Complete EM Podcast

Military planners have long said that no plan survives contact with the enemy - that plans can only take an organization so far. People, their skills and resources, and leadership have to carry organizations the rest of the way. In this podcast episode, we speak with a former marine and 29-year police officer about command and control, and how the terms necessarily mean different things to different people, at different times.

Officer MacAdam practices law enforcement by day and architecture in his spare time. Yes, designs for buildings and grounds are enjoying a bit of a renaissance as architects and special advisors find ways to make buildings more functional, efficient and safe. In this episode of the Complete EM Podcast Show, we talk about recent active shooter incidents, crime prevention and ways emergency managers can promote safe design and practical improvements.

Emergency managers are awash in risk, direct and indirect responsibility, standards, grant administration and best practices. Somehow, we seldom discuss the attributes of good emergency managers. In this first of three episodes on the Complete EM Podcast Show, an emergency manager with over 40 years of experience discusses what it takes to be a good emergency manager.

Emergency managers charged to "do more with less," take note. Public-private partnerships are emerging throughout the U.S and offer great opportunities to engage the whole community and dramatically expand traditional capability. In this podcast episode, we speak with the president of the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation to hear how that organization is making a big difference.

Public health emergency preparedness has received substantial support in the U.S. over the past 12 years. With federal funding and guidance, local and state public health agencies have since developed tremendous capabilities. Now, many agencies are working to integrate public health objectives into a much larger emergency management framework. In this podcast episode, two people responsible for facilitating part of this integration in Los Angeles County share what they see now and what they hope to accomplish.

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a region to plan for a special event. Ryan's a veteran of many large program efforts and now leads the City of San Jose's Office of Emergency Management as it prepares with the San Francisco Bay Area for Super Bowl 50. In this episode, Ryan describes special event planning in a collaborative region and overall preparedness efforts inside the nation's 10th largest city.

Most emergency management agencies struggle to find and sustain sufficient resources. Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) - remote groups of individuals who assist response agencies by leveraging social media resources in alternative ways - have begun to make important contributions to emergency management. Jim is a Public Information Officer assigned to a Type I Wildland Fire Incident Management Team. Marlita leads that team's VOST. In this Complete EM podcast episode, they discuss what they do, how they do it, and why their VOST provides tremendous value.

Emergency management exercises have been occuring for a long time, but the number, frequency and scope of exercises dramatically increased after 9/11 under the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).  In the early days of HSEEP, the pace of exercising was fast and furious. Kim and Justin we there, just starting their careers in emergency management.   

Over the last 15 years, there's been a huge increase in the number of emergency management degree holders. There's also been a number of new emergency managmement jobs in both the public and private sectors to take in some of these new graduates... and others with relevent experience. In this podcast, we speak with a guy who's played a signifcant role in both public and private sector emergency management. He compares and contrasts the roles and what it takes to be successful in each.

Phillip is an author, lecturer and director of risk security and resilience for the University of California Office of the President.  He's spent a lot of time looking at, communicating and building consensus for effective risk management. In this podcast, he shares what he sees as three simple steps sometimes overlooked in emergency management and how technology doesn't necessarily provide the help many need.