez Perce Native American tribe and an education specialist with an environmental group on the tribe's reservation in Idaho, he began going into elementary schools five or six years ago to speak to students.

Harley Jones leads teams of medical professionals and volunteers in projects across the United States as Project HOPE’s Senior Manager of Domestic Emergency Response. An emergency management professional with over 15 years of experience, Jones is skilled in crisis management, program development, and program evaluation.